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The perky Ms. Richards, in all her foul glory. |
Posted on 07/18/2004 4:35:00 PM PDT by vanderleun
THE REALLY AWFUL THING ABOUT AMY RICHARDS TALE AS TOLD TO AMY BARRETT in The New York Times Lives: When One Is Enough is that Amy Richards put her name on her shameful tale of selfishness.
"I found out I was having triplets when I went to my obstetrician. The doctor had just finished telling me I was going to have a low-risk pregnancy. She turned on the sonogram machine. There was a long pause, then she said, ''Are you sure you didn't take fertility drugs?'' I said, ''I'm positive.'' Peter and I were very shocked when she said there were three. ''You know, this changes everything,'' she said. ''You'll have to see a specialist.''The self-centered Ms. Richards who writes an advice column for, of course, feminist.com and has published a book called: Manifesta: Young Women Feminism and the Future, elects to undergo what is coyly titled "selective reduction." This is a nice term for the killing of one or more multiple babies in the womb. As the article puts it, "The obstetrician wasn't an expert in selective reduction, but she knew that with a shot of potassium chloride you could eliminate one or more."
"My immediate response was, I cannot have triplets. I was not married; I lived in a five-story walk-up in the East Village; I worked freelance; and I would have to go on bed rest in March. I lecture at colleges, and my biggest months are March and April. I would have to give up my main income for the rest of the year. There was a part of me that was sure I could work around that. But it was a matter of, Do I want to?"
When the time came to pick one, it was fraught with the pathetic little drama that so often overtakes these young members of our intellectual classes in urban areas:
The specialist called me back at 10 p.m. I had just finished watching a Boston Pops concert at Symphony Hall. As everybody burst into applause, I watched my cellphone vibrating, grabbed it and ran into the lobby. He told me that he does a detailed sonogram before doing a selective reduction to see if one fetus appears to be struggling. The procedure involves a shot of potassium chloride to the heart of the fetus. There are a lot more complications when a woman carries multiples. And so, from the doctor's perspective, it's a matter of trying to save the woman this trauma. After I talked to the specialist, I told Peter, ''That's what I'm going to do.'' He replied, ''What we're going to do.'' He respected what I was going through, but at a certain point, he felt that this was a decision we were making. I agreed.Hard to imagine if "Peter the Boyfriend" would have had much of a future with this woman if he'd piped up to say, "Maybe it isn't such a good idea to kill off two of my children." He'd be history and Amy would be wrapped in the arms of the sisterhood at feminist.com. But then again, if he was that kind of a man he wouldn't be with this kind of a woman.
The climax of this sordid little drama is delivered as casually as the rest of the entire episode:
When we saw the specialist, we found out that I was carrying identical twins and a stand alone. My doctors thought the stand alone was three days older. There was something psychologically comforting about that, since I wanted to have just one. Before the procedure, I was focused on relaxing. But Peter was staring at the sonogram screen thinking: Oh, my gosh, there are three heartbeats. I can't believe we're about to make two disappear. The doctor came in, and then Peter was asked to leave. I said, ''Can Peter stay?'' The doctor said no. I know Peter was offended by that.Offended? By being denied the right to be present at the execution of two of his children? Why should a man so lacking in manhood be offended? He probably made a face and then beat it to a bar, glad he'd gotten off easy, once again.
Then again, he missed the central life experience of "making two heartbeats disappear." Never a rose without a thorn.
The story, from Amy's point of view, has a happy, almost Hollywood ending, complete with a whiff of false remorse and guilt:
I went on to have a pretty seamless pregnancy. But I had a recurring feeling that this was going to come back and haunt me. Was I going to have a stillbirth or miscarry late in my pregnancy?
I had a boy, and everything is fine. But thinking about becoming pregnant again is terrifying. Am I going to have quintuplets? I would do the same thing if I had triplets again, but if I had twins, I would probably have twins. Then again, I don't know. Well, it certainly good to know that 'everything is fine' and that there is a boy survivor in the world. But it is not so good to know that Ms. Richards only took from this experience what she brought into it -- nihilism, selfishness, and an ego much bigger than her sense.
She's the very essence of the Modern Feminist of the Future, all me and no see. Triplets, no. Twins, maybe -- but maybe not.
Michelle Malkin who pointed this story out comments: " So she's terrified? I can only imagine how her surviving son will feel when he grows up and learns about the fate of his siblings."
I don't. There's nothing in Ms. Richards' character that makes me think she'll have the guts to tell him about it. I realize that means that I believe she'll finally develop a sense of shame about what she did, but I believe even the most vapid among us can grow a real moral sense. At least, that's my hope.
Being that she works in a vapid and arrogant industry, I'm sure one of Miss Richard's "friends" will make certain the boy knows his mommy killed two of his siblings.
I also doubt Miss Richards will be blessed with another child.
God forbid that she should have another child...we wouldn't want her to have to give up her Boston pops concerts now, would we? (Massive disgust.) The woman is totally clueless.
Also, if she doesn't regret her decision, it would be just punishment for her son to grow to hate her and for her sperm donor to leave. Since she is the only one she cares about, I don't know if she would consider that a punishment.
Thanks, but that's the same one I posted. I heard there was another one besides that. I'm still looking for it.
pray for her. Nothing can hurt her more than her own conscience.
I think that involuntary euthanasia will be tolerated, though not legal, within 30 years, tops. Her surviving son might do her in because she is inconvenient.
This is what irritates the life out of me. Women are "liberated" today because they get to kill their children, and all men have to do is write the check to the abortionist. Seems to me it was the men who got liberated -- liberated from any responsibility for their progeny and for the mothers. Women's lib is nothing but a big fat scam to help men escape responsibility!
Disgusting?
Appparently, the trauma the two unborn chidren suffer from having induced heart attacks was irrelevant to Ms. Richards. Must be nice to be able to justify murder so easily. I'm soooooo happy that her work as a little feminazi worker bee will not be interrupted by some unwelcome children!
Even with the thought that the babies may be congenially stupid and selfish, my wife and I would have taken the two unwanted children, no questions asked, but nooooooo, God forbid that some pregnant woman would choose adoption over earning the feminazi merit badge for abortion!
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The perky Ms. Richards, in all her foul glory. |
I think that's the only other post regarding this article.
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Her friends will proudly show him the article, if she doesn't beat them to it first. Not to worry, sounds like therapy is in his future anyway... He'll be whining on about his upbringing in NYC in a tiny flat with a workaholic self-absorbed feminist mother...
I also doubt Miss Richards will be blessed with another child.
Not that she'd think of a child as a blessing either. She has probably taken every measure to make sure it doesn't happen. I wonder if she feels blessed to have the son she has? It doesn't seem so from her tone.
In order to feel blessed, you have to believe in a Blesser.
I bet we can "ask Amy" some questions she will have trouble answering.
This article made me sick. There are so many infertile couples waiting for children and this witch killed off twins. She was pregnant anyway...why not have all 3 babies & put up 2 for adoption. That thought NEVER seemed to cross her mind.
Shouldn't we pay a visit to feminist.com and express our feminine sides?
But then she couldn't fly after 15 weeks and would require bed rest after 20, and would probably have to give away this season's Boston Pops tickets. Oh, the horror!
I told Peter, ''That's what I'm going to do.'' He replied, ''What we're going to do.''
Boy, Peter, you really told her off! Sheesh.
It is evil and unsettling. They're not human - TO HER. She's worried about a miscarriage if she decides she wants them. They have value worth saving when and only if she decides they have some value to her, only if she invests any emotional or financial interest in them. Otherwise, just worthless. By the same token, the nuisance and danger of a miscarriage is the danger to her (a reasonable enough fear, but it doesn't seem she fears the same for the baby as she does for herself) and the effect it will have on her and her precious work.
A little part of me wonders if this 'heartwrenching' article isn't 'commissioned' if you will in response to the overwhelming response given to the new 3-d imaging of babies in the womb and how these ultrasounds and other studies point out just how human babies are and how alert, averse to pain, intelligent, unique, etc., each baby is. And how people who supported unlimited abortion and related issues are beginning to see it's not so cut and dried. I mean, the whole planned parenthood lie is based on the baby being just a blob of cells. Millions of us heard this all thru grade school and high school in the 70's and 80's. Now it just might not be true?? Or at least more complex than previously believed? Shhhh, don't let the cat out of the bag! They must be a little worried, at least from a revenue point of view.
Good point. It seems as though she believes only in herself.
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