Abortion

[Mr. Goron]

[Maxine MagicFox]

[Riseatrance]

[Hanyou]

[Maxine MagicFox]

[seaweed91]

Things like border runs really scare me, personally.
Anyway, when it comes to abortion-Well, I don't really feel like it has all that much to do with me, but I'm pro-choice. It's just because of that-it's a choice, and I feel that it should always be one. However, I fully understand where pro-lifers are coming from. I don't follow the argument that it's oppressive to women, being pro-life, I just....It's just one of those things where I have my belief about it, no matter how unfounded it may seem to me or to anyone else, you know? But I mean, I'm fully accepting of other peoples' views on the matter. I can talk to you about it, sure, but my opinion is mine and yours is yours. As a matter of legality, however, I feel that it should stay legal-look at all of the illegal operations that happen today. That may be a poor argument, but at least under the sanction, for lack of a more moderate term, of legality, advances can be made in the field-if it was illegal, people would still try it, but since it'd have to be a covert thing (I need a better vocabulary today; covert makes me think covert ops....mixed with abortions?), it may be more dangerous.

[ZetaBladeX13]

[ziron]

[Kinokokao]

In Oklahoma...
A woman under 18 must receive written permission from her doctor and at least one parent and then wait at least 48 hours (so hopefully she'll change her mind under all the pressure and guilt tripping). Parental consent is waived for cases of rape, when a doctor can verify the "alleged abuse" (their words not mine). Parental consent is not waived for cases of child abuse. To perform an abortion without parental permission is a felony. (Keep in mind that legally an under-16 cannot consent to sex in Oklahoma)
State medical programs for low-income women cannot be used for abortion procedures. "Funding for abortion in cases of rape or incest will be provided only as long as Congress considers these services medically necessary and federal funds are available."
No public institution, public facility, public equipment, or other physical asset owned, leased, or controlled by the state may be used for performing or assisting an abortion unless the procedure is necessary to preserve her life or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest reported by the woman to the proper law enforcement authorities. (No exceptions for women unwilling or unable to report rape, or 'proper law enforcement' not being willing to take her report or treat her seriously)
However, private clinics, hospitals, health services, etc. do not have to perform abortions. It is their choice whether or not to perform the procedure.

Assuming a woman can clear these hurdles, she then must wait 24 hours for a physician to tell her 1) who will perform the abortion, 2) the medical risks for the procedure, 3) the gestational age of the fetus, 4) the risks of carrying the pregnancy to term, 5) locations for a free ultrasound.
Then 24 hours before the abortion another conversation must take place in which she is told 1) what medical assistance is available for prenatal, childbirth and neonatl care, 2) that the father of the child will be responsible for child support even if he offered to pay for the abortion, 3) she has a right to receive state-printed material on the status of her fetus, the alternatives available, and also information on the "pain and suffering of the fetus" and the "possible detrimental psychological effects" of abortion. Also these information packets includes pictures of the development of the fetus with survival rates for each two week period.

All of this, of course, in hopes that the woman will change her mind. Or even just think about it for a few days more. Because, you see, once the pregnancy hits 12 weeks the second trimester kicks in, also the Federal 3rd trimester ban. The purpose of all these laws is not to make abortions safer or increase a woman's awareness of pregnancy prevention, but rather to delay and guilt a woman out of choosing a legal abortion.
The best way to prevent abortions? Preventing unwanted pregnancies. Yet Oklahoma sex education promotes abstinence only, which has been proven to be worthless. Areas that promote abstinence only have higher rates of teen sex and teen pregnancy. No one ever explained to me the incredible amount of options available and where I could go to obtain these. Yes, they mentioned condoms, but not as a viable strategy or even showing us how to use them and what sort of protection it offered. Pills, rings, caps, gels, inserts -- no one explained these. No one made sure we had safe access to them.

And that law against abortions after 12 weeks? Let's take an average, monogamous woman in a set relationship who is sexually active with her partner. She unknowingly becomes pregnant when she's fertile, about 9-15 days into her cycle. Since she's using protection, she has no reason to suspect pregnancy and thus notices nothing until about two weeks into her pregnancy when she misses her period. But maybe it's finals week, so she's nearly a month pregnant before she takes a pregnancy test. Assuming, of course, she immediately fears this possibility. that's 4 weeks of her available 12. She spends another week freaking out to herself before telling her best friend. Then she tells her partner and they begin to discuss their plans. About 7 weeks into her pregnancy they decide its best to terminate. She can't afford to start a family, not financially or emotionally. She calls around and finally finds a facility two hours away that could help her. She needs all the right documentation from a physician, however, and it's nearly 10 weeks into her pregnancy before she can receive the procedure.
Whew. Good thing she detected that early. Good thing her period really was late. What if she'd had just enough spotting to assume it'd came, or was less responsible and more forgetful? What if she'd taken an extra week to think about her decision?

Let's discuss another scenario, this time a true story. This is why abortion laws that seek to restrict access, ESPECIALLY trimester-specific bans, are a bad bad thing:

Holly and Dave are a young couple. They have a shotgun wedding when Holly becomes pregnant. They aren't the perfect couple, but are trying to make the best of a bad situation. 7 months into her pregnancy, Holly realizes something is wrong. They go to the hospital and find out the fetus has died.

Holly is now 7 months pregnant with a dead baby.

Oklahoma and Federal Abortion laws prohibit third trimester abortions. Holly must now go home and wait 32 hours so they can induce labor.
I repeat:
Holly must go home and try and sleep next to her husband, fully aware that she has something dead inside her. Their baby is DEAD and INSIDE HER. Can you even imagine this kind of horror?
She goes back to the hospital and goes through labor. Everyone knows the baby is going to be a stillbirth. It is. They quietly hold a funeral service. The marriage disintegrates.

True story. This happened to someone I know, right here in Oklahoma.

I'm absolutely pro-choice.

[ZetaBladeX13]

^ why do those laws and regulations NOT surprise me? -_-;

where did our freedoms in matters like these go? >_>
on top of that, sending someone on a bizarre guilt trip in an event like this because of the views of the minority (or even in some cases, the majority) in an area is not the right way to treat human beings...

[Maxine MagicFox]

[ziron]

[ZetaBladeX13]

[Maxine MagicFox]

[ZetaBladeX13]