You'd almost be forgiven for thinking people don't have the option of keeping their clothes on at times. (Yes, I get that some unwanted pregnancies are the result of rape, but I'll bet the majority of abortions are because someone was surprised rather than raped)
And thus we should distinguish between things like medically necessary abortions, abortion on demand, abortion in the case of sexual assault, etc. It's clearly evil in most circumstances, but I also don't think it should be illegal. People ought to have the freedom to be wrong.
Sure, I think that "abortion is illegal without exception" is hugely unhelpful, especially when dealing with cases like rape, ectopic pregnancies and the like. I agree that people should have the freedom to be wrong, the problem is how far the right to be wrong must be extended. It constantly comes back to the issue of when the unborn becomes a living thing deserving of legal protection against violence. If that thing in the womb is just a clump of cells until birth there's no reason for abortion to be restricted in any way at all. If it's a living human being there's no reason to allow abortion other than when the mother's life is endangered to the point it would be considered self-defense. Part of the problem is that the law seems to fall on both sides - if the mother wants the pregnancy then it's a living thing (e.g. when killing a pregnant woman such that the unborn also dies is a double homicide) but if she does not then it's just a clump of cells and has no rights at all. Schrodingers Fetus might be a curious headline but isn't helpful as a reality.
Maybe hear less of this nonsensical, grating term: "Reproductive Rights." Cows come and go, but the bull never stops.
The problem isn't that the left doesn't know what a woman is, but that the left can't figure out a way to talk about 'women' that isn't 'inclusive' of more than just the biological sex kind of woman. Well, except for those who claim that biological sex isn't clear cut because of DSDs and chromosomal issues, etc. That there are no essential differences between males and females. Those people are lost in a quagmire of 1,000 cut qualifications. It's not always black and white, but it's not "no such thing" either. You just have to, you know, adopt the pomo position, not be too bothered by "not having the answers" and living in the middle of irreconcilable contradictions, etc. etc. They could clearly have a fairly decent metaphysic, they just have to admit that some women aren't like 99% of women. But unlike Jesus, they have to destroy the 99 to welcome the 1.
True, although the way the more progressive left endlessly dances around the issue with terms like "birthing persons", "people who menstruate", "people assigned female at birth", "people with vaginas" etc it's curious to see direct reference to women in protests. As you say it's a shame they feel the need to throw the 99 under the bus for the sake of the 1.
The implication that a woman has "reproductive rights," which, in the current culture of double-speak means the right to abort in any circumstances, is about as phony as it gets...well, among several issues beating like war drums on the not-to-distant horizon. In the end, the unborn might very well not achieve citizen status under any constitution.
Nobody likes the "people who menstruate" language crowd. Nobody. They've just, unfortunately, found themselves a megaphone. But yeah, we could be like: Q. What is a woman? A. A woman is someone who can give birth. Q. So you think the biological markers are significant? A. Eh uh er well uhm { qualifications } But, another issue is the lack of support postpartum. If socially the support was there I think there would be less "I must abort or else my life is over". But this gets at the larger social / systemic issues in the US.
That is a sad issue, giving some justification to the people who want to say those who claim to be pro-life are really only pro-birth. And, in fairness, it doesn't help the pro-life cause when the "solution", such as it is, is little more than to demand the pregnant woman give birth so she can be left to deal with life as a single mother. Arguably there is a case to be made that actions have consequences and you can't really consent to sex without implicitly consenting to the possibility of pregnancy. However much the modern PC crowd might like to howl about the unfairness that the father can walk away while the mother gets to deal with the pregnancy it seems more like an encouragement to women who don't wish to become pregnant, especially by someone they just met and may never see again, to keep their legs together. I forget where I first read the argument that one of the biggest beneficiaries of freely available abortions is young men who want to sow their wild oats with carefree abandon, because everybody knows that the woman can always get an abortion if she does find herself pregnant a while later. Obviously none of this addresses the issues when pregnancy is a result of rape but I suspect those are a minority of cases. On a largely unrelated note it is interesting to see the people demanding to stick needles into everybody going back to the chant of "my body, my choice".
Fun hike in the woods today with a friend. He's way fitter than I am but we weren't particularly pacing hard, more just hiking and chatting. It was good to catch up. This evening I had the TV on while designing a new piece of code I want to write. Now I've got a decent desk back in service maybe I can get back to tinkering with code.
Recent and current health issues point to another likely yet unknown bout with COVID. Everything is back to relative normal except for a shortness of breath which is gradually improving. Recent alarms pretty much explained by this possibility. Not over quite yet, it appears. ADDED: Home testing seems more practical these days.
Appointments with NHS psych, now, to confirm for the NHS that I experience the gender dysphorias. These are always an exercise in, "what if I'm not believable?" Ahem, looks down...
Impromptu birthday party for a friend this evening. It was fairly low key but an enjoyable evening out.
Went for a run this morning, then did some more tinkering in the room I'm rebuilding. Current work is cutting and fitting insulation panels and fixing the last few holes in the wall. Soon I need to order the sound proofing. That will make for an ugly credit card bill....
Getting tired of 1.5+ hour commutes to work these days. It's not a busy, but not stress-free (dodging logging trucks). A rainstorm wiped out a culvert on my usual route. Thankfully a new bridge is supposed to be in place in about a week.
I imagine your road is a bit tougher than mine, but I feel you. The hours spent in the car are starting to wear on me.
Definitely rougher in an empty 1-ton pickup. They do grade the roads quite regularly, but it does not take much for the logging trucks to beat it up again.