Melanie, of Sparks from a Combustible Mind, still filling in for Frank, aka PCGuy, who is taking a temporary hiatus from his Truthful Tuesday prompt. This week Melanie wants to know…
Should an individual have autonomy over their own bodies and the decisions made about their own body?
Oh boy, here we go. The short answer is yes. I am not a fan of body piercing or tattoos, and I would never subject my body to either. But if someone else might choose to get a body full of tattoos and piercings, I might question their choices, but not their right to do so. If a man wants to get a vasectomy, does anyone try to stand in his way? If a woman chooses to have a hysterectomy, does anyone stand in her way? Similarly, a woman should have the right to manage her own reproductive health care, including pregnancy and abortion. It’s no one else’s business. As I frequently say, whatever floats your boat. For those people who believe abortion is wrong, the answer is simple. Don’t have an abortion. That’s their choice. Why do they feel compelled to impose their choices on others?
Ought the government be allowed to get involved in such personal decisions?
Isn’t it interesting that Republicans used to be the party that preached that the government should stay out of their bedrooms and out of their personal, private lives? Oh how things have changed. Now they are passing laws banning abortions and even making having an abortion a crime. They want to ban contraceptives and to condemn same sex relationships and let businesses refuse to serve members of the LGBT community. How much more personal and private can you get?
Republicans consider mandates requiring the wearing a face mask during a pandemic that has taken the lives of more that a million Americans to be an infringement of their personal freedoms and liberties. But making abortions illegal is fine and dandy. Talk about hypocritical.
The government should be allowed to pass laws designed to ensure safety when it comes the health and welfare of its citizens, but that is it. Today, with abortions being legal, the procedure, like any other medical procedure, must be performed by a licensed health care provider. If abortions in the United States are declared illegal (or criminal), abortions will still be performed, but in so-called “back alleys” by unlicensed, unregulated providers. Is that really where we, as a nation, want to go?
Some Republican states are even considering laws making it illegal for women to travel out of state (to a state where abortions are still legally provided) without a certification that they are not pregnant. And you thought my post about the U.S. becoming a real-life Handmaid’s Tale was over the top.
This, That, and The Other 
Very well stated!! Thank you!
“For those people who believe abortion is wrong, the answer is simple. Don’t have an abortion. That’s their choice. Why do they feel compelled to impose their choices on others?”
YES, YES and YES!!!!
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Agree 100% of course, as any rational person should 😀
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Sorry, did you just argue that somebody should have the right to decide what is injected into their body?
Okay, I’m being mischievous. My point is just that it’s a complex issue.
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Yes it is complex, but in the context of abortion and women’s rights, it’s not complex at all. And hey, if someone wants to inject horse tranquilizer into his body to treat COVID, go right ahead. Maybe it will put that person out of his misery. Forever.
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Somebody who is pro-life would just argue that there are two people involved, not just a mother. It’s an unwinnable argument.
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Except that a fetus is not a person who can survive outside of the womb. I know some believe that a “person” exists from the moment of conception, but most believe that personhood really starts when a newborn takes its first breath after delivery
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That’s the thing though. It’s that “belief” that cements people, either way. That’s why I say it’s an unwinnable argument – because that core belief/disbelief makes people intransigent.
I doubt anybody ever changed their mind in a debate about abortion. Because it stems from that binary position.
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But just because some people (a minority of people in the U.S.) embrace the idea that a fetus is a person and that having an abortion is murder, doesn’t mean that having an abortion should be illegal and a criminal offense. As I said in my post. If you believe abortion is wrong, don’t get an abortion. But what right do you have trying to impose your beliefs — through legislation and the courts — on those who don’t share them? I don’t believe that God exists. Should my believe that God doesn’t exist be criminalized because you believe that God does exist and you want everyone to abide by your beliefs?
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It’s that whole “want everybody to abide by your beliefs” thing.
That’s what people do. When politicians make some law which says “x is illegal”, that’s exactly what they’re doing.
So it doesn’t surprise me one bit that people think that way about abortions, too.
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Just a thought: reiteration of talking points put out by big pharma/big business doesn’t advance your best interests. Nor women’s.
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It’s unbelievable!
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It used to be, but sadly, it’s not anymore.
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America is headed backwards!
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Sad, but true
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🥲
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I found this conversation, just now (hadn’t seen it before), as I’m awaiting for the availability of a conversation that happened this evening on the same show.
The first guest, here, wrote an excellent book
… called THE MEANS OF REPRODUCTION
https://www.msnbc.com/the-mehdi-hasan-show/watch/the-debate-over-protests-outside-judges-houses-139736133763
The Debate over Protests outside Judges’ Houses
Outrage continues over abortion rights protests outside Supreme Court justices’ houses, because those homes are private. But is this the best move by the left? MSNBC political analysts Michelle Goldberg and Brittany Packnett Cunningham join Mehdi to discuss. May 10, 2022
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Oops. Not that same show; the same show as I posted at this other comments section today.
https://fivedotoh.com/2022/05/06/ramifications/#comment-196435
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Here it is. The whole thing was and is worth taking in the information, but the part I’m trying to feature (while I don’t know — other than the fact it’s pretty long — why the segment isn’t getting put up quickly on the msnbc website) is from 7:30 in (while there is significant widely relevant run up to it from the start) until about 16:40 >>>
https://topnewsshow.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber-5-10-22/
The Beat With Ari Melber – 5/10/22
At the end, we have a comparison of McConnell’s tan suit to Obama’s tan suit.
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https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/301355/the-means-of-reproduction-by-michelle-goldberg/
This book is excellent, not just an opinion piece. I’ve recommended it many a time to very many people.
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Only under extreme conditions do I think I could actually have an abortion, but that is MY choice. There are about a million different reasons why women might choice to have one, but that is THEIR choice. I saw a post on FB that said as soon as boys go through a change they should have a vasectomy until they complete a parental class and are deemed fit to raise a child then the procedure can be reversed… why not impose that? I am so scared this nation is moving backwards quickly instead of making progress.
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Wow! The vascectomy idea is intense; does put the idea of forced childbirth into some perspective.
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“I am so scared this nation is moving backwards quickly instead of making progress.” We should all be scared, because that is what is happening.
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I agree. It is frightening.
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From the opening post: Some Republican states are even considering laws making it illegal for women to travel out of state (to a state where abortions are still legally provided) without a certification that they are not pregnant.
I am extremely pro freedom of movement. I’m against privatizing roads and bridges (such that you’d have to pay tolls to trolls before you could pass). So, you can guess what I think of this. And this has the added feature of discrimination based on sex and gender. And good ol’ infringement of privacy.
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I would like to think that if any state tried to impose such restrictions on women’s travel, it would be immediately struck down by the Supreme Court. But with a 6-3 conservative majority, who knows?
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Another scary possibility
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https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-america-is-living-under-the-obliviousness-of-the-supreme-court-139660357541
Lawrence: America is living under the obliviousness of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says Americans are “becoming addicted to wanting particular outcomes, not living with the outcomes we don’t like.” MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell breaks down fmr. Defense Secy. Mark Esper’s “banana republic” comments and explains how they show the United States is a “Trump republic.” May 9, 2022
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Bravo Fandango! A pleasure to read your thoughts on what is a very prickly subject indeed!
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absolutely Fandango! I agree, peoples bodies are theirs, no one else’s and definitely it is their choice to do as they will with their bodies!
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I just shake my head……..
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Notice that this officer (not “the” police) assaulted a woman as soon as he saw her and came near her.
https://tyt.com/watch/6e6Xst82zYACGGyweSOkMg/2t84kRO3meGNCBnJOimpKz/clips/2mWO7f4Bq6bcoph3qO6K25
Homeland Security officers and the LAPD got violent with pro-choice protesters in May of 2022 (not quite two weeks ago)]
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https://tyt.com/watch/6e6Xst82zYACGGyweSOkMg/2t84kRO3meGNCBnJOimpKz/clips/2mWO7f4Bq6bcoph3qO6K25
Ben Shapiro, shilling for the ilk of the Federalist Society, either doesn’t understand or lies about what Alito actually wrote.
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https://tyt.com/watch/6e6Xst82zYACGGyweSOkMg/2t84kRO3meGNCBnJOimpKz/clips/7DEWoiE1Oe7fJ0ZLnEK4O0
Here’s the direct link for the
“… self-proclaimed debate lord …”
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https://tyt.com/watch/6e6Xst82zYACGGyweSOkMg/2t84kRO3meGNCBnJOimpKz/clips/5GRr7iKx4y1d97QOyUSPdy
I think this is the right link, now, for the
Homeland Secutity and LAPD segment
(while it could be found below before).
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