What don't you understand about this?
...We are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...
Roe v. Wade case was decided in 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Along with Doe v. Bolton, this decision legalized abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. The decision, written by Justice Harry Blackmun and based on the residual right of privacy, struck down dozens of state antiabortion statutes. The decision was based on two cases, that of an unmarried woman from Texas, where abortion was illegal unless the mother's life was at risk, and that of a poor, married mother of three from Georgia, where state law required permission for an abortion from a panel of doctors and hospital officials. While establishing the right to an abortion, this decision gave states the right to intervene in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy to protect the woman and the “potential” life of the unborn child. Denounced by the National Council of Bishops, the decision gave rise to a vocal antiabortion movement that put pressure on the courts and created an anti-Roe litmus test for the judicial appointments of the Reagan and Bush administrations (1981–93). In a 1989 case, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, the court, while not striking down Roe, limited its scope, permitting states greater latitude in regulating and restricting abortions. Then in 1992, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court reaffirmed the abortion rights granted in Roe v. Wade, while permitting further restrictions.
Who's next?
If the state or the courts can decide who deserves the protection of our Consitutionally guaranteed freedoms simply based on our physical location or our age, then who is, technically, safe? Abortion is currently legal in cases where the baby is under 24 weeks old (and even later in other “special” circumstances) because in the days of Roe v Wade, it was nearly impossible for a baby under 24 weeks to survive on it’s own outside the womb – so the baby isn’t a “person” at that point, right?
So, do YOU cease to be a citizen deserving of rights when you get into a car accident and are only still “living” as a result of medical life support? Could the state choose to decide as such? If a baby isn’t a “person” because he or she is not yet “viable” and could not live on it’s own (ie. without the “life support” system of the mother’s womb), then what about older people who need medical devices to extend their life or to enhance their ability to function normally?
Are they still a “person” with rights? What’s to stop the state from deciding that they are not? The same logic applies. They can’t sustain themselves. They are potentially a “burden” to the medical system and also to their families who would need to care for them. Why not “cut our losses” and just “abort” them – I mean MURDER them?
Obviously, to any SANE individual, this suggestion is nuts, as well it should be. My wife’s grandparents live in a basement apartment in our home and could not live on their own. Grandpa is basically blind and grandma has dementia, so it requires alot of work on our part to help take care of them.
BUT, they still have ALOT to offer, and I can’t imagine how any individual could justify stripping them of the rights they have been given by our US Constitution (and, more importantly, by our Creator) just because they are not physiologically able to live independently of others. And, yet, that is precisely the argument that is used to suggest that a baby under 24 weeks has no protections under the Constitution.
Hitler killed nearly 6 million Jews during what is now called the Holocaust, and this was an atrocity of epic proportions. But, it pales in comparison with the 30 million babies have been brutally murdered over the past 35+ years through D&E and other horrific procedures with our government’s blessing. This isn’t like being shot in the head and dying instantly. Babies are being, literally, ripped limb from limb as they are suctioned out or torn out of the mother’s womb. Truthfully, the real question is, “Why are we even asking these questions?” They are ludicrous. The only reason that anyone even asks these questions is so that they can justify this most barbaric of practices in a so-called “civilized” society.
Tricks of the Trade
Below are info links to the various methods of violating the inalienable right to Life. EDUCATE YOURSELF
BEFORE TAKING A STAND!
(Warning: Graphic Images below)
Suction (Vacuum) Aspiration
A suction curette is inserted into the woman’s womb. This is a knife-edged tube which cuts the baby to small pieces then by means of a powerful vacuum the torn body parts are sucked out through a tube and into a bottle. Great care must be taken to prevent the uterus from being punctured during this procedure, which may cause hemorrhage and necessitate further surgery. Also, infection can easily develop if any fetal or placental tissue is left behind in the uterus. This is the most frequent post-abortion complication.
Dilatation (Dilation) and Curettage (D and C)
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| (16 Week Fetus) |
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| (23 Week Fetus) |
This method is similar to the suction method with the added insertion of a hook shaped knife (curette) which cuts the baby into pieces. The pieces are scraped out through the cervix and discarded. Blood loss from D & C, or "mechanical" curettage is greater than for suction aspiration, as is the likelihood of uterine perforation and infection.
NOTE: This method should not be confused with routine D&C’s done for reasons other than undesired pregnancy (to treat abnormal uterine bleeding, dysmenorrhea, etc.
RU 486
While many people focus solely on RU 486, the so-called " French abortion pill," the RU 486 technique actually uses two powerful synthetic hormones with the generic names of mifepristone and misoprostol to chemically induce abortions in women five-to-nine weeks pregnant.
The RU 486 procedure requires at least three trips to the abortion facility. In the first visit, the woman is given a physical exam, and if she has no obvious contra-indications ("red flags" such as smoking, asthma, high blood pressure, obesity, etc., that could make the drug deadly to her), she swallows the RU 486 pills. RU 486 blocks the action of progesterone, the natural hormone vital to maintaining the rich nutrient lining of the uterus. The developing baby starves as the nutrient lining disintegrates.
At a second visit 36 to 48 hours later, the woman is given a dose of artificial prostaglandins, usually misoprostol, which initiates uterine contractions and usually causes the embryonic baby to be expelled from the uterus. Most women abort during the 4-hour waiting period at the clinic, but about 30% abort later at home, work, etc., as many as 5 days later. A third visit about 2 weeks later determines whether the abortion has occurred or a surgical abortion is necessary to complete the procedure (5 to 10% of all cases).
There are several serious well documented side effects associated with RU 486/prostaglandin abortions, including prolonged (up to 44 days) and severe bleeding, nausea, vomiting, pain, and even death. At least one woman in France died while others there suffered life-threatening heart attacks from the technique. In U.S. trials conducted in 1995, one woman is known to have nearly died after losing half her blood and requiring emergency surgery.
Long term effects of the drug have not yet been sufficiently studied, but there are reasons to believe that RU 486 could affect not only a woman’s current pregnancy, but her future pregnancies as well, potentially inducing miscarriages or causing severe malformations in later children.
Methotrexate
Methrotrexate is usually an injection rather than a pill. It stops the cells from reproducing, effectively poisoning the baby’s metabolism. Because the baby occasionally survives this (with a high risk of extreme deformities), Misopropyl tablets are put into the vagina after three days. These cause the uterus to contract artificially. These violent contractions cause the baby to be expelled from the womb, sometimes even decapitating the baby. A woman may bleed for weeks (42 days in one study), even heavily, and may abort anywhere -- at home, on the bus, at work, etc. Those found to be still pregnant in later visits (at least 1 in 25) are given surgical abortions.
Even doctors who support abortion are reluctant to prescribe methotrexate for abortion because of its high toxicity and unpredictable side effects. Those side effects commonly include nausea, pain, diarrhea, as well as less visible but more serious effects such as bone marrow depression, severe anemia, liver damage and methotrexate-induced lung disease.
The manufacturer warns in the package insert that while methotrexate has shown itself useful in treating certain types of cancer and severe cases of arthritis and psoriasis, "deaths have been reported with the use of methotrexate," and recommends that its use be limited to "physicians whose knowledge and experience includes the use of antimetabolite therapy." Though researchers performing methotrexate abortions have dismissed such concerns because of the low dosage used, other doctors in the abortion trade have disagreed, and the package insert clearly warns that "toxic effects may be related in frequency and severity to dose or frequency of administration but have been seen at all doses."
Saline Poisoning
Most often used after the first three months. The abortionist injects a strong salt solution directly into the amniotic sac (fluid surrounding the baby). The baby breathes and swallows it, is poisoned, struggles, and sometimes convulses. The mother delivers the dead baby in a day or two (sometimes alive!). The corrosive effect of the salt solution often burns and strips away the outer layer of the baby's skin. The baby's head sometimes looks like a candy apple. This technique was originally developed in the concentration camps in Nazi Germany. Hypertonic saline may initiate a condition in the mother called "consumption coagulopathy" (uncontrolled blood clotting throughout the body) with severe hemorrhage as well as other serious side effects on the central nervous system. Seizures, coma, or death may also result from saline inadvertently injected into the woman’s vascular system.
Urea
Because of the dangers associated with saline methods, other instillation methods such as hypersomolar urea are sometimes employed, though these are less effective and usually must be supplemented by oxytocin or a prostaglandin in order to achieve the desired result. Incomplete or failed abortion remains a problem with urea methods, often precipitating the additional risk of surgery.As with other instillation techniques, gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea or vomiting are frequent, but the most common problem with second trimester techniques is cervical injuries, which range from small lacerations to complete detachments of the anterior or posterior cervix. Between 1% and 2% of patients using urea must be hospitalized for treatment of endometritis, an infection of the lining oft he uterus.
Prostaglandins
Prostaglandins are naturally produced chemical compounds which normally assist in the birthing process. The injection of concentrations of artificial prostaglandins prematurely into the amniotic sac induces violent labor and the birth of a child usually too young to survive. Often salt or another toxin is first injected to ensure that the baby will be delivered dead, since some babies have survived the trauma of a prostaglandin birth and been born alive. This method is used during the second trimester.
In addition to risks of retained placenta, cervical trauma, infection, hemorrhage, hyperthermia, bronchoconstriction, tachycardia, more serious side effects and complications from the use of artificial prostaglandins, including cardiac arrest and rupture of the uterus, can be unpredictable and very severe. Death is not unheard of.
Partial-Birth Abortion
Also used for advanced pregnancies. The cervix is dilated to allow passage of a ring forceps. A foot or lower leg is located and pulled into the vagina. The baby is extracted in breech fashion until the head is just inside the cervix. The baby's legs hang outside the woman's body. With the baby face-down, scissors are plunged into the baby's head at the nape of the neck and spread open to enlarge the wound A suction tip is inserted and the baby's brain is removed. The skull collapses and the baby is delivered.
Hysterotomy
Similar to the Caesarean Section, this method is generally used if chemical methods such as salt poisoning or prostaglandins fail (see pp. 12-14). Incisions are made in the abdomen and uterus and the baby, placenta, and amniotic sac are removed. Babies are sometimes born alive during this procedure, raising questions as to how and when these infants are killed and by whom.
This method offers the highest risk to the health of the mother, because the potential for rupture during subsequent pregnancies is appreciable. In the first two years of legal abortion in New York State, the death rate from hysterotomy was 271.2 deaths per 100,000 cases.
