"The stupid thing about this is that the right-wing legislators think they will stop abortions by passing these laws."

The above quote is one of the more insightful remars made yet.

I heard from my aunt years back that girls who 'got in trouble' would purchase penny royal from the druggist and swallow it (I don't know how much). This old memory thinks it caused convulsions and resulted in an abortion. The era: 1920s and 1930s.

I am of two minds to do with abortion. I oppose it because (as has been noted by both Martin and Joe speaking of their own views), I perceive it to be wrong on 'moral' grounds--I am strongly opposed to it being used as a retroactive form of birth control. I think abortion on demand is the ultimate method of turning people into statistics. Uh, I was too preoccupied to use precautions and I need to get rid of my little mistake. HOWEVER, kids get pregnant because 'young hearts beat fast' and things happen. Unwanted pregnancies occur for myriad reasons--not all of them nice or good.

The story someone told about a friend who chose abortion as the last option is one I have heard many times. The gal still agonizes over it, and no doubt will for the rest of her life. I don't think the decision to abort is entered into lightly by most people.

As a very young teenager, my best friend and his girlfriend got involved, used no precautions (mostly because neither of them knew how to and I was no help because I didn't know what 'precautions' were, and she got pregnant. We had no one to turn to because who could you tell that to in 1962. They were fourteen years old (I was thirteen). We finally found an abortionist--I am pretty sure the guy and his nurse were not a moonlighting doctor and nurse team. She lived through it, but I understand she was never again able to get pregnant after that.

We cannot go back to those days. If there are going to be abortions, then they must be handled by people who know what they are doing--and that means medical doctors in hospitals or clinics that are sterile and equipped with the necessary life suppost systems for the girl or woman in the event things don't quite go as planned. Too many kids have left 'butcher shops' and bled to death or died from needless infection. No more of that. Please.

Bobert pointed out that education is the key. I have to agree. There is no 'easy' answer for this. Abortion is often wrong. It is often not wrong, too. In a perfect world, abortion would not be necessary; nor would it be seen as an answer to aspects of human carelessness, oversight or accident. However, the world ain't perfect.

I disagree that the attempt to criminalize abortion is specifically meant to be a mechanism to control women, but I understand how people could see it that way. This swing to the right and the polarization of people scares the hell outta me, but it is simply a continuance of an agenda that seems to be there but never talked about, an agenda to dominate all people everywhere in all aspects of their lives. It is prompted by all the wrong motives. As was noted above, likely the best bet in getting the US back on track is to vote very wisely in 2006. I wish you well."