Posted on 02/28/2006 6:36:43 PM PST by Aussie Dasher
US President George W. Bush signalled his opposition to a South Dakota abortion ban that forbids the procedure even in cases of rape or incest, saying he favors such exceptions.
But Bush declined to predict the outcome of any legal challenges to the legislation, which would make it illegal to terminate a pregnancy except in rare cases when it may be necessary to save the life of the mother.
"That, of course, is a state law, but my position has always been three exceptions: Rape, incest, and the life of the mother," the US president told ABC news in an interview.
Asked whether he would include "health" of the mother, Bush replied: "I said life of the mother, and health is a very vague term, but my position has been clear on that ever since I started running for office."
The bill, which recently gained final approval from South Dakota's House of Representatives, directly contradicts the precedent set in 1973 when the US Supreme Court ruled that bans on abortion violate a woman's constitutional right to privacy.
The bill grants no allowances for women who have been raped or are victims of incest. Doctors who perform abortion would be charged with a crime. It also prohibits the sale of emergency contraception and asserts that life begins at fertilization.
The governor of South Dakota has indicated he is likely to sign the bill.
A leading pro-choice advocacy group has already vowed to challenge the ban in federal court. But that seems to be exactly what many promoters of the legislation seek.
Advocates of the ban do not deny they aim much higher than South Dakota, a rural and socially conservative state, which even today has only one abortion clinic.
Instead, they are hoping the bill will offer a full frontal assault on legal abortions now that the balance of power in the Supreme Court appears to have shifted with the confirmation of conservative jurists John Roberts and Samuel Alito, both of whom are seen as pro-life.
How is rape or incest "pure judgement calls"?
Let's give them better healthcare. Killing their babies is a total cop-out!
No. I'm not talking about a total ban because guess what? That will never happen. I'm talking about an incremental education of the realities of abortion which will lead to limiting it as far as humanly possible.
I don't believe in a total ban. Anyone who would prevent an abortion in TRUE cases of life of the mother is an ogre--why would someone condemn both a mother and child to die if one can be saved?
I see, but committing murder somehow doesn't cause trama, so sure, let her murder her baby.
Have you thought this out at all? Do you see how ridiculous your logic is?
Are you stating that seriously?
it's easy to be objective when YOU'RE NOT THE ONE CARRYING THE CHILD IN YOUR BODY.
I applaud his consistency on the issue. He's maintained this position long before being elected President.
Why are you for murder in the case of incest and rape for an innocent baby?
Yes, you can get DNA from an aborted baby...IF YOU ARE LOOKING. The fact is that the abortions are done quickly, before there is an investigation. If a baby is born, things have to be explained, you can't hide or dispose of it the way you can an aborted baby. Abortion clinics have a lot of protection, and no requirements to report suspicious activity. The secret won't be discovered.
If you honestly believe that a fetus in the first trimester is a fully formed person, we have nothing to discuss. Making a woman carry the result of a rape is obscene.
Excellent post.
Bush may have done nothing wrong - but what has he done correctly lately?
What has the CHILD done to deserve being dismembered?
You're right. Taking things slowly, and step by step, is the best way to deal with this. Meanwhile, while everyone is busy being "pragmatic" about it, countless innocent children are being slaughtered in the name of convenience. That's the real vanity.
A just society doesn't speak out against only some murders, it speaks out against all murders.
If the quickest (and perhaps ONLY) way to ban all other abortions (the 44 million you refer to) was to allow them for rape and incest (4 per year), what would you choose?
Yes - thanks for pointing out that this is the position the president has had since he ran for office.
So nice of the freepers on this thread who are pretending the president must be drinking or something.
Studies show that raped women who give their children up for adoption are the ones who cope with rape the best.
But this is all beside the point. Why does the woman's trama trump the child's right to life?
If a woman is raped and becomes pregneant from that rape, all options should be made available to her. This should be nobody else's business. Forcing a woman to bear the child of the man that violently attacked her seems pretty medieval.
Posted on 12/05/2005 7:42:16 AM CST by marshmallow
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.