Angie the Anti-Theist talking briefly about my decision to have an abortion, recorded during the actual process of my at-home medical abortion-by-pill. (You can read more on this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RU486 )
To follow things in real time or read my hatemail after the fact, go through the Twitter hashtag #livetweetingabortion or follow me @antitheistangie
You can read more about my decision and experience on my blog at http://angietheantitheist.blogspot.com
Read the real-life positive abortion stories of hundreds of other women at http://www.imnotsorry.net and http://www.45millionvoices.org/index.html
UPDATE: You can follow media on this from various sources, below.
Why I’m Having an Abortion: The Friendly Atheist http://bit.ly/aqFlzL
Choices: Angie the Anti-Theist http://bit.ly/9q6r0t
The Mark (audio interview) http://bit.ly/9GWpyj
The Frisky http://bit.ly/9jD2Je
Brief Update: Angie the Anti-Theist http://bit.ly/aknyu6
Salon http://bit.ly/bzxRza
ABC News http://bit.ly/d8PZIK
Media Circus: Angie the Anti-Theist http://bit.ly/9OW9Bv
Duration : 0:2:36
Responses to questions posed by a YouTuber called RoevsWade.
Description: George Bush Signs Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 Date: 11/5/2003 Length: 11.85 minutes Political Video Link: http://www.politicalvideo.org/node/1031Original Link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/11/20031105-1.html
Obama Partial Birth Abortion / His Televised Debate Comments
Obama & Abortion / The So-Called Freedom of Choice Act Video. All text, images and video clips from Fair Use or the public domain. A year ago today, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) stood before Planned Parenthood (PP) and vowed that his first priority as president would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). According to NARAL Pro-Choice America, FOCA would “codify Roe v. Wade into law and guarantee a woman’s right to choose in all 50 states.” On April 7, 2007, when Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) introduced the Act in Congress, they knew that it was far more than a government “guarantee” of abortion. If enacted, FOCA would obliterate hundreds of state laws that protect women, parents, children, and health care workers, while forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for millions of abortions. It would overturn commonsense laws like parental notification, conscience protections, abortion waiting periods, informed consent, and regulations for women’s health. In essence, FOCA would tilt the table for abortion. Obama’s support of FOCA hits particularly close to home among African-Americans, whose women and children have been preyed upon for decades by the eugenically minded Planned Parenthood. This connection has been pointed out again to the NAACP, who held their 99th annual conference with a sizeable pro-life presence. Together with Dr. Alveda King, niece of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., black leaders from across the country demonstrated at the convention where both presidential candidates spoke. The pro-life coalition is part of the growing movement of African-Americans who understand the “biggest struggle for civil rights today is for the rights of the unborn.” While the NAACP national leadership and Sen. Obama stubbornly champion the abortion industry, groups like Planned Parenthood are profiting from the disproportionate number of black pregnancies that end inside their walls. Given the devastating effect of abortion on one in every two black pregnancies, shouldn’t the NAACP be leading the charge against it? The promoters of the FOCA sometimes claim that its purpose is to “codify Roe v. Wade,” the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion on demand. But the key binding provisions of the bill would go further than Roe, invalidating all of the major types of pro-life laws that have been upheld by the Supreme Court in the decades since Roe. “The claim that the bill would ‘codify Roe’ is just a marketing gimmick by the proponents,” explained Johnson. “The sponsors hope that journalists and legislators will lazily accept that vague shorthand phrase — but it is very misleading. The references to Roe in the bill are in non-binding, discursive clauses. The heart of the bill is a ban that would nullify all of the major types of pro-life laws that the Supreme Court has said are permissible under Roe v. Wade, including the ban on partial-birth abortions and bans on government funding of abortion.” The bill flatly invalidates any “statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action” of any federal, state, or local government or governmental official (or any person acting under government authority) that would “deny or interfere with a woman’s right to choose” abortion, or that would “discriminate against the exercise of the right . . . in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information.” This no-restriction policy would establish, in Senator Boxer’s words, “the absolute right to choose” prior to fetal “viability.” The no-restriction policy would also apply after “viability” to any abortion sought on grounds of “health.”
4D Ultrasound – Pre-born Baby At 16 Weeks – Pro-Life Video. Courtesy of http://www.focusonthefamily.com/. 4D Ultrasounds Challenge Abortion Laws. The latest 4D ultrasounds that can give video-like images of the pre-born baby will change the views on the time when the fetus can be considered a person. Dr Kristin Savell, of the University of Sydney, Australia, says that people would be more willing to change current regulations on late-term abortions. The 4D scan gives a strong visual imagery giving a video-quality view of the foetus in real time. With this scientific improvement, one can see the small features like eyes and lips that can be distinguished for a person without any medical education. The new technology would become the best argument to prove the personhood of the foetus at earlier stages of development. Traditional 2D images were mostly readable by doctors while more advanced 3D images could produce still but more life-like images. The 4D images will have even greater impact on the public to change their views on abortions and that would challenge the laws on abortion. Using 4D imaging technology we are now better able to study fetal behavior and characteristics. By Day 15, the fetus begins developing neurons in the brain and spinal column. At 22 days, the heart cells begin to beat. Up to the age of 8 weeks, the fetus subsists on the yolk sac, which then shrivels away as the fetus begins to rely on his mother for continued nourishment. Reflexive movement meant to strengthen and exercise his body begins at just nine weeks of development. By four months, the nervous system is up and running, and his bones begin to harden. His hands develop before his feet, probably because they are keeping up with the development of the rest of his senses: taste, hearing, etc. By four months, the fetus squirms when prodded. At just 11 weeks gestational development, the fetus exercises the sucking reflex he will need to feed at birth, and develops left or right-handedness at this time – not in childhood, as originally thought. Experts agree that there is no difference between the 33-week old fetus and the newborn child. In fact, “birth could be a relatively insignificant event in developmental terms.” Sentience in the womb is well demonstrated by the development of the twin bond between identical twins, who, sharing the same amniotic sac, continually interact with each other in the womb while they explore themselves and their environment. Their intimate bond and familiarity with each other can be observed from birth. By four months, the fetus is aware of his environment, especially sounds, since hearing is the first sense to develop. He is especially sensitive to his mother’s voice, and can recognize music – he has memory.
Suction & Curettage Abortion of a 9 Week Fetus Illustrated. Credits at the end of the video. Images from Nucleus Communications, Inc. All text from Fair Use. Suction & Curettage Abortion of a 9 Week Fetus Illustrated. The Suction Aspiration abortion procedure, also known as Vacuum Aspiration, is the most commonly used between 7 and 15 weeks from the last period. A speculum is placed in the vagina, a tenaculum is clamped to the lip of the cervix and a cannula is inserted into the uterus. The amniotic fluid, placenta and fetus are suctioned through the cannula into a collection jar. The fetus and placenta are torn apart in the process. The uterine cavity is scraped with a curette to determine whether any significant amount of tissue remains. Blood, amniotic fluid, placental tissue and fetal parts are placed in a jar. The contents of the jar are then examined to assure that all fetal parts and an adequate amount of tissue commensurate with the estimated gestational age are present. What are the risks? Side effects are common and normal, and consist of abdominal cramping, pain, nausea, sweating, and feeling faint during the procedure, cramping and pain for 2 to 3 days following the procedure, as well as bleeding for up to 2 weeks. True complications occur in approximately 1 to 2% of vacuum aspirations. Allergic reactions to anesthesia or other medications given can occur. It is vitally important that you report any over-the-counter or prescription medications as well as illegal drugs so that the anesthetics can be adjusted accordingly. Bacterial infection can occur during the procedure when surgical tools enter the uterus, while symptoms won’t occur for 2 to 3 days after the procedure. This happens most frequently when there is an underlying STD that is not diagnosed at the time of the abortion. Therefore, it is vitally important that you be tested for STDs prior to the abortion. Infection is the most common post-abortion complication. Hematometra, that is, a uterine blood clot, can occur if the uterus does not contract to expel all of the lining. There will be severe abdominal cramping and nausea if this occurs. Heavy bleeding can occur if the uterus fails to contract and may lead to a uterine blood clot, as mentioned above. Heavy bleeding may require medication, a repeat abortion, surgery, and or transfusion. A cut or torn cervix can occur when the doctor dilates the cervix, grabs the cervix with the tenaculum, or inserts the cannula into the uterus. This may lead to a weakened cervix making carrying a future child to term difficult. The uterus may be perforated during the abortion when the doctor rubs the cannula against the walls of the uterus, causing heavy abdominal bleeding and or infection. You may require surgery to repair the puncture, and rarely you may need a hysterectomy to stop the bleeding. Scarring of the uterus may occur, resulting in “Asherman’s Syndrome.” This scarring can occur as the doctor rubs the cannula against the walls of the uterus and can cause future fertility problems. An incomplete abortion, where the pregnancy has been terminated but the baby or other tissue does not get expelled, can occur in an additional 1% of cases, especially those done before 6 weeks, causing severe cramping and excessive bleeding that continues for over a week following the abortion. Emotional or psychological distress can occur after the abortion, including depression, guilt, regret, anger, and/or sleep disturbance. Suction Aspiration abortion, also called Vacuum Aspiration, is the most common abortion procedure in practice today. For the procedure to begin, the woman’s cervix must be manually dilated with a series of rods to allow for the insertion of a hollow plastic tube with a sharp cutting-tip. This tube is connected to a suction machine that is able to pull the tiny embryo or fetus apart (killing him or her in the process). The remains are sucked out of the mother and deposited into a collection canister. The placenta must then be cut away from the inner wall of the woman’s uterus before it, too, can be sucked into a collection bottle. Suction Aspiration Abortions are not generally performed before the 7th week or after the 15th.
The movie combines rare archival footage with present-day interviews to weave together two parallel stories: the evolution of underground networks to help women find safe abortions outside the law and the intensive efforts of activists and legislators who broke the silence and changed the laws.
ABORTION – THE SILENT SCREAM 1 / Extended, High-Resolution Version (with permission from APF). Republished with Permission from Roy Tidwell of American Portrait Films as long as the following credits are shown:
The movie combines rare archival footage with present-day interviews to weave together two parallel stories: the evolution of underground networks to help women find safe abortions outside the law and the intensive efforts of activists and legislators who broke the silence and changed the laws.