This is a tremendously important article. These end-of-life situations with babies or fetuses that cannot survive are the most gut wrenching thing I can think of…A parent who has gone for months and months in the hope that they will have a baby only to find that little life they have nurtured will not survive is a crippling blow. Nobody says there is anything wrong with euthanasia for pets (.even though there are pet. Owners who use it for selfish reasons). But think how the excruciating pain of that situation must be intensified a million times over for a parent. Doctors will ensure life is preserved if there is hope. Babies are kept in the NICU almost from the moment of viability. Everyone in the medical setting wants the child to survive if possible, but not to be left in excruciating pain. To bandy what parents and doctors are with when you know nothing about it is the height of callousness. Leave the parents the hell alone!
The politicians know full well when they talk about abortion at nine months that people will envision healthy, happy babies being killed. It is not that. These politicians should be so deeply ashamed of themselves
Every time the VP says she will sign a bill into law if they make her President, I wait for the follow-up. Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and surrogate speeches rarely emphasize, if change is wanted, how necessary it is to vote Democrat all the way down the ballot, especially for Senators and House Representatives federally. Too often over the years people have chosen D candidates for President and R candidates for Senate and House. As though they are saying I’d rather have an ineffective government than one with all the power it needs to make changes. This is what hobbled Obama and left room on the bench for Republican Supreme Court selections. Biden had to use an Executive Order to pass the Border law, health care and infrastructure had to be compromised, and every allocation of spending has been a cliffhanger. It is miraculous how much the Biden government managed to achieve. And what a waste of time that has been considering all the other crises that need attention.
I wish the Democrats would be as Frank as you are Jessica. For the past decade, I have been saying the same things to people. The Republicans scum do not play by any rule and have no ethics. Dems so desperately want to play by the rules, and most have ethics. When someone has no ethics and doesn’t play by the rules, you can’t beat them unless you behave the same way. However, you have made me think about a better way to go after the Republicans. You can provide a treasure trove of data, that can be used from now until election day. I hope that you will reach out to the Harris campaign and provide them your point of view which I support wholeheartedly. Thank you again for what you do every day to try to make the world more informed, and eventually a better place for everyone , especially women .
I am glad to know where the after birth abortion info came from. I got quite emotional when I read that. I worked in hospice for several years. That is so callous. 😓
Obama minions (in tweets and elsewhere) should hold off on talking about 2008 like how Kamala was first to endorse Obama in the Iowa primary (not to mention that same crowd pushed Biden out and didn't want Kamala now). Lot of Hillary voters won't like it. But we are not fools to say 'woman, not this woman.' And, it is not a trophy because if they had voted for Hillary we would not be in dire straits like we are in today!
I was just looking at CNN's Fact Check page, regarding Trump's statements about Harris. The language in the second of these two paragraphs is alarming;
"Trump said, 'She wants abortions in the eighth and ninth month of pregnancy, that’s fine with her, right up until birth, and even after birth – the execution of a baby.'
Facts First: Trump’s claim that Harris supports the execution of babies after birth is false. She has never said anything to endorse post-birth murder, which is illegal everywhere in the country; Trump has frequently claimed that some Democratic states allow such post-birth executions, but that claim is false, too."
It would not be as offensive if CNN had just been using Trump's stupid "execution" language, but there were not quotation marks to suggest that. But the second paragraph is their language. Are they offering "post-birth murder" and "executions" as new language for the anti-choice, anti-women, anti-human crowd? Damn!!
It is people who love children who have abortions!
“People undergo late term abortion in heartbreaking circumstances—where a pregnancy goes awry and parents are forced to make wrenching choices. To glibly call these cases “executions” is cruel and sick.”
I am an old(er) woman who remembers the days before Roe. I had my first miscarriage at age 18. I was in my first trimester and my OB was Catholic. Abortion was legal in CA at the time, but my doctor admitted me to the hospital, and I was on bed rest for 4 days in labor. It was only when my daily pregnancy test was not positive that I was given care. A year later I was working in a hospital in a state where abortion was not legal. I will NEVER forget the patient that attempted to abort herself with a knitting needle. Her husband would not allow her to use birth control and they had 2 children with severe genetic issues. This is the world that republicans are trying so hard to return us to.
The reason I shared these experiences is because I wanted to explain how my view changed. After my first pregnancy ended I was told that I could try again and just get over it - this is how we were expected to deal with this. Every time I saw a baby I would chock up. I knew I could never understand why anyone would end - or want to end a pregnancy. Then I met that patient. In that encounter I realized that everyone had the right to make their own choice. People can grow and change. I have kept these stories quiet for 50 years. But I have supported the right to choice for 50 years.
Yes, men like Alito have said we went wrong in the 60's, and he wants to reverse all that he feels is wrong . Meaning women's rights, the pill, civil rights and so on...
That’s the message of all those Facebook memes and email spam about how great life was in the good old days. I have a few problems with the minding your own damn business quote. I remember being told by my parents that we were to mind our own business about abuse in our friends’ homes. It wasn’t to be talked about. Mothers and children had no protection,
Same age here. I am so sorry to hear what you had to go through. Your comment has made me remember the women I knew in college who had botched illegal abortions and suffered greatly. I also remember how we had to claim to be engaged to get birth control. We borrowed someone’s engagement ring to go to the doctor.
Trump’s own nephew recounts that DT commented, twice, that Fred’s disabled son and those like him should “just die.” The disabled are too expensive for the system to support. Talk about “post-birth abortions.” The hypocrisy is deafening.
I just forwarded this article to Harris and told her she should follow your Substack for the best understanding of how the anti-abortion forces use lies and messaging, and that you understand how this issue is playing across the US! We can't let the Democratic Party undermine us and sell us out again. Never again. I suggest we all go to Harris' VP site Comment section and send her a link to this article! Bombard her site with these links! Keep up the pressure!
I can only hope that VP Harris' campaign looks at Jessica Valenti's work. She is absolutely right. It is time for the offense. I remember when we lost a Presidential election, I think it was George W. Bush, Hillary came out and said that we needed to moderate our stance on abortion, I was so angry...I ended up in a fight with my male hairdresser over who should have a say over a woman's body. This backtracking has to stop. Too many people now know what taking abortion away means for real women. It was something the left spent too much time hiding from. We do not need to now. Call Trump out on his lies.
This is a tremendously important article. These end-of-life situations with babies or fetuses that cannot survive are the most gut wrenching thing I can think of…A parent who has gone for months and months in the hope that they will have a baby only to find that little life they have nurtured will not survive is a crippling blow. Nobody says there is anything wrong with euthanasia for pets (.even though there are pet. Owners who use it for selfish reasons). But think how the excruciating pain of that situation must be intensified a million times over for a parent. Doctors will ensure life is preserved if there is hope. Babies are kept in the NICU almost from the moment of viability. Everyone in the medical setting wants the child to survive if possible, but not to be left in excruciating pain. To bandy what parents and doctors are with when you know nothing about it is the height of callousness. Leave the parents the hell alone!
The politicians know full well when they talk about abortion at nine months that people will envision healthy, happy babies being killed. It is not that. These politicians should be so deeply ashamed of themselves
Every time the VP says she will sign a bill into law if they make her President, I wait for the follow-up. Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and surrogate speeches rarely emphasize, if change is wanted, how necessary it is to vote Democrat all the way down the ballot, especially for Senators and House Representatives federally. Too often over the years people have chosen D candidates for President and R candidates for Senate and House. As though they are saying I’d rather have an ineffective government than one with all the power it needs to make changes. This is what hobbled Obama and left room on the bench for Republican Supreme Court selections. Biden had to use an Executive Order to pass the Border law, health care and infrastructure had to be compromised, and every allocation of spending has been a cliffhanger. It is miraculous how much the Biden government managed to achieve. And what a waste of time that has been considering all the other crises that need attention.
I wish the Democrats would be as Frank as you are Jessica. For the past decade, I have been saying the same things to people. The Republicans scum do not play by any rule and have no ethics. Dems so desperately want to play by the rules, and most have ethics. When someone has no ethics and doesn’t play by the rules, you can’t beat them unless you behave the same way. However, you have made me think about a better way to go after the Republicans. You can provide a treasure trove of data, that can be used from now until election day. I hope that you will reach out to the Harris campaign and provide them your point of view which I support wholeheartedly. Thank you again for what you do every day to try to make the world more informed, and eventually a better place for everyone , especially women .
Important to know too that Gov Northam was an Army Doctor and a pediatric neurologist. He knew what he was talking about.
I am glad to know where the after birth abortion info came from. I got quite emotional when I read that. I worked in hospice for several years. That is so callous. 😓
Obama minions (in tweets and elsewhere) should hold off on talking about 2008 like how Kamala was first to endorse Obama in the Iowa primary (not to mention that same crowd pushed Biden out and didn't want Kamala now). Lot of Hillary voters won't like it. But we are not fools to say 'woman, not this woman.' And, it is not a trophy because if they had voted for Hillary we would not be in dire straits like we are in today!
KH hitting back ... (audio clip of chubby cheeks saying inconvenient things, LOL, he is a gift that keeps on giving).
Kamala HQ
@KamalaHQ
Unearthed audio: JD Vance calls for a “federal response” to block women in red states from traveling to another state to get an abortion
https://x.com/KamalaHQ/status/1816648974549369095
Here's a link to the page on Kamala Harris's VP website where you can comment:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/vicepresident/
Thank you. I’m going to forward this to her too. It would be awesome if many of us did the same. It gets the staffers attention 😀
Freedom has always been radical
I am SO ready for Democrats to go on offense, on this issue and so many others.
Jessica has to get an audience with the vice president! This publication is the only one that has the full picture in one place.
Yes, so many others mindlessly repeat the forced-birthers propaganda, Jessica, and Grace, have the reciepts on what is medical provable fact.
I was just looking at CNN's Fact Check page, regarding Trump's statements about Harris. The language in the second of these two paragraphs is alarming;
"Trump said, 'She wants abortions in the eighth and ninth month of pregnancy, that’s fine with her, right up until birth, and even after birth – the execution of a baby.'
Facts First: Trump’s claim that Harris supports the execution of babies after birth is false. She has never said anything to endorse post-birth murder, which is illegal everywhere in the country; Trump has frequently claimed that some Democratic states allow such post-birth executions, but that claim is false, too."
It would not be as offensive if CNN had just been using Trump's stupid "execution" language, but there were not quotation marks to suggest that. But the second paragraph is their language. Are they offering "post-birth murder" and "executions" as new language for the anti-choice, anti-women, anti-human crowd? Damn!!
It is people who love children who have abortions!
CNN is owned by republican Robert Malone who calls Fox(so-called) News "centrist". He has said he wants CNN to be like Fox.
https://www.vox.com/2022/8/26/23322761/cnn-john-malone-david-zaslav-chris-licht-brian-stelter-fox-peter-kafka-column
“People undergo late term abortion in heartbreaking circumstances—where a pregnancy goes awry and parents are forced to make wrenching choices. To glibly call these cases “executions” is cruel and sick.”
There. Done.
So damn right!!!!!
I am an old(er) woman who remembers the days before Roe. I had my first miscarriage at age 18. I was in my first trimester and my OB was Catholic. Abortion was legal in CA at the time, but my doctor admitted me to the hospital, and I was on bed rest for 4 days in labor. It was only when my daily pregnancy test was not positive that I was given care. A year later I was working in a hospital in a state where abortion was not legal. I will NEVER forget the patient that attempted to abort herself with a knitting needle. Her husband would not allow her to use birth control and they had 2 children with severe genetic issues. This is the world that republicans are trying so hard to return us to.
The reason I shared these experiences is because I wanted to explain how my view changed. After my first pregnancy ended I was told that I could try again and just get over it - this is how we were expected to deal with this. Every time I saw a baby I would chock up. I knew I could never understand why anyone would end - or want to end a pregnancy. Then I met that patient. In that encounter I realized that everyone had the right to make their own choice. People can grow and change. I have kept these stories quiet for 50 years. But I have supported the right to choice for 50 years.
Yes, men like Alito have said we went wrong in the 60's, and he wants to reverse all that he feels is wrong . Meaning women's rights, the pill, civil rights and so on...
That’s the message of all those Facebook memes and email spam about how great life was in the good old days. I have a few problems with the minding your own damn business quote. I remember being told by my parents that we were to mind our own business about abuse in our friends’ homes. It wasn’t to be talked about. Mothers and children had no protection,
Same age here. I am so sorry to hear what you had to go through. Your comment has made me remember the women I knew in college who had botched illegal abortions and suffered greatly. I also remember how we had to claim to be engaged to get birth control. We borrowed someone’s engagement ring to go to the doctor.
Exactly...... they want complete domination over us, we are to be subjugated to them.
Trump’s own nephew recounts that DT commented, twice, that Fred’s disabled son and those like him should “just die.” The disabled are too expensive for the system to support. Talk about “post-birth abortions.” The hypocrisy is deafening.
I just forwarded this article to Harris and told her she should follow your Substack for the best understanding of how the anti-abortion forces use lies and messaging, and that you understand how this issue is playing across the US! We can't let the Democratic Party undermine us and sell us out again. Never again. I suggest we all go to Harris' VP site Comment section and send her a link to this article! Bombard her site with these links! Keep up the pressure!
What's the link for "Harris' VP site Comment section"? thanks!
Great idea!
I can only hope that VP Harris' campaign looks at Jessica Valenti's work. She is absolutely right. It is time for the offense. I remember when we lost a Presidential election, I think it was George W. Bush, Hillary came out and said that we needed to moderate our stance on abortion, I was so angry...I ended up in a fight with my male hairdresser over who should have a say over a woman's body. This backtracking has to stop. Too many people now know what taking abortion away means for real women. It was something the left spent too much time hiding from. We do not need to now. Call Trump out on his lies.