A major anti-abortion group has expanded its scope beyond abortion clinics to include protests against in vitro fertilization clinics.
And this:
Lesbian Dem Hilary Rosen tells Ann Romney she never worked a day in her life. Unlike Rosen, who had to adopt kids, Ann raised 5 of her own.
And this:
He told the science and fertility experts in his audience to resist “the fascination of the technology of artificial fertility. Benedict cautioned the experts against “easy income, or even worse, the arrogance of taking the place of the Creator,” an attitude he indicated underlies the field of artificial procreation.
Arrogance?
Arrogant is telling women that a trans-vaginal ultrasound is no big deal.
Arrogant is telling women desperate for a child that they are killing babies, are no better than murderers.
Arrogant is outlawing a procedure that could save the life or health of a woman because some other woman somewhere might misuse it.
Arrogant is telling those who adopt that they’re not really parents. Arrogant is telling women, telling men, telling families that however they’re doing it, they’re doing it wrong.
Arrogant is using anecdotes and outliers as data by which to make laws that hurt all women, even those who want children, and are trying as hard as they can to have them.
Arrogant is assuming that those who say those things have no children, cousins, relatives, who are locked in this desperate struggle with their own bodies, who are listening to this uninformed, bigoted, cruel rhetoric and wondering, would you believe differently, if you knew you were talking about me?
A.



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Allison!
Arrogant is being a religious bigot who tries to impose his viewson everyone else.
Facing reality, women (aka doormats) have lost the war on women.
Well put Allison.
Arrogant is pretending to be able to speak for a being one is presenting to me as omnipotent.
Sort of implied in my statement, but yeah.
Hitchens nailed it with this.
Thanks, Allison,
This makes me ill, really. Beyond the horror of the trans-vaginal ultrasound, that I’ll never forget or forgive my OBGYN for, the shock of all the rest is tragic.
What does god have to do with this topic?
Gets to the heart of my militant agnosticism. I have never seen any signs of a deity, and do not think the human mind could comprehend one if it existed, but if there is one and it allows all the suffering, misery, and destruction of the innocent that exists in this world, I want no part of it.
That would depend on who you ask. If you ask me, not a damned thing. If you ask the god bothering fanatics, everything.
It does seem that the Stupid Wing of the Republican Party has led with its chin this year, and dumbed down the national debate to the point where as far as family planning issues are concerned we have a choice between modernity and backwards religious wackos.
I suppose, if you have no national economic, energy, climate, education, or foreign policy ideas to offer that have any credibility whatsoever, you have to start flogging abortion in front of your Stupid Wing in order to get them to come out and vote.
Sorry. I wasn’t intending to compete with but to expand on the idea.
That really is where they have been, along with race baiting, for the past 30 years.
I don’t care one way or another. Just wondering why some one would raise the issue on a thread that seems to have nothing to do with it.
Didn’t think you were. Just clarifying my own statement. I am not always as coherent as I would like this time of the evening.
The thread is about statements from the head of the Catholic League, so I would say it is pretty relevant.
Yep. Analogous to a bacterium perceiving an elephant. It isn’t equipped for it.
women should have seceded like the south from the north
It would seem the Catholic Church and the Pope might have some relationship to the quote from Hitchens that I cited.
So how come the fundie war on reproductive freedom has nothing to do with religion, if you don’t mind my asking? Even if ultimately it is only being used as an excuse and nothing more, (which I believe btw), religion is clearly relevant to this thread in that sense.
There is a subtext to the Republican pols war on women. Even if they get their wish and outlaw abortion in all 50 states you can be certain not a single member of their family (or mistresses) would ever be forced to carry an unintentional pregnancy to term. The 21st Century definition of noblesse oblige seems to be rich people doing everything possible to make life for poor people even worse than it is already.
Oh.
I interpreted this thread as about women.
Guessing I should go into the penalty box and not emerge until I learn how to read.
Or at least disabuse myself of the notion that god & women have anything to do with one another.
Hanging my head in shame.
These points mean nothing to ideological and religious fanatics led by morons with huge amounts of money. Abetted of course by the corrupted masters of the universe on the supreme court.
Well, if you think the R.C. church is relevant.
Everything that Republicans say has a subtext.
Seceded from what? The Republican Party?
Let’s not forget that the established law and legal precedent as of today respects womens’ rights in family planning issues. The Republicans flog Roe v. Wade because a segment of their base will get truly angry about it. The US today does NOT side with the Republican Party on these issues. To the extent that their national leadership is actually serious about attempting to take down Roe v. Wade they are an insurgent faction.
Oh of course not. They are the righteous and privileged, therefore the rules they force upon others don’t apply to them.
I personally subscribe to the notion that women should have as little to do with god(s) as possible.
Then please feel free to ignore my 20. :)
Second.
They are the elect, the chosen of god, and exempt from the laws that bind mere mortals.
Did you see Stephen Colbert a few weeks back touting the idea of mandatory male urethral ultrasound? I was watching it at 2 a.m. and his simulation made me laugh like a lunatic… poor Bob must have thought I’d lost my mind (if he still had room for doubt).
Third. I know it’s not exactly parliamentary but it is what it is.
Reproductive “rights” (heh) have NOTHING to do with god or religion, imo. Just a simple power play. And as I have already typed, women are door mats, the outcome of the power play has been determined.
If one can’t laugh, then cry, or the other way, too. All I’m saying, is that I’ve been under the care of a gazillion doctors and hospital experiences. This out patient procedure was the WORST I’ve ever, ever experienced. And I’m old (as I always like to say). Go Stephen!!!
Well, yeah and I’ve already agreed with that.
Ever since Bush took office, the Republicans have revealed themselves to have very bad ideas in practice. We’ve had unnecessary wars of choice, budget-busting and deeply unfair tax policies, housing and finance bubble implosions, regressive energy policies, yada yada yada, as a result of Republican political power.
It’s a sign of just how desperate and discredited the Republicans have become, that they have to resort to flogging Roe v. Wade on the national stage in order to rile up their base voters. Other than that they can only point to problems that they had a big hand in having caused, offering solutions that come pre-discredited and unappealing to a broad population tired of economic insecurity and wars that never seem to end.
I know the old feeling. My grandson just turned 16 and my son turns 39 tomorrow.
Ever since
BushReagan took office, the Republicans have revealed themselves to have very bad ideas in practice.FTFY
Yes, it is relevant to this thread.
And, beyond that, it is and has been a key player in the war on women.
Not quibbling, just explicating.
Laughing and crying are involved here. Wow, 16 and 39, that is tough.
My oldest sister turns 65 on Friday. Very happy to be the baby of the family, thank-you.
I left the R.C.s a half a century ago. You’ll excuse me if I think they are irrelevant jerks.
In reference to the former, I advise everyone to avoid driving in Houston for the next couple of years. Of course I always advise people to do that, but it has just gotten even more dangerous.
I am afraid that I am not that far away from that myself.
Watching Stephen Colbert right now — he has Bonnie Rait on to sing in a minute. And heh, I’ll be 60 in June. Sucks to be old.
You understand Colbert was suggesting a comparable procedure be performed on men (in the interest of fairplay)?
Been there since February. Not too bad and beats the hell out of the alternatives.
Disagree.
State of the world is so bad, one of the basic advantages of being old in not having to undergo the experiences of what follows being old.
In jest, but not really.
Yes, I agree. But I’m not retired, but wish I could be.
He did a brilliant job of illustrating the insanity of mandating unnecessary medical procedures. Unfortunately the people who need the illustration were all tuned into Fox News. Social conservatives typically suffer from irony deficiencies so I’m certain it would be wasted on them anyway.
Agreed. Sigh.
How are you, anyhow? I never get to see you much.
FTFY
As a longtime BoSox fan, I couldn’t agree more, Dr. D…! ;-)
I know that this will sound weird, but I really don’t want to retire anytime soon. I really enjoy what I am doing (most of the time anyway) and think I would be bored if I retired. I also enjoy being around the students as I think it helps keep me young.
Never better and you?
Hey CT!
The gang is almost all here!
Hey, CT! How’s life in paradise? Starting to warm up here in the northern Rockies.
Looking to see my recently widowed Dad, he is a love. Hopefully a May weekend. Planning a trip to Berlin and Munich this fall.
You’re lucky. Even the jobs I liked I inevitably grew to hate. Seems to take about four years.
Sorry to hear of your (and his) loss. I hope he’s coping as well as possible. Maybe you can take him with you to Oktoberfest.
I am indeed lucky and I know it. It took a long time, but I finally found my sweet spot.
Not me, that stuff sounds too dangerous. I’d rather have the wrinkles.
Sorry to here about the loss of your mom. I know how hard that is. I have been the oldest member of my family now for a decade.
Aloha, Dr. D and CE, it’s been a gorgeous day here in paradise, with the added joy of babysitting the munchkin today…! ;-)
Not a possibility, but thanks for the thought. We will be attending a medical history meeting, and having a blast eating sausages, I hope.
Having too much fun tonight, but I had best toddle off. Have an 8:00 class tomorrow and I need to at least pretend to be coherent. Take care all.
*heh* Good one, rf…! ;-)
Thank you DrDick — you are so sweet. I do miss her, that old feminist who made me think.
Oh CT! I am so jealous!
Pretty certain I don’t want to know how medical history intersects with sausage-making… “g”
Nighters to you and scritches to Dr. Smoke.
Pleasant dreams, Dr.D…!
Pretty sure that they are related…
Well, at least ya did get to hold him, M’dear…! *g*
Oh my, that little bundle of joy. I need to smell those babies.
Maybe you can help me with something I’ve been wondering lately (seriously, my mind is THAT idle). Is there enough overlap or similarity between German and Scandinavian languages that the people from those countries can readily understand each other?
They might. My experience with Europeans is that they speak between one and six languages. Or not!
But not French.
Hello?
And the French loathe them for it, or if they DO speak French resent how poorly they do so… :-)
Believe I will call it a night. Thanks to Allison. Splendid evening to all.
hiya CE, sorry to hear of your family’s loss
Arrogant is telling women, telling men, telling families that however they’re doing it, they’re doing it wrong.
I love this one statement. It gets to the soul of how I view things. I am unique. My experiences are unique. It’s inappropriate to compare me to others or to somehow find me lesser because you disagree with my view.
I do find it interesting that many choose to put the blame on a belief in God though rather than blaming the human interpretation of what a person believes God expects of them. The relationship I have and the God I pray to is non judgmental and prefers I perfect myself to spending time nitpicking others and judging their choices. *shrugs*
Too true.
Arrogant is believing you can tell another person how to live their life. Living your own is a full time job.
The sickness that is American christianity.