Pushing abortion law to the extreme as a wedge issue.

[gulliver]

Those who are for outlawing abortion must spell out the anti-abortion law they are talking about. Right now they have a vagueness advantage. They say they want to "save babies" or "the unborn" or that they want to promote a "culture of life." That won't do. They have to spell out the actual law they want. That way American voters can decide whether or not they want that law.

"Partial birth abortion" is an example of specificity and extremity being used against those who support abortion remaining legal. Those who would outlaw abortion also get very specific and extreme in publicly naming abortion providers, accosting individual abortion seekers, and showing graphic images and video. It is time that abortion-outlawers were held to a standard of specificity.

For example:

Proposed National Law Prohibiting Abortion

Abortion shall be prohibited. No exceptions will be made. This includes abortion in all trimesters and abortions deemed medically necessary to save the life or health of the mother. Further, it shall be a federal crime to exit the country for the purpose of having an abortion. As for murder, there shall be no statute of limitations on the crime of abortion.

[Cerridwen]

1. Time to stick birth control in there as well...

as many have known for some time and as is being shown by pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions, many of the same people who oppose abortion for any reason are the same who would deny birth control of any type.

It needs to become common knowledge that they are against any form of pregnancy prevention and that it revolves around an ideology of punishing women; and by proxy men; for any sex not sanctioned by their twisted interpretation(s) of "sacred" texts.

[youthere]

4. What about surgical sterilizations?

That needs to be included...no more tubals, no more vasectomies-gotta' protect the unborn.

[friesianrider]

7. I've always wondered about that...

I know an awful lot of Catholics who are violently against abortion but have had vasectomies or their tubes tied.

[youthere]

13. well they're just going to hell then...

aren't they?
LOL

[Cerridwen]

10. Yep, those, too - any form of birth control - I wonder how they

feel about the rhythm method - it works so well for catholics /smirk smiley goes here.

[youthere]

14. You know what they call women who use the rythm method....

Good 'Mericuns!

[uppityperson]

2. Stop with generalized emotionallities, get specific? Sounds good

I have asked this of anti-abortion people before, what specifically are you talking about? Need specifics rather than vague emotional responses. They have had a hard time thinking beyond their emotions. If you are saying we need to press them for more details, more specifics, this sounds good to me.

[HockeyMom]

8. Troll the Freepers or Christian Family sites

Majority of them consider the PIll and IUD to be a chemical abortion of a fertilized egg. Even if it may only happen in the rarest of cases (no way to proved it either), it's still abortion to them.

[fasttense]

3. Don't forget the punishment for the crime.

If you have an abortion will you go to the electric chair? Life in prison? Forced sterilization? Or better yet forced motherhood.

And since we already have free and ready (well most states) access to abortion and a nice little network of providers, they will go underground and provide for illegal abortions. Just like during prohibition. Will it then be crime to assist a pregnant woman in having an abortion? Will there be a special division of law enforcement set up to hunt down and prosecute women who have had abortions? Or maybe just hunt down the doctors who are providing the abortions. Maybe make it part of the anti-drug campaign because the morning after and the abortion pills will certainly become popular.

[chomskysright]

5. very good pt re: this vagueness as an advantage

[Inland]

6. Ask them how many years the woman should get in jail for an abortion

or for an attempted abortion.

There's no good answer. If there isn't a heavy term, it proves that there isn't really a human life involved. If there is, then the nation will reject it as cruel and disproprotionate.

[AmandaRuth]

9. I agree wholeheartedly - I have been wondering this for years and not only

specifically what they want to ban, but how they are going to enforce it, and what the penalties are. Will they make doctors report pregnancies to a central agency - or will an agency audit doctor's offices - will women facing an unwanted pregnancy have to be quarantined or wear ankle bracelet monitoring devices? And what are the penalties, jail? death? And what about a women who already has children, and faces an unplanned pregnancy, and gets caught seeking an abortion- will they jail her and take her children away from her?

We are very very close to overturning roe, and I know it will go back to the states, and from what I understand, some southern states are poised to immediately outlaw abortion - SO DEMAND THEY SPELL OUT WHAT EXACTLY THEY PLAN TO DO = how to enforce it and what the penalties are.

[meow2u3]

11. Santorum revealed the true motives of right-wing anti-abortionists

Right-wing anti-abortion extremists don't really give a rat's ass about saving babies, saving the unborn, or promoting a culture of life. Their true motive is nothing more than to give immature, insecure men a license to exert absolute dictatorial control over women's personal lives. They seek to punish women--but not men--for having sex contrary to men's rules. They also are looking to punish women for declaring independence from, and thumbing their noses at, male supremacists.

In other words, the sacrilegious fascists are looking to end abortion for the wrong reasons, and it's high time we expose their ulterior motives of male supremacy.

[gulliver]

12. Kick for the evening crowd.

Thanks to the earlier posters on this thread. There are some excellent comments!