Mike Huckabee on abortion

[DeFrauder]

However, in a post Roe v. Wade world, might women be prosecuted for getting abortions abroad? Based on my readings on the subject, everyone knew who the local "abortionists" were pre-Roe v. Wade, but a lot of people were content to look the other way. The reason why abortion decriminalization was able to happen in the first place was because people on both sides of the aisle realized that the status quo was untenable. Unlike now, there wasn't this heated rhetoric about "babykilling" and such, even among people who disliked abortion. Those who sold contraceptives and the like were often charged with some form of obscenity, not with homicide, as some conservatives seem to want. Since there have been cases of women being charged for having miscarriages, I think that the possibility is there for imprisoning women who have had abortions abroad in some areas, maybe with the claim that they are just "protecting women" from going to dodging clinics in the developing world. The way to do that would be to have safe abortions here, but it's not like these people really care about women's health.

By post Roe vs Wade you mean if it was overturned?

I think it might be hard to prove. The clinic would have to release medical records to the authorities and I imagine that it would be based on a "tip" that a woman had gone to some country for an abortion.

But yeah I imagine they could potentially imprison women who sought abortions abroad. America would pretty much be over by that point, however.

[Maggie Mae]

I don't know why the GOP and conservatives are so against abortion. Yet they don't do shit when a gun tragedy happens. They don't do shit for the children already born. The only possible reasons I can think of for them being against abortions are hating women for having sex/ controlling her own body, or they think the unborn child is going to add to Evangelism. The goal is to make this country a christian nation.

Honestly, I don't think the majority of the GOP and conservative candidates give a shit one way or another about abortion or women. They use it because it gets people excited. They care about money, power, and making more money. White evangelical voters make up the majority in many of the states where the GOP is dominate. Hot button topics are their bread and butter. I don't even know if the majority of them care one way or another about making this a "Christian Nation" other than they know that a lot of voters seem to think it IS a Christian nation and they know that a lot of people have no idea what the Constitution says. Democratic candidates are not much more sincere in their interests about various topics. Politicians are going to say what they are told to say by the people who pay for their campaigns and help get them elected and win their popularity contest. Then they are going to repay their debts to the companies and people who donated big money to their campaign and find loopholes and pass legislation that the people who paid for the candidates want.

[Cleopatra7]

By post Roe vs Wade you mean if it was overturned?

I think it might be hard to prove. The clinic would have to release medical records to the authorities and I imagine that it would be based on a "tip" that a woman had gone to some country for an abortion.

But yeah I imagine they could potentially imprison women who sought abortions abroad. America would pretty much be over by that point, however.

Yes, I mean if Roe v. Wade were overturned or if abortion was restricted to the point where it has no meaning. I would recommend the book "Crow After Roe," which illustrates how many states have made abortion theoretically legal but impossible to obtain. While it would be hard to prove that a woman had an abortion overseas, the anti-abortion hysteria in the GOP is such that I expect they would place punitive measure on women who have been suspected of having abortions if they can get away with it.

On some of the more extreme pro-life sites like Fish Eaters Forum and Renew America, they talk about how a just society would put women who get abortions in prison. Since both these sites are kind of fringey, I don't know if they accurate describe the views of the majority of anti-abortion people. What I've seen on other sites, mostly of a Catholic orientation, is that women who get abortions should be seen as "victims" who were taken advantage of by abortion doctors, abusive men, unsupportive parents, an oversexed society, etc., which I find incredibly condescending. I mean, by that measure, Susan Smith (who was the victim of abusive men, including an incestuous relationship with her stepfather, who was a Christian Coalition big wig) should have just been let off scott free.

In any case, it seems like the rhetoric of abortion has gotten much more heated since Roe v. Wade. Back then, even the Southern Baptist Convention was in favor of it, viewing anti-abortion activism as just another weird Catholic thing. Now, the official Southern Baptist line is that abortion is murder and the most important issue of our time after gay marriage. There's not really any room for compromise, especially since the religious right is now going after contraception as well.

[Toothfairy]

Okay did a little research on thisabortion video outrage. I truly believe Republicans are just using this to defund more programs and put more money in their pockets. I don't know how to post a picture or screen shot, but on tumbler the Center for Medical Progress isn't even real. It doesn't even have a real address. But they sure do have a ton of donation buttons. Now Arkansas has defunded PP. Republicans really hate women.

They also lied to the irs

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/07/17 ... ed-to-irs/

[Alicja]

I really wish Fuckabee would stop comparing abortion to fucking Auschwitz.

Stop using it to prop up your agenda. Stop using the lives of millions of Jews, Rromani, disabled, and LGBT to further marginalize and alienate people. Europe didn't suffer for you.

:angry-banghead: :angry-banghead:

[tapdancer493]

Also there's this now: http://mic.com/articles/123952/mike-huc ... st-s-child

From the article:

In an interview with CNN's State of the Union on Aug. 16, Huckabee, who opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest, defended the decision to deny the girl's right to terminate the pregnancy because "when I think about one horror, I also think about the possibilities."

"Creating one problem that is horrible — let nobody be misled, a 10-year-old girl being raped is horrible — but does it solve a problem by taking the life of an innocent child?" Huckabee commented. "And that's really the issue."

"When an abortion happens, there are two victims," Huckabee continued. "One is the child, the other is that birth mother, who often will go through extraordinary guilt years later when she begins to think through what happened, with the baby, with her."

"There are no easy answers here," he concluded. "And I realize that there are some people that will be very different in their view of this than me. And I respect that. I don't want to get into a shouting match with people who think I'm wrong. I respect that."

[Growelly]

Or just read the Wikipedia. I was really interested in the topic, but didn't find the book to be particularly well written nor of the style of poorly written to be binge-readable (ala Twilight).

Yes, if Twilight is your thing and your definition of good literature, Margaret Atwood might not be for you. :doh:

I hate this man's politics... But the scary thing about him is, when he's not talking about all this asshatery he believes in, he has charisma and his funny. That's scary. At least douchetaco Walker has less personality than a block of granite.

[Toothfairy]

Also there's this now: http://mic.com/articles/123952/mike-huc ... st-s-child

From the article:

What about the innocent child that was raped at age 10 and had to go through pregnancy living in poverty.

[2xx1xy1JD]

By post Roe vs Wade you mean if it was overturned?

I think it might be hard to prove. The clinic would have to release medical records to the authorities and I imagine that it would be based on a "tip" that a woman had gone to some country for an abortion.

But yeah I imagine they could potentially imprison women who sought abortions abroad. America would pretty much be over by that point, however.

There are relatively few laws that the United States can enforce outside of its borders. For example, you can't be prosecuted in the US for smoking weed in Amsterdam.

Even if they attempted to write the law so that traveling abroad for the purpose of obtaining an abortion was illegal, it would be extremely difficult to prove. Jurisdictions where abortion is legal wouldn't want to cooperate with US law enforcement, so how would they prove that an abortion actually took place?

Part of what makes the whole debate ridiculous is that it's impossible to prevent all abortions through legislation. Laws vary from state to state, and abortion is legal in Canada. If you have money or connections, you can have an abortion. It only prevents abortions among poorer women and those without the ability to travel.

Actually reducing the number of abortions doesn't seem to be the goal of the anti-abortion movement. Instead, they seem to want to be able to claim that they are not morally responsible for any abortions that do occur, so they want a law on the books. It's similar to the position on sex ed: actually reducing teen pregnancy and STIs and sexual assault is not the goal, being able to say "told ya so" when bad things happen is.

ETA: Here's what David Frum - a non-religious conservative who also has a functioning brain - has to say about reducing abortions: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/opinion/f ... ?hpt=hp_t2

Abortion is a product of poverty and maternal distress.

A woman who enjoys the most emotional and financial security and who has chosen the timing of her pregnancy will not choose abortion, even when abortion laws are liberal. A woman who is dominated, who is poor and who fears bearing the child is likely to find an abortion, even where abortion is restricted, as it was across the United States before 1965.

So maybe at the next candidates' debate, a journalist will deflect the discussion away from "what if" and instead ask this:

"Rather than tell us what you'd like to ban, tell us please what you think government should do to support more happy and healthy childbearing, to reduce unwanted pregnancies and to alleviate the economic anxieties of mothers-to-be?"

Frum points out that 57% of women seeking abortions in 2008 reported a disruptive event (ie. job or home loss) in the previous 12 months. 61% of women seeking abortion already have one child, and 70% are poor or near-poor.

[Alicja]

Yes, if Twilight is your thing and your definition of good literature, Margaret Atwood might not be for you. :doh:

I hate this man's politics... But the scary thing about him is, when he's not talking about all this asshatery he believes in, he has charisma and his funny. That's scary. At least douchetaco Walker has less personality than a block of granite.

he looks like a reptile too...