“She said partial birth abortions were for babies who didn’t feel anything because some are Down’s or have no brains. “
This. Abortion is still eugenics. Close to 90% (if not more) parents who get a prenatal diagnosis of downs syndrome abort their babies, and it’s a legal reason in the third trimester.
It makes me want to scream. It has made me cry. To kill your child just because he or she is disabled. To have it written into our laws that these children can be killed when others can’t because of their condition. I was unaware that Downs babies were incapable of feeling pain and I’m still skeptical, I’m pretty sure they can just as much as any baby at that late a stage. But really, it doesn’t matter. If I anesthetize you and cut off your arm against your will, it doesn’t make it any better that I cut off your arm against you will just because it was painless. It is still wrong, wrong, wrong.
I don't know why I stuck pain in there. When talking to the nurse, that word didn't come up. I think it was my friend, haven't seen him for years who blasted me for something I wouldn't do because of conscience, and for some odd reason it shot in my head to retort: "Did you ever cause a girl to have an abortion?" He answered, "I helped pay for one once." Can't remember how the rest of it went, but he said "They don't feel anything." Yes, he probably was talking about earlier terminations, but it doesn't make any difference to me if they feel pain or not or when the pain sensing mechanism kicks in.
It was his child and would have been his parents' only grandchild. No remorse, happened to be a liberal Jew who said/led prayers every Saturday night (for awhile) at the synagogue. This was years ago.
All right. I'll say it. I got to thinking about my daughter's wedding which she planned and was in super catholic mode but even without that, he was catholic and divorced and didn't get an annulment. He also had a very serious cocaine habit which was hell for us while it lasted. Finally they broke up. I think my daughter was doing drugs, too, but functioned better than he did. He set their apt on fire when she was in rehab so they took off for CA. Out there, he got crazy again, she had to drive up to Oregon on mountainous roads when he tried to commit suicide by jumping in front of a car on a city street. Then one kidney shut down, and it was nip and tuck. Last I heard, years later, he had gone clean. I'm pretty sure my daughter got off all drugs, too, but still drinks too much beer, didn't think you could die of alcoholism on beer. I think you can in the quantities she sometimes drinks but could be wrong.
A few days before the wedding, the words of the ceremony kept going through my head, "If anyone objects . . .let them speak now or forever hold their peace." I don't think they read those words any more, but I would have sat there objecting even though it was a Methodist minister and he didn't care about the divorce (or the other or didn't know).
So I decided in good conscience I shouldn't go, and it was hard because people judged me for it, others may just have wondered a little. Wasn't the first time I couldn't do something (that was because I was totally emotionally exhausted and couldn't make another trip, anywhere) normally people do, and got criticized for that, too.