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by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth


This site has always felt a women's choice to elect abortion, up to the point of viability, ultimately and properly rests with the women. Since viability beyond the 20 weeks is almost assured it seems reasonable to support and accept a ban on abortion beyond the 20th week of pregnancy. With exceptions to protect the life of the pregnant women, if doctors determine the child will be born severely disabled, either mentally or physically or in the case of rape, or incest.

Texas Democratic state Senator Wendy Davis has now came out and stated she would have supported a ban on abortions "if the law adequately deferred to a woman and her doctor." Ms. Davis' shift of course makes all the sense in the world based based on a rational rather than religious/emotional thought process. Texas passed the 20 week ban as drafted however parts of the bill are under court review and it is possble the United States Supreme Court could ultimately decide the question.

Select quotes by Ms. Davis as reported by dallasnews

“My concern, even in the way the 20-week ban was written in this particular bill, was that it didn’t give enough deference between a woman and her doctor making this difficult decision, and instead tried to legislatively define what it was...

“The Supreme Court sets that viability and it probably will be revisited...” “It’s one that deserves that kind of reflection to determine whether that kind of constitutional protection should exist at a time period less than what it is right now.”

“I would have and could have voted to allow that to go through, if I felt like we had tightly defined the ability for a woman and a doctor to be making this decision together and not have the Legislature get too deep in the weeds of how we would describe when that was appropriate.” (Referring to the 20 week ban)

Continue reading the full story BELOW the FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Governor Rick Perry displaying once again his Fundie judgmental attitude as he essentially trashes his adversary, Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis (D). Whether the Gov realizes it or not his holier than thou attitude gains him more detractors than it does supporters. Well, other than the Fundies that populate the Bible thumping belt. Gov is only a few breaths removed from the fundamentalist Muslims. IMNHO.

Here's the video of Reverend Gov delivering his judgment on Sen. Davis

TPM - Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis (D) responded to Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday, chiding him for using "small words" that tarnished Lone Star state values.

Perry invoked Davis' experience as a teenage mother at the National Right to Life conference in Dallas Thursday, telling attendees that it was "unfortunate" that she "hasn't learned from her own example that every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential and that every life matters."

"They are small words that reflect a dark and negative point of view," Davis told the Associated Press Thursday. "Our governor should reflect our Texas values. Sadly, Gov. Perry fails that test."

She also added that his comment was "without dignity and tarnishes the high office he holds."

For more on this story go HERE, and HERE.

Via: Memeorandum

UPDATE:

Just out. Following is a very interesting article by Jonathan Chait from The New York Times. She makes many valid points and pretty much defines the debate with accuracy. To her credit the article is relatively balanced.

The teaser...

... The immediate liberal reaction is that Perry was "attack[ing] her motives and her experiences," or "dismissing her as an unwed, teen mother." But Perry is not attacking Davis here. Perry is pointing to her life as a success. His comments are tantamount to a liberal arguing that Ted Cruz's family history shows why we need more immigration.

Now, to be sure, Davis would respond that giving birth was her choice, and ought to remain her choice. I agree. But this merely pushes the debate back to irreconcilable moral premises. The abortion debate, at its root, pits differing ideas on the fundamental question of what is a human life. Perry's side thinks that sperm plus egg equals human life. My side thinks the fertilized egg does not approach human status until much later in the process, which means the mother's prerogative supercedes any rights it has.

There's no real resolution to this dispute. Nobody even makes much of an effort to resolve it. Both sides advance arguments that only make sense if you already accept their premise about what a human life is. That's what Perry's doing here. He's saying we should force women to give birth even when they don't want to, because babies born in bad circumstances can be happy anyway. That isn't an acceptable burden to place on women, in my opinion, but it surely is if you think abortion is murder... {Read More}

Via: Memeorandum