AIBU to ask how much support Pro-Life believers provide for actual children in need? Texas just banned abortion in the US.

[thecranberries]

AIBU to ask what Pro Life 'supporters' do to actually help living children in need? Sparked by Rachel Maddow Show Podcast on MSNBC - which gives a brilliant coverage on what's going on.

PL seems to want to stop a woman's right to choose, even in instances of rape or incest. That's in Texas, US, but as we know, many of the 'trends' that start in the US migrate over here. And as we know, there are lots of Pro-Life (read anti abortion, anti women) believers over here.

So, my AIBU is to ask - what do these PL do to actually support actual living children in need in this country or the world? How much do they give to UNICEF/Save the Children etc charities? How much do they donate time, money and resources to actual children living in poverty, bad housing, experiencing harm or bad schooling to ensure that these actual living children get the best life possible?

Do these PL, who cite religious grounds, actually enable women to obtain proper contraception when they need it? And speaking about religion, how many religious PL turn a blind eye to religious organisations history of child abuse?

I don't understand anyone, especially men, who does not accept a woman's right to chose what happens to her own body.

So, AIBU to ask Pro Life supporters to tell me in detail what they do - as actively as supporting their 'cause' - when it comes to helping living children in need?

I don't believe, for the majority of people campaigning for this, that it comes from a place of religious conviction. I'll believe that when the Christian beliefs of loving thy neighbouring country and helping the poor are incorporated into Texas law but I'll be waiting a long time.
It's a partisan issue. People celebrating this aren't celebrating pleasing God or screwing over women, so much as they are "Triggering the libs."
As it is, those you see defending this who seem to be genuinely religiously motivated seem to be mostly women. In the long run, they may be the only group of women who don't regret this. A lot of women on Twitter currently "Dancing around in Liberal tears." are going to come down to earth with a bump at some point when they or their daughters have unwanted pregnancies.

Texas has banned abortion

Sorry but they haven’t. They’ve restricted abortion, not banned it. A ban is when something is illegal no matter the circumstances.

This is so revolting.
What is the alternative to safe, legal abortion?
Forced pregnancy.
FORCED pregnancy. For those of us who have no intention of becoming pregnant or being parents, this is beyond distressing.
And this is where the "should have kept your legs closed" brigade come out.
Accidental pregnancies happen despite best efforts. Rapes happen.
And every smug prick male who's played a part in pushing this through needs to ask themselves whether they would have been prepared for ANY or ALL of their past sexual partners to have their baby. Or would they, in the event of an unwanted pregnancy, have preferred the woman to terminate?
Sorry for the inarticulate rant - I am so angry at this.

@VulvaTeeth
I don't believe, for the majority of people campaigning for this, that it comes from a place of religious conviction

Same here. Yes a lot of the organisations use religion as a tool of the patriarchy to force pregnant women to give birth. But recently, they have been pushing their agenda by cloaking it in science. Cardiac activity is a biological, scientifically determined developmental milestone. Then they deceive the lay people in the public by conflating cardiac activity with “a heart beat” and called these bills “heart beat bills” to get support from people no matter how religious they are.

@bananapumpkin

Anti abortion is not anti women. It's clear that many people are both, but many others are pro-life partly because abortion is such a damaging experience for many women.

While it's laudable to help children in need, it's irrelevant to the PL/PC argument - unless you seriously believe that it's better to be dead than living in poverty.

I do seriously believe that it is better to have never existed than to be born into a life of poverty, or abuse, or unwanted. I also believe that it is better for a person to have never existed than to punish a woman by forcing her to carry and grow a baby created by incest or abuse. There are many many reasons a woman would not want or be able to gestate and deliver a baby and all of them are valid.

Is Texas Gilead now

Watch out, @bananapumpkin is clearly one of them…

@bananapumpkin

Anti abortion is not anti women. It's clear that many people are both, but many others are pro-life partly because abortion is such a damaging experience for many women.

While it's laudable to help children in need, it's irrelevant to the PL/PC argument - unless you seriously believe that it's better to be dead than living in poverty.

Actually, it is at the heart of the debate as far as I'm concerned. If PL value life, then why don't they divert their energy to actually helping living children in need? Rather they seem to want children born, irrespective of the health and social costs to the woman or the foetus /child if it's born. And women who experience unwanted pregnancies can live very hard lives, and the children can experience awful things. Is it better to be born, live an awful existence, and for example, in the case of some countries in the middle east, experience war, chaos, abject poverty etc? A woman's right to chose trumps all other scenarios for me.

They aren't pro-life, they just want to control women and punish those who have sex (the harlots). They don't actually care about children, especially poor and/or female ones.

I do seriously believe that it is better to have never existed than to be born into a life of poverty

What a horribly depressing view. Especially since what would be called poverty in Texas is normal life for 90% of the people on the planet. Do you really think none of them should have been born?

The new Texas law will not affect any woman who can afford a plane ticket and a private clinic appointment.

There's more than a little Malthusian panic in this. The wrong sort of people are breeding too much.

It's part of the backlash against women's rights and born from misogyny.

@PlanDeRaccordement

Texas has banned abortion

Sorry but they haven’t. They’ve restricted abortion, not banned it. A ban is when something is illegal no matter the circumstances.

Abortion illegal 4 weeks after conception, no rape or incest exemption may not be a 100% ban - but in practice ‘ban’ is a more accurate term to describe it than ‘restriction’. Lots of women won’t even realise they’re pregnant by that point.

@seaandsandcastles

In America a lot of the Christian pro lifers will actually provide and/or find homes for the babies.

Im' not convinced. White babies from nice middle class girls who "made a mistake" maybe.....

I live in Ireland where abortion was illegal until a few years ago, and the answer is fuck all as far as I can see. You'd think the pro life lobby would have switched to campaigning for boosted social welfare to encourage women to not to abort, but no. Because it's not about the children.

@GnomeOrMistAndIceGuy

This is so revolting. What is the alternative to safe, legal abortion? Forced pregnancy. FORCED pregnancy. For those of us who have no intention of becoming pregnant or being parents, this is beyond distressing. And this is where the "should have kept your legs closed" brigade come out. Accidental pregnancies happen despite best efforts. Rapes happen. And every smug prick male who's played a part in pushing this through needs to ask themselves whether they would have been prepared for ANY or ALL of their past sexual partners to have their baby. Or would they, in the event of an unwanted pregnancy, have preferred the woman to terminate? Sorry for the inarticulate rant - I am so angry at this.

It's not just forced pregnancy, it's often forced unsafe abortion.

Thousands of women die each year because they are driven to undertake unsafe abortions because of places like Texas.

It's outrageous and like you the idea that ANYONE other than the mother gets to decide whether to have an abortion or not makes be incredibly angry.

@PlanDeRaccordement

Texas has banned abortion

Sorry but they haven’t. They’ve restricted abortion, not banned it. A ban is when something is illegal no matter the circumstances.

Listen to The Rachel Maddow Show Podcast on MSNBC. As law in Texas now stands, a woman cannot get an abortion once a heartbeat is detected, which is generally at 6 weeks.

Most women do not even know they are pregnant until many weeks later, which means that, hypothetically, on the day they find out they are pregnant - six weeks - is the day that they cannot get an abortion.

So, this is a draconian, dystopian law, which grants individuals unrelated to the woman to sue any person who 'aides and abets' the woman in her abortion and demand $10,000 bounty.

So, yes, abortion is effectively banned. Do wish people actually read facts before opining.

This whole thing makes me incredibly sad. I ended up with sepsis during early pregnancy. The only way to save my life was to perform an abortion/d&c as I had an infection. If abortion wasn't legal I would be dead. I'm in Ireland where abortion is not long legal, a woman in pretty much the exact same circumstances as me, in the same hospital as me died a few years previous to abortion being legalised here. I can't say how thankful I was that I could have the abortion and still be here for my children. I have thought so much about Savita since my hospital admission, she must have been so scared, it was such a needless loss of life. Abortion is healthcare.

@Jaysmith71

The new Texas law will not affect any woman who can afford a plane ticket and a private clinic appointment.

There's more than a little Malthusian panic in this. The wrong sort of people are breeding too much.

It was exactly the same in Ireland - most people with money could go to GB (not NI of course) for an abortion, so it didn't apply to the middle class (assuming no abuse). Funny that.

@PlanDeRaccordement

Texas has banned abortion

Sorry but they haven’t. They’ve restricted abortion, not banned it. A ban is when something is illegal no matter the circumstances.

They have restricted it to the first 6 weeks in pregnancy.

That is a ban in all but name.

@seaandsandcastles

In America a lot of the Christian pro lifers will actually provide and/or find homes for the babies.

Jesus Christ, they aren't puppies. They're not generally in need of "homes".

@PurpleParrotfish
Abortion illegal 4 weeks after conception, no rape or incest exemption may not be a 100% ban - but in practice ‘ban’ is a more accurate term to describe it than ‘restriction’. Lots of women won’t even realise they’re pregnant by that point.

Well it is more accurate to say “de facto ban of abortions by choice” as I agree many women won’t even know they are pregnant when cardiac activity starts, which is around 6 weeks.

But it’s not accurate to say “Texas has banned abortions” because up to that point, abortions are legal for any reason, and after that point, abortions for serious abnormalities or health of the mother are still legal. It is accurate to say that it is “heavily restricted” or even that the law is “Draconian”

It’s important to know what the Texas law actually says and no give off the impression of being uninformed by exaggerating.

It might not be a "ban" but it basically is. A lot of women, especially those who are not actively trying to get pregnant, may well not even notice they're pregnant by 6 weeks. And the additional laws about being able to sue people in civil court for having an abortion o helping someone get an abortion are just outrageous.

We are going backward here and it's really really concerning.

I am pro-life / anti-abortion, whatever you want to label it as. This came as good news to me.

Why do you feel that people need to pay money or time because they don't believe in abortion? Do you give money or volunteer for every organisation that lines up with your opinion and valued on every aspect of life? If so, I'm surprised you have and time and money left at all.

@Mrgrinch I'd prefer to label it forced birther