The bill that bans all abortions after 20 weeks gestation has passed the second round and will be signed by Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman. The logic of this law is that fetuses feel pain at 20 weeks. (Side note: how the fuck do old white men know what a fetus feels?)
I am deeply saddened by this development for many reasons, but the primary reason is it's blatant disregard for the pain felt by severely disabled children and their families. You think a fetus feels pain? Even if I give you that argument, it is never okay to choose the pain felt by a fetus, A FETUS, over the pain of a living, breathing, suffering child and his/her family. Ever. The legislature attempted to make this bill more palatable by leaving in a clause that allows abortion after 20 weeks if the woman is near death or faces irreversible bodily harm. Gosh, that doesn't sound wishy-washy at all. PATHETIC.
This bill is a blatant attempt by politicians (yes you, Mike Flood) to look good to a pro-life constituency without really examining the consequences and impact on Nebraska families. I am not only saddened by this bill but also deeply ashamed. Nebraska's legislature has officially lost all of its heart, all of its connection to the living, struggling, and suffering Nebraskans. They have also completely disregarded the the pain and suffering of severely disabled babies, and the needs of mentally ill women to choose abortion. Oh yes. Mentally ill women will now also be forced to have babies because this law takes out the current stipulation that allows them to have a second trimester abortion more easily.
For those pro-lifers out their who champion this bill as a victory: shame on you, too. Put your name on a list right now to care for the severely disabled children born because of this bill. They are your responsibility now.
I don't think I have been this mad in a loooooong time. The passage of this bill makes me never want to have another child. My biggest regret is that I couldn't have done more to prevent this bill's passage, the pain it will cause, and the impact it will have on my own daughters someday.
2 comments:
I'm with you in the STRONG sense that the Nebraska legislature just doesn't get it. The Supreme Court may very well strike this down. And in the meantime, I wish our nation would do more to help families who already have children and are struggling to get by.
But that, of course, isn't easy. And so we wait.
There for a while (I don't know if it's still in effect) in SC, women going to get abortions were required to look at the ultrasound beforehand.
Can we say "guilt trip" boys and girls?
One way to shut up a pro-lifer protesting: go up to him or her and say "why THANK YOU for offering to take care of my child. I'm 14 weeks; please tell me when you would like to pick up my medical expenses and the paperwork necessary for the adoption".
9 times out of 10, they back off. They can't afford to take your child. They hem and haw. Hyprocrites!
Personally, there'd be a lot few abortions if it were easier to put your child up for adoption. You would not BELIEVE what a friend had to go through to find a home for her baby. Some of the hospital staff treated her like trash. Because this is the south, and apparently you keep your children no matter what. But I ramble.
Thank you for listening
Scratch
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