"...my posessions are causing me suspicion, but there's no proof."

[ebonlock]

So Sixpence None the Richer have done a cover of "Don't Dream it's Over". They took what was a lovely ballad and sucked all the life and emotion out of it. Rather like Whitney Houston's cover of "Colors of the Wind". I just sighed when I heard it this morning and have been playing the Crowded House original in my mind ever since.

The songs of my youth are being "covered" now, I feel so ancient.

And my computer at work is misbehaving again. If I had a baseball bat I'd beat the thing down to its component parts, and then I'd stomp on those for good measure. The system is either "ok" or it's dropping network for no goddman reason at all. And even ok is starting to piss me off. I'm sure some people would label it "quirky", to me it's more "If you don't cut this shit out I'm going to heave you out the nearest window!".

Grrr.

And what was one of the first things I read this morning? Here's a little hint:
Chipping Away at Roe

Well, looks like the fundies are getting what they want after all. Excuse me while I find a nice quiet, secluded place to vomit.

There, much better.

I could spend the morning posting links here, begging you all to read up on the subject, sign petitions, do something...but I'm just too heartsick to do it. I'll wail to the heavens tomorrow, today I need to think about what this means to me, what it means to my future. It scares me, I won't deny that, it sickens me, it makes me angry too.

I grew up knowing my body and my reproductive organs were my own, to do with as I saw fit. That may no longer be entirely true. I can't be trusted, apparently, with my body's own ability to create life.

It's just one procedure, many will say, but it opens the door, and what's beyond that door should terrify every woman of childbearing age. And if you don't think about this, don't educate yourself, don't work against what may be coming, then you will have no one to blame but yourself when you lose the right to choose.

Comments

[mallen.livejournal.com]

From the article:

That means that for all the sound and fury, the law could have no practical impact. Even some on the right wonder why abortion opponents have spent so much energy on it. Mark Crutcher, of the anti-abortion group Life Dynamics, says the partial-birth fight has allowed politicians to take a public stand without any real consequences. “Bush gets to play pro-life without having to do anything pro-life,” he says.

D&X accounted for 0.17% of all procedures last year. This law will pass, it will be signed. It will be challenged in court. It will be struck down.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't make gestures like contacting your Congresscritter (Anna Eshoo -- she will already vote against this anyway), but it doesn't sound like the beginning of the end of legal abortion as we know it.

[centerfire.livejournal.com]

Testify.

[technocowboy.livejournal.com]

And keep in mind that there are other ways aside from invasive procedures to deal with an unwanted pregnancy. Nobody should be told what they can and cannot do with their body. There are so many things that I could say, and want to say, but you know what? I'm a guy. I'll never have to make the case for or against abortion for myself. Each woman should be able to make that decision for herself.

Re:

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

D&X accounted for 0.17% of all procedures last year. This law will pass, it will be signed. It will be challenged in court. It will be struck down.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't make gestures like contacting your Congresscritter (Anna Eshoo -- she will already vote against this anyway), but it doesn't sound like the beginning of the end of legal abortion as we know it.

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but I think the proponents of the law are pretty clear that they see this as a major victory against abortion as a whole. They are at least up front about their goals where this is concerned, and I'm taking that into consideration.

Re:

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

And keep in mind that there are other ways aside from invasive procedures to deal with an unwanted pregnancy. Nobody should be told what they can and cannot do with their body. There are so many things that I could say, and want to say, but you know what? I'm a guy. I'll never have to make the case for or against abortion for myself. Each woman should be able to make that decision for herself.

Bless you, dear, that's kind of what I was hoping to hear from at least one of the guys commenting on this post. This whole thing may not seem frightening to most folks, hey, it's just a single procedure done quite infrequently; but listen to what the people who are behind this law really want. They see this as a stepping stone to undoing Roe v. Wade, I'm not saying this, they are.

There is an agenda at work here, that goes far beyond a single procedure, and it's an agenda that scares the piss out of me.

[aelfsciene.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the law might technically amount to nothing, but it's still being passed, and still making people think more about abortion, and like the article also said, "gaining points with the public could be the biggest win of all." If we estimate roughly half the country is male, and the majority of them don't favor abortion (because they just can't understand, there's nothing comparable in male physiology; they may not be strongly against, but they won't fight for it), and then add in all the devout Christians, male and female, and well. Doesn't look so good for us if such things are ever put to a vote of some sort, especially given the current political climate. Like E said, this opens a door. Starts things in motion, gives them at least a nominal victory, in that they got something passed. And if the judicial system ever gets as stacked as congress has, well. Again, doesn't look so good.

My body, my choice. Why in god's name would anyone want a child brought into the world by a mother who doesn't want it?

[esmerel.livejournal.com]

The songs of my youth are being "covered" now, I feel so ancient.

Dixie Chicks, Landslide.

RALPH.

[mallen.livejournal.com]

They are at least up front about their goals where this is concerned, and I'm taking that into consideration.

I don't think this particular policy point has ever been "veiled" by the anti-choice folks. Yes, they're happy. Yay for us, look what we did, but again, they're all mostly cheering because they haven't had much to cheer about since 1974.

[mallen.livejournal.com]

If we estimate roughly half the country is male, and the majority of them don't favor abortion (because they just can't understand, there's nothing comparable in male physiology; they may not be strongly against, but they won't fight for it)

Hey, I resemble that remark.

I can sum up my philosophy about abortion in three words: legal, safe, infrequent. If push came to shove -- and I mean a real sea change on abortion -- I'd be willing to do what I could to effect change back to where we are now.

[windrose.livejournal.com]

I'm a guy. I'll never have to make the case for or against abortion for myself. Each woman should be able to make that decision for herself.

One of the oddest conversations I ever had involved my (then) 60 year old staunchly Republican father saying much the same thing. For him, it's a woman's issue and something men have no right mucking with. OTOH, simply *because* it's a "female thing", I doubt very much he even pays attention to abortion laws, or that he would make any kind of a political stand should the the right to choose be taken away.

[windrose.livejournal.com]

I hear things like this and start muttering, "All hail the Republic of Gilead." Because it's *not* that much of a stretch, and I honestly don't think that men can understand the sheer terror such news can cause to women.

Re:

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

I can sum up my philosophy about abortion in three words: legal, safe, infrequent. If push came to shove -- and I mean a real sea change on abortion -- I'd be willing to do what I could to effect change back to where we are now.

I'm going to hold you to that, dear };)

Re:

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

A good feint still hurts if it's ignored. I suspect this still applies if you swing ideology instead of steel.

If I assume that the actual motions for this law are obviously futile, I would guess that the proponents are trying to convince people that it's a major victory. Social truth does not correspond to actual truth, but it still can be effective in furthering one's goals--especially when there are so many people out there who won't (for whatever reason) think for themselves.

I do believe it's my turn to say, "Testify" *G*

Re:

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

I hear things like this and start muttering, "All hail the Republic of Gilead." Because it's *not* that much of a stretch, and I honestly don't think that men can understand the sheer terror such news can cause to women.

It's very hard to empathize with this fear because, in this case, there is no male equivalent. The concept that a part of their body might be under the control of the state is so utterly foreign to them. I'm happy for them, I mean it's a hideous concept that they won't ever have to deal with, but at the same time I find it quite frustrating. Being told, "You have no reason to fear" isn't really helpful.

[tamago.livejournal.com]

What galls me is that most of the people I hear campaigning against abortion also seem to be vehemently opposed to birth control.

I found out yesterday that a woman I knew in high school is pregnant with her fifth child. What makes people think that huge families like that are a good idea in the modern age?

[tyee.livejournal.com]

Hey! I like the Dixie Chicks version too. It's one of the only covers I'll listen to.

Re:

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

What galls me is that most of the people I hear campaigning against abortion also seem to be vehemently opposed to birth control.

Not just birth control, but sex education too, lest we forget. Sadly these folks didn't seem to catch onto the concept that the "Just say no" campaign on drugs didn't work. Abstinence, it's what's for dinner.

[mallen.livejournal.com]

The concept that a part of their body might be under the control of the state is so utterly foreign to them.

If men had to give birth, abortion would be in the Bill of Rights. And the state would pay for birth control. I don't doubt it for a second.

[tamago.livejournal.com]

Beef- It's what made America BIG.

[mister-sunshine.livejournal.com]

If men had to give birth, we'd probably be in the same situation that women are in now. If both sexes had an equal chance to conceive (hey, that would make twins an interesting experience), then I think many things would be open to negotiation. :D

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I've heard that cover and was rather frightened by its soullessness.
However, the songs of your childhood have been getting covered for many years now. 10000 Maniacs did a cover of 'Every Day is Like Sunday' back in the early '90s. Tom Jones' cover of 'Lust for Life' is actually, in its goofy straight ahead enthusiasm, cheesily fun. There's the Quentin Tarver version of 'When Doves Cry' and the Broadbent/Roxburgh 'Like a Virgin' from Luhrmann films....