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Now is the time to donate to Planned Parenthood!

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The medical procedure is called Dilation and Evacuation. It can be used to produce an abortion if the woman so requests. It is also used as a live-saving procedure for a pregnant woman undergoing a miscarriage (a.k.a. "spontaneous abortion"). And there is the rub. The "pro-birth" crowd equate the two and the various legislation does not differentiate between them considering all uses of D&C as "abortion". I can't begin to describe how wrong that is.

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Re: This: "In some of these states, the ballot measures were almost creating a permission structure for some folks who were die-hard Republicans but movable on abortion to vote for the ballot measure and then justify voting for Trump.” I think this is absolutely true! I consider myself well-educated, and the language around these bills on the pro-abortion-rights side (whenever they won, it was inevitably described as "enshrining" abortion in the state constitution) certainly created a belief that "these rights are carved in stone now, you don't have to worry." In addition, there are some situations in which state and even local law trumps national - for example, regarding minimum wage, if a state or city's minimum wage is higher than the national, employers have to pay the higher. If a state or city's employment laws are stricter than national laws, employers have to follow the strictest law. Similar with marijuana laws....I could go on. So it's no surprise if people in states that passed these bills felt like they were going to be safe and could vote for Trump.

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YOU ARE CORRECT: "Language Matters!" Therefore, I challenge you: If any statement I make or question I ask, is improper, irrelevant, deceptive, or incorrect, -- correct or even expose me. And, if I have left anything out, or been biased, please inform me.

This is my attempt to understand, to "capture," and to clearly and comprehensively communicate all sides of the very controversial and complex issues concerning Abortion. My Goal is that we try to agree on all the Facts, so that we can live together in a "Civil Society." I will speak slowly and methodically and hopefully -- comprehensibly! Here goes:

First, I must define my terms.

A "Zygote (brand new fetus)" is a "Product of Conception."

Contraception is "conception control" by those who believe that Pregnancy needs to be prevented.

"Birth Control" is used by those who believe that Pregnancy needs to be controlled. They imply, and even say, that an "'unwanted' pregnancy is a dangerous evil 'disease.'"

Abortion is used by those who believe that a Pregnancy needs to be ended.

"Health" is "being free from illness or injury." Is pregnancy an "illness: disease or period of sickness?" Does pregnancy "injure" the woman? Does the fetus injure its mother? I acknowledge that pregnancy affects the mother's body and mind.

Abortion Bans are an attempt to Regulate, Control, and in some cases prohibit certain "medications" and procedures. They are designed to prevent, by those who believe it to be so, "murder" -- the "Death of the Fetus."

The Debate is between those who wish to uphold the woman's "Reproductive Rights" and those who wish to uphold the baby's "Right to Life." And the mother's Right to "Self-Determination" against the Baby's Right to be considered a "Person" having "Equal Protection."

The mother indeed has the Right to "control her own body." Question: Does she have the Right to destroy the baby's body?

"Medicine:" diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. (Technically excludes "surgery: 'physical adjustment'"). What does Abortion Medicine or "Healthcare" "HEAL?" What does Abortion Abort?

According to Planned Parenthood, there are two kinds of Abortions: "Medical: Abortion pill" and "Surgical: 'in-clinic.'" Surgical includes "Vacuum," "D+E," "Induced Labor," and Chemical Abortion which "KILLS and EXPELS the Fetus" OUT OF the woman's body. What does Abortion "reproduce?"

Pertinent Questions (Your answers help determine your Position):

Is the Zygote (new Fetus) growing and developing within the mother's womb?

Is the Fetus alive? Is the Fetus Human? Is the Fetus "Viable: Capable of Living? Is it Female or Male?

Is the Fetus "dependent" upon its mother? What are the Rights and responsibilities of the mother?

Who has "Rights:" The Mother? The Fetus? The Father?

Does the Fetus have the Right to a Doctor? When is a Fetus entitled to "Pediatric Care?"

Is the Fetus entitled to "Healthcare? Does Abortion "kill" the Fetus?

Conceivably, could there not be a "Consensus" between the Mother and her OBGYN along with the Fetus and his or her Pediatrician?

Is the "Choice" clear yet? No woman should be "forced" into pregnancy. that is the definition of "rape!" But why are we trying to "control" or prevent the birth of another human being? That could be called "murder." Why does it have to be all or nothing? Why does it have to be "either/or" EXCEPT in the cases involving "saving the mother's life." THE question is, "Why should anyone have to die?" We as a Society must decide: Make our Choices and deal with the consequences.

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I'm not sure if Jessica has covered these, but has anyone seen coverage of these marches full of mostly white men wanting fetal personhood? I could barely sleep after seeing this:

https://www.jezebel.com/congresswomans-daughter-arrested-for-counterprotesting-anti-abortion-mens-march?mc_cid=99f41105d2&mc_eid=72c0ba192f&utm_source=PMNTNL&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=241119&md5=8f78b69af0033a5504dc167acb2fc2d5

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founding

We had a march in Boston made up of Catholic men marching against abortion. Ugh. We also have a group of NeoNazis who march and I’m betting they some of the same guys. These Catholic guys have done this before. They were met by women dressed as clowns mocking them.

On a good note, several former Catholic hospitals in the Boston area have been bought by secular entities and will now offer abortion and contraception and discontinue any other Catholic misogynistic “care”.

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Thank goodness for strong women governors who stand up for the rights of women who need abortions. Yay!! Keep it up!! We need heroes!!! We women and the people who care about us should form a union and go on strike in states governed by republicans. Strike until bans are overturned. Those asses will see that nothing will get done if we are on strike!!

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founding

Something that has always bothered me, but maybe the language is currently in healthcare-rights favor... In most cases in the US, leave for maternity time etc is covered under Short term disability insurances.

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Jessica, speaking of language, why doesn't our side go on the GUTS OFFENSIVE? Start counter-attacking the foundations of their intellectual and emotional appeal? This multi-pronged messaging attack would feature pro-family rights, pro-religious rights, pro Bill of Rights, pro honor of men. and pro-science. Different emphases for different folks. Also, it would address the continuing failure of feminist groups to use the real-world language of this fight: Its not abortion. It's death by hemorrhage, death by infection, or death by untreated miscarriages. It's taking domination and control of the vagina and uterus of every young girl from puberty until middle-aged menopause. Parents, is that why you and your man created a baby girl?? To perform slave labor in the uterine field. To suffer vaginal rape from the inside out to reproduce the species?? Why should Republican politicians forcibly ejaculate into peoples bodies and minds a pre-Christian pagan idea of a spirit of life in the product of conception, which masquerades as "Christian" over a different ensoulment idea - the Bible-Judeo-Christian (BJC) version? What happened to the American founder's Bill of Rights prohibiting official religion in the Laws? And also prohibiting practicing the BJC version of ensoulment in an individual's own life? Is it "only" the First amendment of our Constitution?

Where is the traditional man? Duty to defend? Or duty to rape - taking possession of peoples most intimate parts to use them for the rapist's purpose against the will of the victim? Or duty to say it's only a "female problem"(sic!) Okay, there's a lot more, but we need to go on the ideological counter-attack against the foundations of our opponents messaging of "baby...love...God..." in order to to convince people to support slave labor, death for the disobedient by hemorrhage or infection, prison time, rape, violating the core meaning of the Western Enlightenment (WE) - Self-Determination, Individualism, Liberty.

Anyone want to work on this messaging project and get it disseminated by leveraging? MESSAGE ME. If you know how to get through to Jessica or other pro-WE organs, try. Thanks for reading.

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I’m definitely interested and working in that direction. Email me at contact@texaschristians.org

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I like where you're going - I think another is 'Government/State Overreach' ....... this is generally something that resonates with people in the south.

Also 'Physical Liberty' : no one can do anything to your body without your consent, that includes vaccinations- something else the religious crowd will understand. They have a hypocrisy problem; they don't want to be told they have to get vaccinations - but they have no problem telling us abortions should be banned.

We're dealing with people here that have marinated in toxic christianity for the last 50 years.

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I hope all sympathetic governors do as Gov. Kotek has done. What a wonderful world that would be.

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It’s not just fetal personhood they’re after. It’s cell and embryonic personhood. The third word of the 14th Amendment is ‘born,’ not fertilized. I wish we could coordinate a national strategy to take this on—ask them why they support this view. It’s not in the Bible.

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Correct BORN.

And while I'm not a churchgoer, I'm more of a atheist/free thinker these days - pretty sure the bible even says "at first breath". But the bible doesn't mean anything to these people - it is all about domination, control - they are literally power crazed. It's the Dominionist movement.

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"fetal personhood" is just language describing protecting any part of a pregnancy as if it were a child or infant. "gestational personhood" is more precise but has too many consonants. It doesn't roll off the tongue as easily. Language does matter and sometimes being able to say it easily matters too.

Sorry, later correction. I meant "syllables" not "consonants".

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But the fetus develops at a particular point in a pregnancy. I don’t let them control the language they want to use to deceive.

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Good, then use "gestational personhood". That covers the whole pregnancy. The basic stages are, zygote, (fertilized ova), blastocyst, embryo, fetus and then, maybe, neonate which is what you get at birth. If you are really concerned, we need some clear differences to clarify the differences that occur between a fetus, a fetus ready to be born and a neonate. This is also important in confronting the non-medical term "fetal viability" which tries to isolate pregnancies from their development in the uterus, as if the woman were merely some sort of "baby box". "fetal viability" also serves to prevent women from access to late term abortions.

You are right to be concerned.

(Correction again, "zygote" is the proper term for a fertilized ova.)

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Why? I know the various stages. I prefer ‘prenate’ suggested by Rebecca Todd Peters. Using ‘gestational personhood’ is no different than accepting fetal personhood as accurate for all stages of development. I think you’re missing the point. While there are useful discussions from a medical ethics perspective to talk about personhood once a rudimentary brain develops at the cusp of second and third trimester, the idea that a fertilized egg and embryo prior to development of organs are persons is the pertinent issue.

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I wonder why we aren’t protesting at Crisis Pregnancy Centers? Why aren’t we telling women that there is no medical care at these centers and they are being lied to? Why are we so bullied, but never fight back?

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There’s nothing stopping us. I have a “The Bible is not against abortion” sign special made for those centers.

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Agree ! We should !

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Good idea. Take the initiative; counter-attack. Also see my about 10 min. ago.

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Giving a drug test without consent and then pressing charges doesn’t make sense to me. In my opinion it seems she was targeted. There are pregnant women smoking, drinking etc and people aren’t arresting them. My heart goes out to her and her family.

The potential Texas law preventing abortion companies from providing guidance for pills etc is unconstitutional. Of course that doesn’t stop them. I got a VPN so I can be prepared. I want to be able to read AED! This Texas resident is getting ready!!!

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If they can get fetal personhood laws passed, I predict they will start arresting pregnant women for smoking, drinking alcohol or caffeine, or any of a number of things.

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Most likely. Horrible.

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"Anytime they have an infection." Yes! its not a fucking ear infection, its sepsis! but yes separating guilty women and innocent "babies" Is the point. If we are erased or demonized then no one has to think about us as not mattering more than an unborn fetus, even a wanted one. I would hope I would come first but no.

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There is absolutely NOTHING pro-life, pro-family, or pro-woman about the Republican Party. Safe, dependable, universal childcare would help so many families, and that’s just for starters. Republicans’ actual policies are cruelty at every possible opportunity.

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Exactly - and not only that, but they are filled with pedophiles and predators. Mike Johnson's consistent propaganda he spews that 'Republicans are the party of the rule of law'........ well he desperately tries to keep Matt Gaetz report hidden. Then the fucker turns around and prays. As if!!!

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As we know, Johnson is a Christian nationalist who wants to impose his views on everyone, and he's more than willing to deal with the Devil to do so.

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I'm so incensed I've started to just openly comment about stuff to strangers in stores when I get an opening. Yesterday, standing in line at Kohls, I was talking to some women and one remarked about her granddaughter's miraculous early birth (it was a nice story) and the other woman said "there's a REASON for that!" and before she could say "god" I said "yeah, medicine. Doctors. Medical technology. Good medical schools. Science. Expertise, which is all about to get gutted in this country when these government agencies get gutted." She was stunned. The other lady agreed.

I've lost it.

I had to return bad chicken to a store that led me to talk to the poor clerk about climate change and how I've worked on an earth science textbook and no one has a right to not "believe" in climate science.

Yeah I've lost it....

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Good for you! Let them have it! They don't deserve to spread their religious lies!

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Ok but I actually love this for you

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I hear ya! I no longer give a fuck what people think either, because it's so goddamn outrageous.

Someone on reddit mentioned 'Harambe timeline"....... I had to look that one up, it was the Silverback Gorilla that was killed in 2016 at the Cincinnati Zoo- like a doomsday event, a harbinger of Dumpster 2016 election. I told my husband the other night now we are in the "Bear 399 timeline"...... the oldest female bear in Grand Tetons that had the most cubs, was hit by a car in September- and then here comes Dumpster again.

Humans are the issue, we always have been.

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deletedNov 20·edited Nov 20
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founding

I saw the same segment. The woman interviewed worked for Planned Parenthood! She said that Trump “gets” her, whatever that means and was sure Trump would leave it to states to decide. The reporter pointed out that PA was a safe state, so this woman wasn’t immediately threatened by an abortion ban.

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