I generally try not to go political. But COME ON.
So, yeah. This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am such a vehement supporter of reproductive rights. This girl wants to terminate a pregnancy because she is 13, lives in a shelter, and can't support a child? Gee, I think she's seeing pretty clearly. And yet the State of Florida was looking to make her carry the child to term because...? She can't "make an informed medical decision?" Interestingly, for her age, carrying a pregnancy to term is actually more risky than termination. It boggles my mind that the State of Florida, acting in loco parentis, tried to block this procedure in a state that does not have a parental consent statute (though one is in the works). The State DCF was arguing that it has a policy that says they cannot consent to abortion, but this creates a rather unfortunate double standard that I'm not sitting tight for.
Let me now make some statements about the pro choice movement. Yes, "abortion on demand" isn't the most palatable thing in the world for about 2/3 of people in the US. But until there is comprehensive sex education in the schools, coverage for adequate forms of contraception for all women, and access to high-quality healthcare for all, if a woman doesn't want to have a child, I'm not going to tell her otherwise. It's that simple. I'm very much a supporter of the "safe, legal, and rare" school of thought--we should be willing to prevent these things.
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In other news, I just met a real life foreign service officer. Not nearly as dashing as one would hope. But he has a posting in Paris. That's kinda cool.
Let me now make some statements about the pro choice movement. Yes, "abortion on demand" isn't the most palatable thing in the world for about 2/3 of people in the US. But until there is comprehensive sex education in the schools, coverage for adequate forms of contraception for all women, and access to high-quality healthcare for all, if a woman doesn't want to have a child, I'm not going to tell her otherwise. It's that simple. I'm very much a supporter of the "safe, legal, and rare" school of thought--we should be willing to prevent these things.
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In other news, I just met a real life foreign service officer. Not nearly as dashing as one would hope. But he has a posting in Paris. That's kinda cool.