I think liberals are really just about the right of the woman to choose to abort her fetus, without the iron rod of the man lashing down upon her back.

All I know is that, if there's a heaven and God DOES care about this issue (as I imagine God would), there will be almost no feminists lurking about the pearly gates.

I'll go "all in" that God isn't going to care much about the "reproductive rights" spiel that Dawn and Ms. Steinem are going to offer as an excuse.

Yes, thank God we have liberals to lead us out of the oppressive patriarchy in which women find themselves trapped today — they can’t vote, they can’t drive, they can’t divorce or go out in public with their ankles showing. Thank you, liberals, for showing us the way!

Oh, wait. I forgot that that happened a hundred years ago.

Women want to be free to choose? Great. Freedom to choose carries with it many responsibilities, chief among them the responsibility to acknowledge that it’s not all about you and that the unalienable rights of the baby inside you have to be taken into account. Abortion on demand, abortion on a whim … these deeply self-obsessed notions are simply not compatible with basic social responsibility.

(There. That oughts get some shit stirred up. It’s my birthday and I’m feeling mischievous.)

Except Sean - there is no God. So you're out of luck.

Yeah, because The Man (TM) never does stuff like this under current law:

http://www.afterabortion.info/unfair/unwanted.htm

Liberal Larry posted the definitive statement on this subject the other day, "Happy (Belated) Baby-killers' Day!":

http://blamebush.typepad.com/blamebush/2005/11/happy_belated_b.html

I think that this about sums it up:

"But it is by our very lack of knee-jerk support for our baby-killing troops that we prove our devotion. Every day we demoralize our troops and propagandize for the enemy brings us one day closer to bringing all our baby-killing babies home, where they will never be asked to kill another baby again...except perhaps as licensed physicians at their hometown reproductive health clinics, in which case they will have our full and unconditional support."

I love you DL.

And an omnipotent God who lets makes babies suffer Downs syndrome isn't worthy of my adoration anyway.

In any case, ya think maybe there's a meaningful difference between a fetus and an actual person? It's this giant blind spot in Klein and others' premise that makes the "Pro-Life" case nothing more than preaching to the choir.

Klein is the one who is odd. He completely ignores the fact that there is a differnce between those who are already born and those who are not.

Down's Syndrome starts becoming fairly common in births when the mother is over the age of 35. It is a real issue for many couples. Fortunately, there are ways of detecting this mutation during pregnancy allowing the pregnancy to be terminated. It is sad thing if this happens, but many people believe it is for the best. It is certainly not the government's business to interfere in this very personal decision.

Dan:

But, but ... babies! And God! And heaven! And hell!

hahahahahahahaha

Joe, I don't believe in heaven or hell, yes I do believe in G-d, though, as Nick Cave once sang 'I don't believe in an interventionist G-d'. But what does that have to do with anything?

You want to stop abortion? I'm all for that. Perhaps some sex education and contraception would be in order?

DL I am praying for you.(Sorry I could not resist but rest assured I will pray for you.)

And Joe you assume way too much by saying, "And an omnipotent God who lets makes babies suffer Downs syndrome isn't worthy of my adoration anyway.".

You assume people with handicapps or disabilities suffer inproportionately more than the rest of us. I suggest you check your premises and adjust your predjudices.

Google Walter "Shorty" Simms and I think you might see that children with Down Syndrome do offer great value to our society. Watch the great documentary on Walter who is 57 years old and has made lasting impacts on the men of Hampden-Sydney College, of whom I am one.

See, this is the thing about arguing in favor of aborting babies who would be born with handicaps:

Does all life have value? Or does only physically perfect life have value?

Who may say what value a person's life has? The person whose life it is? The parents? The state?

Where do we draw the line between "good enough" and "not good enough to be allowed to live"? A woman aborted her baby because the child would have been born with a cleft palate. Surgery to repair a cleft palate is routine and simple. That baby could have been looking "normal" two months after he or she was born.

Can anyone find parents of a handicapped child who say, "I wish my child had never been born", or "I wish I had had an abortion"? Or is it mostly people who have never had experience with children, handicapped or "perfect", who argue in favor of this sort of post-conception eugenics?

My $0.02...

Great blog, by the way.