And again, they are completely useless, except to produce the type of partisan stupidity typical of most "politically active" types. They really AREN'T doing anything worthwhile.
Well, perhaps the "Choose Life" license plates we just authorized might do some good, if the license plate fees really do go toward adoption charities...unlike proceeds from the sale of lottery tickets, which were supposed to fund our public schools but mainly went to line the pockets of the private entity that sells them.
Aside from the license plates, we also had another abortion law passed in the Texas senate. It's a law that requires an ultrasound prior to an abortion. Oh, wait...that's right, it doesn't. It was originally supposed to, but because of "bipartisan compromise", it merely requires that the doctor OFFER an ultrasound before a potential mother terminates her pregnancy.
Essentially, all the time and effort wasted on this bill accomplished absolutely nothing but requiring the following conversation:
Patient: Doctor, I'm ready for my abortion.
Doctor: Would you like an ultrasound first?
Patient: No, thank you. I'd just like an abortion.
Doctor: Okay, let's get you into the stirrups.
Wow, wasn't that special? I'm so glad that we were able to get that accomplished. Now, moving right along, I'd like to discuss my views on why this state should get back to the law as written prior to being overtaken by religious fundamentalist nutjobs who have no understanding of medical science OR the Holy Bible.
The "anti-abortion" debate continues to rage on in this nation because of ignorance. To claim that a fetus is a "child" or even an "unborn baby" is not much different than saying a piece of iron ore is a brand-new Cadillac. It's just not true, no matter how you look at it.
The heart of the abortion debate, interestingly enough, doesn't even revolve around science. Rather, it revolves around the moral question of what constitutes a "person". In my personal opinion, one does not actually become a "living person" until one acquires a brain capable of the most basic COGNITIVE function. Not merely the presence of a brain or even individual brain cells, not the presence of "brain waves", but enough cognitive capabilities to understand (even on the most basic level) that the self exists.
Modern science tells us that the human brain begins its formation very early on in the course of a human pregnancy. The human heart also develops early on, as does respiratory function. Very early in the gestation period, ten tiny little fingers and ten tiny little toes will also begin to make their first appearance. The cardiopulmonary function will also make self-adjusting variations depending on environmental variables, such as sound and temperature. While the fetus depends upon its mother for nutrition and oxygen, it is an organism independent of its mother. This fact is the reason many have incorrectly labeled a fetus as a "parasite", but that's neither here nor there.
In spite of all this knowledge, there is one fact that remains at the heart of this debate...and is often dismissed as being "irrelevant", if not ignored altogether.
The human brain does not develop cognitive ability to recognize the fact that it even exists, until near the beginning of the eighth month of gestation. The overwhelming majority of LEGAL ABORTIONS PERFORMED BY LICENSED DOCTORS in this nation occur six months or more before this point.
Allow me to put this another way...if you can breathe, consume sustenance, et cetera but CANNOT THINK FOR YOURSELF ON THE BASIC LEVEL OF EVEN BEING ABLE TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR OWN EXISTENCE, you are not truly "alive".
Prior to this point, you truly are nothing but a "cluster of cells". When most abortions are performed, the fetus is roughly the same size as the average adult male thumb. The "brain" hasn't even begun to form, as the "neural tube" that will later allow the complex network of nerve cells and brain matter to form are just beginning to assemble themselves. At this point, you are every bit as "alive" as your average piece of broccoli...and just as much a "person" as your average fingernail.
When abortions are outlawed, only outlaws will have abortions. History has shown us, however, that outlawing abortions WILL NOT prevent them from happening. Even in countries run by a Catholic majority, such as many of those found on the South American continent, "back-alley abortions" are just as common-place there as abortions performed by licensed physicians are here.
People are still going to have abortions, whether you agree with it or not, much like the way drug usage continues in a nation that has criminalized drug usage to the point where we have to sign a registry to buy certain types of over-the-counter cold medicine.
The debate over abortion centers around whether it is actually "murder" to terminate the life of something that is obviously a living human being, but isn't actually a cognizant and sentient human being.
Prior to the religious fundamentalists taking control of our state legislature, a "Person" was defined by state law as a "human being that has been born and has breathed". Yeah, that sounds about right.
Did we really need to piss away a bunch of time arguing about whether the state has the authority to DEMAND that a woman be forced to view an ultrasound? Perhaps the biggest absurdity of this whole thing is the fact that, in 99.9% of all legal abortions performed in this country, an ultrasound is already done...in order to determine that the woman is in fact pregnant, and to determine how far along in the pregnancy the woman really is.
Such a law is nothing more than political posturing and pandering to a bunch of religious nutjobs who still think research on laboratory-created embryonic stem cells is tantamount to "murdering babies".
On top of all of this, the "compromise" of the senate bill has lost its teeth because the ultrasound is not REQUIRED by law, so doctors are merely required to provide the opportunity for it.
Yeah, we scored big with this one! And people wonder why I have complaints about organized religion. For some reason, discussing the word of God in large groups seems to make people instantly retarded...
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