[Vision2020] The Trials and Tribulations of Providing and Obtaining Legal Abortions

Wed Jan 23 16:11:57 PST 2008

For those of you who were unable to tune in to our local Palouse Pundit's commentary entitled "The Trials and Tribulations of Providing and Obtaining Legal Abortions", perhaps because you were trying to keep your family warm by forcing out that last degree of warmth from the old wood stove as ice was forming on your bedroom cabinetry, or because you were partaking in some fire dances being performed by local native hunksters at a luau as you sipped on your fourth maitai at the camp fire, you can listen to it again for the first time at:

http://www.NickGier.com

On a more local note:  This item was discovered in yesterday's "Public Records" section of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News . . .

"Saturday

4:24 p.m. — Residents in the 700 block of Fairview Drive were cited for not shoveling their sidewalks"

Book 'em, Dano.

Question:  Who should the police cite for not properly maintaining the intersections of Washington/Third, Washington/Fifth, Washington/Sixth, Washington/Sweet these past couple weeks?

Aloha and seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

> From: suehovey at moscow.com> To: nickgier at adelphia.net; vision2020 at moscow.com> Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:23:25 -1000> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] The Trials and Tribulations of Providing and Obtaining Legal Abortions> > Thanks, Nick. I'm not home for the radio show, so I appreciated the > commentary. For those interested in reading further on the abortion rights > issue, I recommend Alexander Sanger's, Beyond Choice: Reproductive Freedom > in the 21st Century. Sanger is the grandson of Margaret Sanger and the > President of the New York organization of Planned Parenthood.> > Sue> ----- Original Message ----- > From: <nickgier at adelphia.net>> To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>> Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 8:34 PM> Subject: [Vision2020] The Trials and Tribulations of Providing and Obtaining > Legal Abortions> > > > Greetings:> >> > This is my Roe v. Wade radio commentary for tomorrow morning. My complete > > article on abortion can be found on my guvmit supported vanity website at > > www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/abortion.htm.> >> > Here is a toast to our women's reproductive freedom,> >> > Nick Gier> >> > THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF PROVIDING> > AND OBTAINING LEGAL ABORTIONS> >> > As we celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the granting of > > reproductive freedom for America's women, it worth acknowledging the > > sacrifices of those who have made this freedom possible.> >> > Dr. Susan Wicklund, who managed an abortion clinic in Bozeman, Montana > > until 1998, has just released her book "This Common Secret: My Journey as > > an Abortion Doctor."> >> > Wicklund tells about how she was forced to buy a .38 Special and a > > bulletproof vest to protect herself from anti-abortion protesters. > > Wicklund's daughter had to be driven to school in a police cruiser.> >> > Before Wicklund went on "60 Minutes" in 1998, she felt that she had to > > tell her maternal grandmother, who did not yet know about her > > controversial medical work. Wicklund steeled herself for yet another > > anti-abortion protest.> >> > Instead, Wicklund learned that many years earlier, her grandmother, > > desperate to help a pregnant friend, tried to dislodge the fetus with a > > wire, and then watched in horror as she bled to death. The grandmother > > was proud to know that her granddaughter was providing safe abortions that > > were not available in her time.> >> > The Alan Guttmacher Institute has estimated that 4 million illegal > > abortions are performed in Latin America each year, and approximately > > 800,000 women are hospitalized because of complications resulting from > > unsafe techniques. It is estimated that 1,500 Mexican women die each year > > because of clandestine abortions.> >> > Wicklund tells the story about a 14-year-old girl who came to her clinic. > > It took her some time to elicit the truth about who had impregnated her. > > Wicklund immediately called police when she learned that the girl had been > > raped by her father, the person who had accompanied her to the clinic.> >> > Access is a major problem. There is only one clinic in Mississippi, and > > 89> > percent of U.S. counties do not provide this fully legal service. Many > > women have to drive hundreds of miles to find a clinic, and then sometimes > > wait, spending scarce resources on food and lodging, 24 hours before the > > procedure can be performed.> >> > “It’s so incredibly insulting,” Dr. Wicklund said in an interview. “The > > 24-hour waiting period implies that women don’t think about it on their > > own. To me a lot of the abortion restrictions are about control of women, > > about power.”> >> > Wicklund's policy is that she will not perform abortions after 14 weeks, > > and 91 percent of U.S. abortions are performed this early. This number > > would be higher if it were not for a lack of access and a self-righteous > > pro-life culture that prevents many women from having safer abortions > > during the first trimester.> >> > When she was on the Diane Rehm show on Jan. 8, 2008, Wicklund answered a > > call from a man who said he was surprised that she, unlike other abortion > > providers, was a caring person and didn't do it for the money. Wicklund > > assured him that all the abortion doctors she knew were good people and > > that they could make much more money in any other area of medicine.> >> > Wicklund did not defend herself very well when it came to questions about > > the proper cut-off point for abortions. She was quick to cite the many > > studies that demonstrate that the early fetus does not experience pain, > > but she did not respond well to the challenge that there is brain activity > > very early on. The best answer is that early brain activity occurs in all > > animal fetuses, but we don't grant a serious moral right to life to them.> >> > The morally significant time is the explosive brain development from 25-33 > > weeks, the period that the Supreme Court decided that the state does > > indeed have a right to defend the rights of the fetus.> >> > There is a compelling moral and legal symmetry between the end of a > > person's life (the brain-dead Terri Schiavo, for example) and the > > significant brain activity that signals the beginning of a person's life > > in the third trimester.> >> > Our moral, legal, and religious traditions have always made a distinction > > between a biological human being and a moral and legal person. Christian > > theologians, both Protestant and Catholic, followed the Greeks in holding > > that a person is a rational being, and the great Catholic philosopher > > Thomas Aquinas argued that such a being does not exist in the womb until > > late in pregnancy.> >> > In 1973 the good justices were eminently conservative in following a tried > > and true ancient tradition on the status of the fetus.> >> >> >> >> > =======================================================> > List services made available by First Step Internet,> > serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.> > http://www.fsr.net> > mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com> > =======================================================> > > > =======================================================> List services made available by First Step Internet, > serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. > http://www.fsr.net > mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com> =======================================================
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