I'm very concerned that if Obama gets elected (and it looks very likely now, I just saw some really discouraging stats on the battleground states on Fox & Friends) that many women will feel as if they have no choice but to have an abortion. Take into account that there is already a great deal of coercion involved in many abortions.
Murder rates are very high for pregnant women. If a woman refuses to have an abortion sometimes she faces verbal abuse, beatings, or death. Many times the woman is put under a lot of pressure, especially if she's carrying a special needs child or it is suspected she might be.
Some really sad quotations are on this page:
http://www.unfairchoice.info/unwanted.htmMy parents] ... told me to leave the house and forget that I was their daughter.
I left the house with no job, no money, no home and nowhere to turn, feeling utterly abandoned and alone. Still, I was certain I would not get an abortion. I wanted my child. ... my father sent several messages urging me to have an abortion. I refused. But as I began to feel more desperate, I shut down my feelings ... functioning more like a surreal observer than someone in control. ... No one explained to me the baby’s development or what the abortion would be like. ... I lay there just wishing that I could die. – Theresa Bonopartis
I collapsed in sheer exhaustion.
I told her that I had been outside for hours.
I cried hysterically curled over with my head in my hands on my knees. I said that 'I feel like I'm depriving my child of life.' Our conversation was cut short by the doctor. The pressure was on. I stopped crying in disbelief when the counselor told me that if I was going to abort then I would have to do it right now.
The counselor said 'Look, I'll give you five minutes to think about it and when I come back, I want your answer.' Now I was going into a state of panic and shock. I could barely speak ... The counselor glared at me, sighed a deep sigh and said 'Look, they're all waiting for you, you know' ... in the end I weakly obeyed their commands.
– Genevieve, in Giving Sorrow Words
Sometimes, it's not only the woman's personal life or counselors or doctors who are putting pressure and coercion onto her, but also insurance companies get involved. Sometimes if a woman has a prenatal test that rightly or wrongly indicates that the baby might not be completely healthy, or conform to the artificial gold standard of "normal", then the insurance company will refuse to pay for the medical care that the child might need after birth, but offers to pay for the abortion instead, because to the company it's much less expensive than paying for corrective surgeries or other treatments that a special needs baby might require. Sometimes the insurance companies will refuse to pay for the birth itself, but will pay for an abortion.
Laws have been passed in some states to prevent this kind of coercion, but it still goes on.
Now imagine what national health care would be like. Is the government going to pay to help a child with a heart defect, for example, or will they almost insist on an abortion? I've read at least one story where a mother carrying a baby with a defect was asked automatically when she was going to schedule the abortion. The doctor didn't even ask IF she wanted one, just when she wanted one.
I'm afraid Obama's national health care is going to make situations like this much, much worse! It will leave many women traumatized and will leave them feeling forced to abort, while maybe otherwise they would have chosen to keep their baby.
Topic: Obama and forced abortions (Read 523 times)