Official Thread for Abortion Demagoguery

elfenix · August 14

1 hour ago, YGIFS said:

The language gets muddied because we frequently refer to numbered ballot propositions leading up to elections. But it’s really just a short-handed system to track proposed creation, modification, or elimination of certain constitutional elements. And even then, it the Leg would have to vote to codify most of them. And after that, our state SC can really go to work on them if they don’t like what we had to say.

To your question, we do not have a direct ‘proposition’ mechanism like most other civilized states. Unless, it’s a constitutional question, we can’t gather signatures to put on the ballot: “Prop 3 to overturn Abbott restrictions on abortion” or “Prop 7 to allow for legalized gambling and marijuana consumption” nor “Prop 12 to require any AG to disclose any conflict of interest including real estate deals.”

It would have been wild to see what would have happened if vouchers were put straight to the rural/exurban Texas who knew the score, coming together with urban voters. But like most voters things here, we gotta do it the fucking hard, corrupt way.

It would have been on some odd year by-election in the middle of August where only weirdos would have voted.

elfenix · August 17

just going peachy here in texas

Quote

As children in Texas, A and her sister were raped multiple times by their stepfather and his friends before she found she was pregnant earlier this year.

“We both had STDs because none of them used condoms,” A said. Their stepfather stopped sexually abusing them when he found out the sisters were treated at a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases. One of his friends did not.

The sisters fled to a domestic violence shelter when A found out she was pregnant, and managed from there to find abortion pills through a network of underground activists. “If I couldn’t have an abortion, I would have killed myself,” A said. “The man who raped me was a pig, and I did not want to have his baby inside of me.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/11/child-rape-survivors-abortion-ban

Willfully Horn · August 21

Since Abbott hasn’t stopped rape, can someone please rape him during his next press conference? Metaphorically, I mean.

Bullneck · August 22

No idea what thread this should go in, so why not here?

Captainant · August 22

1 hour ago, Bullneck said:

No idea what thread this should go in, so why not here?

How DARE you PUNISH those businesses for being successful with TAXES you COMMIE!!!! /businessboard

fattyflattie · August 22

2 hours ago, Captainant said:

How DARE you PUNISH those businesses for being successful with TAXES you COMMIE!!!! /businessboard

For real tho. Too successful, something needs to be done about their unabashed greed. Gordon Gecko the CEO?

NeverMarryAStripper · August 22

Family friendly reality shows seem like a can’t miss idea

NorthLoop · August 23

Figured this would be the best place to put this. About 20 months ago, my wife had an ectopic pregnancy that almost killed her. She was having massive internal pains that she thought was from a pre-existing ovarian cyst situation that she'd dealt with for a number of years. She's a school nurse and her assistant called me to come get her because she had passed out at school. I took her to the ER and we found out that she was pregnant (what??) ... she went into emergency surgery and had it all removed, which was technically an abortion. She would've been dead within 48 hours from internal bleeding if we hadn't gone to the hospital. All well and good after that, but I didn't even think about the fact that it was technically an abortion.

Flash forward to today, and even her own parents are still Trumpers. It's really really fucking hard for me to not just rip into them about it, but they are also our childcare when we need it and are for the most part really good grandparents. Meanwhile lots of her friends's friends that we know are all redneck trumpers too and it's so hard for me not to just go off on them about it but she doesn't want to advertise it. I really want her to just type up some long fuck you post on facebook between now and November to guilt trip all of those pieces of shit and basically tell them that they are voting for a system that would've forced her to die at home. I don't blame her if she doesn't because it was a traumatic experience but I hope she does.

PenelopeWitherspoon · August 23

3 minutes ago, NorthLoop said:

Figured this would be the best place to put this. About 20 months ago, my wife had an ectopic pregnancy that almost killed her. She was having massive internal pains that she thought was from a pre-existing ovarian cyst situation that she'd dealt with for a number of years. She's a school nurse and her assistant called me to come get her because she had passed out at school. I took her to the ER and we found out that she was pregnant (what??) ... she went into emergency surgery and had it all removed, which was technically an abortion. She would've been dead within 48 hours from internal bleeding if we hadn't gone to the hospital. All well and good after that, but I didn't even think about the fact that it was technically an abortion.

Flash forward to today, and even her own parents are still Trumpers. It's really really fucking hard for me to not just rip into them about it, but they are also our childcare when we need it and are for the most part really good grandparents. Meanwhile lots of her friends's friends that we know are all redneck trumpers too and it's so hard for me not to just go off on them about it but she doesn't want to advertise it. I really want her to just type up some long fuck you post on facebook between now and November to guilt trip all of those pieces of shit and basically tell them that they are voting for a system that would've forced her to die at home. I don't blame her if she doesn't because it was a traumatic experience but I hope she does.

I am angry for both of you. I’m so sorry you went through that.

NorthLoop · August 23

3 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

I am angry for both of you. I’m so sorry you went through that.

What's funny is that at the time I wasn't angry because the hospital staff and nurses were all great and knew what to do, because it's not an uncommon thing. It was only later that I realized that this situation is now threatened by complete fucking imbeciles who have no idea what's at stake.

Bullneck · August 24

Bullneck · August 24

20 hours ago, NorthLoop said:

Figured this would be the best place to put this. About 20 months ago, my wife had an ectopic pregnancy that almost killed her. She was having massive internal pains that she thought was from a pre-existing ovarian cyst situation that she'd dealt with for a number of years. She's a school nurse and her assistant called me to come get her because she had passed out at school. I took her to the ER and we found out that she was pregnant (what??) ... she went into emergency surgery and had it all removed, which was technically an abortion. She would've been dead within 48 hours from internal bleeding if we hadn't gone to the hospital. All well and good after that, but I didn't even think about the fact that it was technically an abortion.

Flash forward to today, and even her own parents are still Trumpers. It's really really fucking hard for me to not just rip into them about it, but they are also our childcare when we need it and are for the most part really good grandparents. Meanwhile lots of her friends's friends that we know are all redneck trumpers too and it's so hard for me not to just go off on them about it but she doesn't want to advertise it. I really want her to just type up some long fuck you post on facebook between now and November to guilt trip all of those pieces of shit and basically tell them that they are voting for a system that would've forced her to die at home. I don't blame her if she doesn't because it was a traumatic experience but I hope she does.

My wife had an ectopic and two miscarriages. How did we have kids? You guessed it: IVF.

Post Oak · August 24

20 hours ago, NorthLoop said:

Figured this would be the best place to put this. About 20 months ago, my wife had an ectopic pregnancy that almost killed her. She was having massive internal pains that she thought was from a pre-existing ovarian cyst situation that she'd dealt with for a number of years. She's a school nurse and her assistant called me to come get her because she had passed out at school. I took her to the ER and we found out that she was pregnant (what??) ... she went into emergency surgery and had it all removed, which was technically an abortion. She would've been dead within 48 hours from internal bleeding if we hadn't gone to the hospital. All well and good after that, but I didn't even think about the fact that it was technically an abortion.

Flash forward to today, and even her own parents are still Trumpers. It's really really fucking hard for me to not just rip into them about it, but they are also our childcare when we need it and are for the most part really good grandparents. Meanwhile lots of her friends's friends that we know are all redneck trumpers too and it's so hard for me not to just go off on them about it but she doesn't want to advertise it. I really want her to just type up some long fuck you post on facebook between now and November to guilt trip all of those pieces of shit and basically tell them that they are voting for a system that would've forced her to die at home. I don't blame her if she doesn't because it was a traumatic experience but I hope she does.

You're a better man than me.

hpslugga · August 24

38 minutes ago, Bullneck said:

That dude beat me to it. If anyone could be considered exhibit A for an argument in favor of post birth abortion, it would have to be Marjorie Taylor Greene..

tchookem · August 24

You're a better man than me.

I'd throw the Thanksgiving turkey across the dining room.

MrBig · August 24

22 hours ago, NorthLoop said:

Figured this would be the best place to put this. About 20 months ago, my wife had an ectopic pregnancy that almost killed her. She was having massive internal pains that she thought was from a pre-existing ovarian cyst situation that she'd dealt with for a number of years. She's a school nurse and her assistant called me to come get her because she had passed out at school. I took her to the ER and we found out that she was pregnant (what??) ... she went into emergency surgery and had it all removed, which was technically an abortion. She would've been dead within 48 hours from internal bleeding if we hadn't gone to the hospital. All well and good after that, but I didn't even think about the fact that it was technically an abortion.

Flash forward to today, and even her own parents are still Trumpers. It's really really fucking hard for me to not just rip into them about it, but they are also our childcare when we need it and are for the most part really good grandparents. Meanwhile lots of her friends's friends that we know are all redneck trumpers too and it's so hard for me not to just go off on them about it but she doesn't want to advertise it. I really want her to just type up some long fuck you post on facebook between now and November to guilt trip all of those pieces of shit and basically tell them that they are voting for a system that would've forced her to die at home. I don't blame her if she doesn't because it was a traumatic experience but I hope she does.

Wishing you and your family well. I’ve had my siblings and parents hijacked by MAGA and it sucks because rational discussions can never take place. My brother is a police officer who says Jan 6 was a peaceful protest and that it was Pelosi’s fault there wasn’t more security. It baffles my mind he thinks this way about people who were clearly abusing police officers just like how your in laws promote a man who advocates for policies that could have killed your wife.

I’m glad your in laws are able to provide excellent child care and I hope they continue to do so without teaching your children backwards logic and/or putting nonsense beliefs in their heads, politics or anything else that is an important life lesson.

jimmyjazz · August 24

11 hours ago, MrBig said:

My brother is a police officer who says Jan 6 was a peaceful protest and that it was Pelosi’s fault there wasn’t more security.

It's nuts that the lie about Pelosi's responsibility can't be debunked. The Speaker does not sit on the Capitol Police Board, nor do they have authority over the Board or the election of the Board members. It's just a bald-faced lie that will not go away.

NeverMarryAStripper · August 24

Why would more security have been needed if it was a peaceful protest?

Gil Bang · August 26

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/25/larry-david-donald-trump-abortion-satire/

4 min

6162

By Larry David

August 25, 2024 at 8:42 a.m. EDT

Larry David is a writer, actor and television producer.

“It must be remembered that the Democrats are the radical ones on this position because they support abortion up to and even beyond the ninth month. The concept of having an abortion in the later months and even execution after birth. And that’s exactly what it is. The baby is born, the baby is executed after birth is unacceptable. And almost everyone agrees with that.” — Donald Trump

He’s right: We do support executions after birth. In fact, many Dems support executions of kids up until age 4 or until they start kindergarten. I respect their opinions, but that’s a little late for my taste. I’m good until 2½.

I’ve never said this publicly, but my wife, Thelma, and I had a post-birth abortion, and it was just minutes after the baby was born. I was in my 30s when I met the girl of my dreams. We shared much in common, especially our belief in post-birth abortions. In fact, that was one of my questions on our first date, because it would have been a big red flag for me if she didn’t. Thankfully, she was even more adamant about them than I was. It was a match made in heaven.

A few months after we got married, Thelma told me she was pregnant. When she went into labor, I watched in awe as our baby emerged from the womb. After our son was swaddled, the doctor showed him to my wife, who had a bit of an odd reaction. I wouldn’t call it a wince; it was more a gasp of surprise — but not in a good way. Then the doctor showed him to me. I didn’t say out loud what I was thinking, but the acronym “WTF” crossed my mind, followed by “OMFG!” Could those be my genes? Granted, I’m no Mr. America, but I’m certainly not so unsightly as to produce that! Was my grandfather, whom I always called “Trigger” because of his resemblance to Roy Rogers’s horse, the culprit? Do horseface genes, like baldness, skip a generation? Maybe the problem was on Thelma’s side, but this was not the time to explore that.

I was disappointed, to say the least, but the thought of doing anything about it hadn’t crossed my mind. Thelma, bless her heart, was the one who brought it up.

“No way I’m taking him home. He’s embarrassing. Am I supposed to show that monster to my parents and my friends? I can’t even look at him without cringing.”

I had to admit she had a point. I turned to the doctor. He was wearing a Jimmy Carter campaign pin, so I had no qualms about asking his opinion.

The doctor pursed his lips. “I completely agree with her. I even had to look away for a moment when I pulled him out. He’s not going to have an easy life with a punim like that. So if you want to do it, now’s the best time.”

Fortunately, we lived in California. A lot of people around the country had to drive out of state for their post-birth abortions. What a drag that must’ve been — before podcasts!

I turned to Thelma. “You down?”

She didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

The doctor nodded and took the grotesquerie into another room. Thelma, who had been in a foul mood since the kid came out, perked up. “Hey, maybe we can go to Skip’s party now!”

Yeah, I thought, Skip’s party! I had been sorry to miss that. “Sure, why not? Nothing’s stopping us.”

“But aren’t they going to ask about the baby?”

“Yeah, so what? There’s going to be a lot of post-birth abortionists there. John and Patti had one. Jim and Ria offed twins!”

“Oh, right, right! The twins! Yeah, let’s go. How fun!”

And with that, the doctor returned. “Well,” he gushed, rubbing his hands together, “all done! You can go now.”

“Excellent,” Thelma said, getting out of bed. As we gathered our things, I reached into my pocket for the parking ticket, but, of course, per usual, it wasn’t there. I checked all my pockets twice: No ticket! Why does this always happen to me? What could I have done with it? I know the guy handed it to me.

I slammed my palm against the wall. “Now it’s going to take a year to get out of here, and they’ll probably charge me the max.”

But then the doctor came through again. “There it is on the floor!”

Phew! I effusively thanked the doctor for everything. And as I wheeled Thelma out of the hospital, I couldn’t help but wonder when she might be ready to try again.

mchookem · August 26

WhatTheBuck · August 27

Arkansas Touts 'Pro Life' Stance But Faces High Maternal, Infant Mortality

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/08/27/arkansas-maternal-mortality-rate-abortion-ban/

https://archive.ph/8zoOw

This state calls itself the ‘most pro-life.’ But moms there keep dying.

Giving birth in Arkansas, especially its rural southeast, comes with more risk and less care. The challenges feel acute for someone like doula Hajime White.

WARREN, Ark. — The pregnant teen had already picked out a name for her baby, already felt him kick, which made the sight of blood in her underwear all the more frightening as she was getting ready for bed that fall night.

Her mother, Ronica Lawson, called for an ambulance to take them to the hospital five minutes away. As the sirens blared and the EMTs tried to reassure 15-year-old Sa’Ryiah Lincoln, bad news crackled out of the radio. Head to the next county, the EMTs were told. The local hospital no longer delivered babies.

In a state that touts itself as “the most pro-life state in the country,” where abortion is prohibited except to save the life of the mother, timber country in southeast Arkansas is an especially dangerous place to give birth.

Arkansas already has one of the nation’s worst maternal mortality rates, and mothers in this area die at a rate exceeding the state average. Ninety-two percent of recent maternal deaths were preventable, a state review committee found.

In November, two hospitals in the region abruptly closed their birthing units, sending patients like Sa’Ryiah scrambling to find a new obstetrician. And now she was in an ambulance at midnight, speeding through dark pine forests on a tense half-hour trip to a bigger hospital. Doctors were able to get her stabilized and eventually sent her home.

With a ride that long, “anything could have happened,” said Hajime White, one of the teen’s doulas. “When hospitals are turning you away and you have to go on to the next one, any complication can develop whether you’re in an ambulance or not. You’re putting the mother at risk and the baby at risk.”

Since Arkansas banned nearly all abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, doctors and others have sounded the alarm on what they say is a deepening crisis in maternal health. They point to other markers, too, particularly the state’s very high rates of teen pregnancy, infant mortality and food insecurity.

“If we really say to the world we’re pro-life, we need to put our money where our mouth is and make sure these women are treated and have the care they need,” said Republican state Rep. Aaron Pilkington, an abortion opponent who has led a push for legislation and funding to improve outcomes.

This spring, facing pressure from business leaders and the medical community, Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders launched an initiative to address maternal health, an issue that she acknowledged “we’ve ignored for far too long.” Yet she declined to support extending Medicaid postpartum coverage to a year from 60 days, saying the state’s existing insurance system was enough. Arkansas will soon be one of only two states not adopting such coverage.

Spoiler

In Warren, White met the news of possible assistance with skepticism. In addition to her work as a doula, she runs a local network for expectant moms. She founded Precious Jewels Birthing Project in 2015 but has struggled to find resources to offer car seats, diapers and other basics.

“We’re on our own,” said White, who is 50 and often teams with her 24-year-old daughter, Gwen, also a doula. “We’re the main ones that’s actually dying out here, and no one really understands.”

You good? How you feelin’? White asked as Sa’Ryiah waited for a checkup with her new doctor earlier this year.

“Tired,” the teen answered, shifting awkwardly in her chair. Her loose black hoodie nearly obscured her belly. “Really ready for this to all be over.”

“Aren’t we all?” her mother said.

The three, plus White’s daughter, were sitting in the crowded waiting room of Mainline Health, a federally supported health clinic about 30 minutes from Warren. Posters of chubby babies decorated the walls.

Sa’Ryiah ended up here for prenatal care after Bradley County Medical Center, the facility that serves Warren, shut down its labor and delivery service. It was another painful loss for this rural area, where lumber jobs have dried up and tomato farms have disappeared in recent years. The majority White county, with a population of about 10,100, has lower levels of education and income and a higher share of uninsured people than the state average, data shows.

Many expectant moms already were driving miles for their appointments. Now they flooded Mainline’s clinic — so many that a new staff hired to do home visits saw individual caseloads quadruple. Sa’Ryiah’s obstetrician, Constance Chapman, had delivered 30 babies in February, more than one a day.

Sa’Ryiah emerged from her checkup with a wide smile.

“How much did you weigh?” her mother asked.

“I gained three pounds,” she said. “The doctor said I have to come every week now.”

She was far enough along now for her son to be out of danger if she suddenly went into labor, Gwen assured her.“If you want to have this baby, you can have him,” she said.

Both White and Gwen were relieved that Sa’Ryiah had reached this milestone. The teen’s pregnancy had been difficult, with two episodes of bleeding and emotional turmoil. Things at school were not going well. Friends had abandoned her. Another classmate pushed her to the ground outside school, kneed her in the belly and accused her of not actually being pregnant.

And the baby’s father? “In the beginning he supported me,” Sa’Ryiah said. “But … feelings change.”

Though teen birth rates are falling nationally, federal data shows the statistic for Arkansas is almost twice the U.S. average. Lack of access to contraception is a major factor; the rate at which teens in Arkansas have unprotected sex is 75 percent higher, according to a report from the nonprofit Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

Lawmakers generally have made it harder for teens to get birth control, the advocacy group’s report noted. School-based clinics need parental consent and can’t use state funds to provide contraceptives. The state does not require sex education in schools — if taught, lessons must stress abstinence — but an hour of adoption awareness instruction is mandated for grades six through 12. Topics to be covered include “the reasons adoption is preferable to abortion.”

In a recent public forum, when a moderator raised the “controversial” topic of sex ed, Arkansas’ education secretary, Jacob Oliva, replied that the state will be reviewing its health education standards. “Are they robust?” he said. “Are they doing a good job?” He said about 600 teen moms are in Arkansas schools every year. “Is that a number or metric we think is too high or too low? Those are some of the questions we need to ask.”

Last summer was when Sa’Ryiah began spending a lot of time outside with other kids — particularly one teen boy — in her neighborhood of drab public housing duplexes. Her mother noticed and was determined to get her a long-acting contraceptive implant, but said she could not find a doctor locally to do the procedure. She finally took Sa’Ryiah to Little Rock — 180 miles round-trip. At a hospital there, she learned that her daughter was already seven weeks pregnant.

Spoiler

This was not welcome news for the teen, who was “terrified,” or for Lawson, who has two younger children, was in the midst of a divorce, had a broken-down car stacked on cinder blocks in her driveway, and was struggling to pick up shifts at the soul food restaurant where she was a manager.

“I was mad, her being so young,” Lawson said. She had gotten pregnant with Sa’Ryiah as a teen and didn’t know how to cope when she suffered crippling postpartum depression. That was not going to happen this time, she vowed.

She sought out White and Gwen, who signed on to be Sa’Ryiah’s doulas and serve as a sounding board for the girl’s questions — What kind of vitamins should I take? Is spotting normal? — as well as offer mental health support. They would calm her during anxiety attacks — to keep her asthma from flaring, which would decrease oxygen to the fetus — and coax her to go on walks on Fridays after school.

With an infant tucked under one arm, the governor in March signed an “Executive Order to Support Moms, Protect Babies and Improve Maternal Health.” E.O. 24-03 hailed Arkansas as “the most pro-life state in the country.” Sanders’s administration has embraced that distinction since Americans United for Life, an antiabortion group based in Washington, first bestowed the title three years ago. Its rankings reflect “states’ protection of life from conception to natural death,” with a strong focus on abortion.

Arkansas has taken some measures aimed at improving maternal health, planning a midwife certification program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and requiring Medicaid to cover long-acting contraception for postpartum mothers.

Other efforts have lagged. Officials hoped to have hospitals throughout the state run home-visit programs for at-risk mothers. Only four have been approved, with one expected to launch before the year ends.

While Sanders didn’t endorse expanded postpartum coverage through Medicaid, she has said she wants to do a better job of educating women before and after giving birth about existing resources and insurance options.

“The solution is not more government programs. The solution is getting women to take advantage of the programs we already have,” she said in issuing her directive. Advocates worry that her overall focus on cutting taxes signals that she may not be willing to fund any significant projects associated with reproductive health. A special panel is expected to give Sanders its recommendations next month.

Spoiler

Ninety miles south of the capital, White caught up on the governor’s news on her battered laptop at the secondhand appliance store she runs with her husband of more than 30 years, Wayne, a veteran and school bus driver. They’re well-known civic boosters in Warren, where they raised their six girls.

“She said there’s resources. Where are the resources?” White said as she read about Sanders’s announcement.

The room smelled like motor oil and rubber, and the front door chirped as customers stopped in for lawn mowers and spare parts. Even at midday, her eyes were bleary from fatigue. She works remotely overnight as a resolution specialist coordinating repairs for Walmart stores and otherwise maintains a fitful sleep schedule to be available if a mom in distress calls.

Over the years she has helped more than two dozen women through their pregnancies. These days she also counts on 10 “sister-friend” volunteers, deputized as part of the Precious Jewels birthing network to mentor new moms.

Yet White, who holds a degree in early-childhood education, has struggled to get broader support. She says she tried to start a food pantry for mothers-to-be and was told by the regional food bank that there already were enough food programs in town. And she says she has been passed over for public and private grants. She looked into becoming a state-certified car-seat specialist, but the training was too far away.

Ultimately, she bought a “tiny house” that she aims to turn into a center for new moms. It’s parked by the shop, empty but for a lone package of diapers.

Another idea: celebrating the first year of life for the infants and mothers in her program. She planned a community baby shower and “graduation,” even ordering tiny graduation caps and gowns online. Then she drove around town to post fliers and ask for support from local stores. The manager at SuperValu would, she hoped, be among those to say yes.

“If Doug could donate that would be great,” she told a cashier. “Could he call me?”

On the way home, White passed HopePlace Warren, a small brick building that houses a Christian-based pregnancy counseling center. She follows it on Facebook and is often pained to see that it has money to do the things she wants to do, like hold parenting classes. A flashing message board out front, advertising free car seats, always rankles.

Since the state’s abortion ban took effect, Arkansas has given $2 million to similar crisis centers, many of them faith-based, and the legislature recently authorized another $2 million for this fiscal year. HopePlace Warren relies on private contributions, but a HopePlace center founded by the same woman in the nearby town of Monticello has received $68,000 from the state in the last two years.

Just as Sanders unveiled her maternal health-care plan, Sa’Ryiah’s blood pressure was rising. The teen was still days from her due date, but her doctor decided to induce because of her risk of developing preeclampsia, a condition that can lead to serious, even fatal complications.

Baby Kaydence slipped into the world at 4:59 p.m. on March 7 — 7 pounds, 4 ounces, with a full head of hair.

At the hospital — the bigger one in Monticello — the nurses held him up, still covered in blood and amniotic fluid. “So slimy,” Sa’Ryiah thought. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to hold him. Later, though, after they cleaned him and laid him on her chest, she cried.

Kaydence’s safe arrival was the first real victory for White after a year of disappointments and grief.

The previous winter, a Warren woman named Megan Patterson died shortly after having her fifth child. Patterson, 32, had experienced swelling that persisted after she went home from the hospital.

“She should never have been discharged,” said her mother, Patsy Newton. The death certificate listed acute respiratory failure, with obesity and heart and chronic kidney disease as contributing factors. Officials at the facility where she gave birth, now called Baptist Health Medical Center-Drew County, declined to comment.

White hadn’t been involved in Patterson’s prenatal care. Even so, she was devastated by her death. In tears, she called her mentor at the organization where she’d trained as a doula.

“I boohooed,” she said. “I felt helpless. I wish somebody would have reached out to me and I might could have helped her. Maybe she would have still been here.”

Obstetrician Kara Worley, who has worked at each of the local hospitals that shuttered their delivery units, says women such as Patterson require complex care.

“I can’t remember the last time I had a patient come in healthy, young, with no medical problems and have a baby and go home,” Worley said. Those she sees routinely suffer chronic health problems, from heart conditions and undiagnosed diabetes to morbid obesity. She says change will take generations.

Worley and reproductive health advocates believe the state’s abortion ban has hurt hospitals’ ability to recruit and retain obstetricians at a time when the number of facilities delivering babies has dropped from 39 in 2020 to 35 today. Nearly half of the counties in Arkansas now lack a hospital or birth center offering obstetric care.

“From where I stand, [lawmakers] haven’t done anything except make it harder to care for the patient,” she said, recounting a case in which she was required to do unnecessary testing that delayed treatment. The patient had an ectopic pregnancy — which ruptured and required emergency surgery, she said.

At the 25-bed Bradley County Medical Center, chief executive Leslie Huitt closed the delivery unit after it dwindled to just one full-time family practice obstetrician.A study showed that the unit was losing $1 million annually. No state aid was available, Huitt said, and she found no partners to apply for a federal grant.

The decision was all the more painful since Huitt had given birth to her three children there.

“Maternal care in Arkansas is starting to be a hot topic,” she said this spring. “But we couldn’t get the attention and help we needed fast enough to save us. Ultimately it was a question of do we want an OB unit, or do we want a hospital at all?”

Spoiler

White was about to turn 16 when she arrived at this same hospital one night long ago, toting two teddy bears and a teddy bear nightgown. She’d begun dating Wayne two years before and gotten pregnant. But a few days earlier, during what she expected to be a regular prenatal exam, she had suddenly heard the fetal heartbeat stop. Her doctor soon confirmed that the baby did not have a fully formed brain.

She was left alone by medical staff for much of the excruciating labor that followed, with Wayne finally allowed in the room just before their son arrived. Over his motionless body, she asked Wayne, “What should we name him?” They settled on Jonathan Ali.

More than three decades later, the birthing ward’s demise was personally wrenching.

“It feels like tumbleweeds are coming through town,” White said. “When things you grew up with and are familiar with leave in the blink of an eye, it’s almost like a death.”

At the baby shower and graduation ceremony, White filled a community room at the housing authority with purple and white balloons. The mayor and several reproductive health advocates came, and White counted 22 adults and little ones by the end. Though some of the moms who’d promised to attend were absent, White considered the event a success.

Not long after, she stopped by Lawson’s to check on Sa’Ryiah and the baby. The last few weeks had not been easy on the new mom. When Kaydence cried, she cried. Gwen had come more than once to try to calm them both and teach Sa’Ryiah how to properly swaddle.

White cooed over the infant and then gave Sa’Ryiah two small glass jars. They held the remnants of her placenta, which the doula had dried, ground into a powder and packed into capsules — a practice of traditional medicine that some believe has health benefits for mother and baby.

“Now you have your show-and-tell,” she told the astonished teen.

Sa’Ryiah was about to head back to high school, and that was making her anxious. She did not want to leave Kaydence behind and was worried she would again be singled out and bullied. She’d kept up remotely with her schoolwork — World History, English, Survey of Business and a test prep class — and her mother was determined she would graduate. “She’s walking that stage,” Lawson said.

“Don’t let the baby be a hinder to finishing it,” White told her. She had gotten her diploma after becoming pregnant, she said. So had Gwen. “Before you know it, it will be time for you to graduate.”

As it turned out, Sa’Ryiah would not be the only new mom. At her school of about 500 students, the principal said, 12 were pregnant or had just had a baby.

bluto · August 29

Why is Trump in favor of killing babies?!?

Voldemort86 · August 31

On 8/23/2024 at 10:34 PM, MrBig said:

Wishing you and your family well. I’ve had my siblings and parents hijacked by MAGA and it sucks because rational discussions can never take place. My brother is a police officer who says Jan 6 was a peaceful protest and that it was Pelosi’s fault there wasn’t more security. It baffles my mind he thinks this way about people who were clearly abusing police officers just like how your in laws promote a man who advocates for policies that could have killed your wife.

I’m glad your in laws are able to provide excellent child care and I hope they continue to do so without teaching your children backwards logic and/or putting nonsense beliefs in their heads, politics or anything else that is an important life lesson.

Brother is a massive idiot.

Edited August 31 by Voldemort86

TwiceHorn · August 31

On 5/22/2024 at 10:58 AM, Sawbonz said:

Isn’t supervision and provision of the delivery of mail the exclusively within the purview of the federal government? Seems like that is pretty explicitly laid out in the constitution

Art. I, s. 8, cl. 7: The Congress shall have Power . . . To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

That has been held to impliedly reserve to Congress the power to create and regulate the mail. How exclusively is not that clear.

More important may be Art. I, s. 8, cl. 3, the Interstate Commerce Clause: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

That has been held to be pretty exclusive in the form of the "Dormant Commerce Clause," which generally holds that state legislation may not interfere with or burden interstate commerce.

Also likely implicates Art. IV. s. 2, cl. 1 the Privileges and Immunities Clause: The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

Haphap · September 12

DigglerontheHoof · September 13

I'd like to rip that motherfucker apart. Goddamnit I'm sick of these evil, sadistic cunts.

Sawbonz · September 13

Who is the douche at the start of the video

Macanudo · September 13

3 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

Who is the douche at the start of the video

Johnny McEntee. If Trump wins, he'll be in the White House with some kind of high ranking job.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McEntee_(political_aide)

Edited September 13 by Macanudo

PenelopeWitherspoon · September 13

27 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Johnny McEntee. If Trump wins, he'll be in the White House with some kind of high ranking job.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McEntee_(political_aide)

He’s a cunt.

WhatTheBuck · September 13

13 hours ago, Macanudo said:

Johnny McEntee. If Trump wins, he'll be in the White House with some kind of high ranking job.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McEntee_(political_aide)

I don’t know who his counterpart would’ve been in the third Reich but he’ll be in charge of purging the Executive Branch of anyone who isn’t sufficiently loyal to Trump.

NeverMarryAStripper · September 13

He'll probably be like Himmler who carried out the Rohm Purge

DigglerontheHoof · September 13

41 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I don’t know who his counterpart would’ve been in the third Reich but he’ll be in charge of purging the Executive Branch of anyone who isn’t sufficiently loyal to Trump.

Ernst Rohm

Goofyboy · September 13

The right is pushing the “you can get an abortion any time” trope. My dumb fucking niece reposted a “gotcha” tiktok on it. She works for Daily Wire and I’ve chalked her up as a lost cause. Anyway - this narrative is heating up again and it’s disgusting.

Longhorn_Fan68 · September 13

7 minutes ago, Goofyboy said:

The right is pushing the “you can get an abortion any time” trope. My dumb fucking niece reposted a “gotcha” tiktok on it. She works for Daily Wire and I’ve chalked her up as a lost cause. Anyway - this narrative is heating up again and it’s disgusting.

let me guess, also catholic? I'll take evangelical as my second guess

Goofyboy · September 13

let me guess, also catholic? I'll take evangelical as my second guess

Second guess is the winner. Super white, evangelical holier than thou “Christian.” Think Instagram Christian with the performative pics / vid of them in their church.

PenelopeWitherspoon · September 13

22 minutes ago, Goofyboy said:

Second guess is the winner. Super white, evangelical holier than thou “Christian.” Think Instagram Christian with the performative pics / vid of them in their church.

Your niece sucks.

Gil Bang · September 13

I've been meaning to ask the board; does anybody have a clue what the fuck dotard is referencing when he blathers on about "executing the baby" and then keeps yelling "The Governor of Viriginia"?

TwiceHorn · September 13

2 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

I've been meaning to ask the board; does anybody have a clue what the fuck dotard is referencing when he blathers on about "executing the baby" and then keeps yelling "The Governor of Viriginia"?

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/31/politics/ralph-northam-third-trimester-abortion/index.html

Goofyboy · September 13

Your niece sucks.

Yep. It’s really unfortunate. Anyway - back to the forced birth people pushing bullshit narratives. That guy has 11,000 responses to his TikTok of women who have been through hell since the overturning of Roe

elfenix · September 13

4 hours ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

Your niece sucks.

WhatTheBuck · September 14

21 hours ago, Goofyboy said:

Second guess is the winner. Super white, evangelical holier than thou “Christian.” Think Instagram Christian with the performative pics / vid of them in their church.

Tell her to pull out her Bible and read Numbers 5:11-31. The Bible not only sanctions abortion, it instructs the rabbi how to cast the spell to perform one.

miguelito · September 14

What does the niece think about this? (assuming she thinks)

Abortions have risen slightly since Roe was overturned, study finds

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/abortions-have-risen-slightly-since-roe-was-overturned-study-finds

Sawbonz · September 14

Probably women getting their abortions in before their home state bans them

Biff Tannen · September 14

2 hours ago, miguelito said:

What does the niece think about this? (assuming she thinks)

Abortions have risen slightly since Roe was overturned, study finds

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/abortions-have-risen-slightly-since-roe-was-overturned-study-finds

But the narrative I saw yesterday says Florida abortions have dropped like 30%. Nevermind that they probably stayed the same and just went out of state.

lemonlime · September 16

This is simply enraging.

https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-abortion-ban-amber-thurman-death?fbclid=IwY2xjawFVnqJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHTvOGh_zzOaPWHoQypY5qvcRQ_XPT5FskBLEPizhbRbEmJqN-mP7Kqyorg_aem_uXC0oM9XD506siicK1w-Xw

In her final hours, Amber Nicole Thurman suffered from a grave infection that her suburban Atlanta hospital was well-equipped to treat.

She’d taken abortion pills and encountered a rare complication; she had not expelled all of the fetal tissue from her body. She showed up at Piedmont Henry Hospital in need of a routine procedure to clear it from her uterus, called a dilation and curettage, or D&C.

But just that summer, her state had made performing the procedure a felony, with few exceptions. Any doctor who violated the new Georgia law could be prosecuted and face up to a decade in prison.

Thurman waited in pain in a hospital bed, worried about what would happen to her 6-year-old son, as doctors monitored her infection spreading, her blood pressure sinking and her organs beginning to fail.

It took 20 hours for doctors to finally operate. By then, it was too late.

The otherwise healthy 28-year-old medical assistant, who had her sights set on nursing school, should not have died, an official state committee recently concluded.

Tasked with examining pregnancy-related deaths to improve maternal health, the experts, including 10 doctors, deemed hers “preventable” and said the hospital’s delay in performing the critical procedure had a “large” impact on her fatal outcome.

Their reviews of individual patient cases are not made public. But ProPublica obtained reports that confirm that at least two women have already died after they couldn’t access legal abortions and timely medical care in their state.

There are almost certainly others.

Sawbonz · September 16

Something is not right w this story. If there is no fetal heartbeat detected on US why could they not proceed with D&C?

lemonlime · September 17

17 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

Something is not right w this story. If there is no fetal heartbeat detected on US why could they not proceed with D&C?

Read the article. Georgia only allows D & C's for spontaneous abortions or "medical emergency." Because she admitted that it wasn't a spontaneous abortion, but that she had taken an abortion pill, Georgia law didn't allow the D & C. Or at least that's how the physicians, who were risking jail time, interpreted Georgia's poorly written law on the subject.

Sawbonz · September 17

1 minute ago, lemonlime said:

Read the article. Georgia only allows D & C's for spontaneous abortions or "medical emergency." Because she admitted that it wasn't a spontaneous abortion, but that she had taken an abortion pill, Georgia law didn't allow the D & C. Or at least that's how the physicians, who were risking jail time, interpreted Georgia's poorly written law on the subject.

Once there is no heartbeat the D&C is not for an abortion, spontaneous or otherwise. Are you trying to tell me women aren’t getting routine D&C for abnormal uterine bleeding, polyps, endometrial hyperplasia, endometriosis, etc? I do not believe that

Goofyboy · September 17

What does the niece think about this? (assuming she thinks)

Abortions have risen slightly since Roe was overturned, study finds
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/abortions-have-risen-slightly-since-roe-was-overturned-study-finds

She no longer thinks. Seriously - she works for the Daily Wire. I’ve quit communicating with her. She’s in the cult.

lemonlime · September 17

No. But they can't get a D&C to remove embryonic or fetal material unless related to a spontaneous abortion or for a "medical emergency."

Sign In

Official Thread for Abortion Demagoguery

Recommended Posts

elfenix 34075

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Bama Chick

Brisketexan

hayden_horn

Posted Images

elfenix 34075

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Willfully Horn 7854

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Bullneck 18691

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Captainant 26902

Link to comment

Share on other sites

fattyflattie 4633

Link to comment

Share on other sites

NeverMarryAStripper 21765

Link to comment

Share on other sites

NorthLoop 13929

Link to comment

Share on other sites

PenelopeWitherspoon 18402

Link to comment

Share on other sites

NorthLoop 13929

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Bullneck 18691

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Bullneck 18691

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Post Oak 20092

Link to comment

Share on other sites

hpslugga 3984

Link to comment

Share on other sites

tchookem 3895

Link to comment

Share on other sites

MrBig 5160

Link to comment

Share on other sites

jimmyjazz 45162

Link to comment

Share on other sites

NeverMarryAStripper 21765

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Gil Bang 25551

Link to comment

Share on other sites

mchookem 15535

Link to comment

Share on other sites

WhatTheBuck 28604

Link to comment

Share on other sites

bluto 4804

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Voldemort86 2235

Link to comment