Over the last several weeks, it has become apparent that Sarah Palin is out of touch on a whole host of issues, ranging from the bailout and the economy to foreign policy to the Supreme Court. After this week's interview with Katie Couric, we can now add women's health to the list.
Her answers on reproductive health issues, such as criminalizing abortion, exceptions for rape and incest, and what exactly the morning-after pill is, were a rambling mix of contradictions and platitudes, much like her answers about Russia bordering Alaska, the bailout, health care, and the economy.
So, for the vice-presidential debate tonight, here's what I'd ask Sarah Palin to answer directly:
1. You said in your interview with Katie Couric that you are "all for contraception," but then you said you don't support the morning-after pill. Do you know that the morning-after pill IS contraception, it's simply a higher dose of hormonal birth control? Now that you know that, does it change how you feel about it being made available?
2. You said that abortion should be illegal even in the cases of rape or incest, but then you said no one should end up in jail for having an abortion. I assume when you say it should be illegal, that you mean it should be a crime - if you don't think anyone should go to jail, how would you enforce it?
3. You say that you believe there is an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution, yet you want to overturn Roe v. Wade, which is based on a right to privacy. How do you reconcile these two conflicting beliefs?
4. You say that you support abstinence-only policies, which have been proven over and over to be ineffective. Then you seem to contradict yourself, saying that you are "pro-contraception." What exactly are you for, comprehensive sex education, which includes teaching of abstinence as well as contraception and prevention; or "abstinence-only until marriage," which typically does not cover contraception. As vice president, would you like to continue President Bush's legacy in funneling millions of federal dollars to ineffective "abstinence-only" programs, or do you support comprehensive sex education programs that include abstinence and have proven to reduce the number of teen pregnancies?
5. Will you continue to cut funding for support of young mothers? After cutting funding by 20 percent for Covenant House Alaska, a place with the resources and assistance to help teen mothers gain the necessary skills to create a stable life, will you extend this to the rest of young, low-income mothers in the U.S.?
6. Considering all of these things, would you say that the women of America will have a champion in Sarah Palin as vice president?
We thought it couldn't get more anti-choice and more extreme for women and for health care than George Bush and John McCain. But let's face it -- with Sarah Palin, John McCain has outdone himself. Women voting for McCain-Palin is like chickens voting for Col. Sanders. That is not a risk we can afford to take.
Sign our letter today -- tell Sarah Palin that she is not your candidate.
So...now that you know that there is at least one pro-choice advocate out here who DOES support the death penalty for murderers (and rapists, too, btw)....how interesting do you think things are now?
How does anyone formulate the impression that a woman decides to have an abortion on a whim or because it's the easier, softer way? I am tired of RTL saying abortions are anyone's primary form of birth control. Women have them because they are not able to either carry a child to term or are unable to face raising that child without the resources necessary.
I don't see RTL rallies gathering checks that will pay insurance, day care, education, food and clothing for these unborn babies they are bound and determined deserve the right to live. HUH? I do not see folks supporting the children who are here and are in severe need. Why don't the children who are at risk for being part of our HEINOUS Infant Mortality Rate deserve every intervention to PREVENT death after they have been born?
Actually, I think that women of child bearing age should have prenatal vitamins, just in case. We need to make sure they are eating properly, just in case. We need to dig in and treat all women as if they are pregnant or may become pregnant, just in case. This would be a true demonstration of love and humanity.
Iraq did not attack us. We invaded them under false pretense. George Bush lied to the US public. Some of us knew better. Others went along for the ride.
Why they don´t take care of born babies with a free medical insurance, for example?
No to McCain/Palin, no way, never!
"1. You said in your interview with Katie Couric that you are "all for contraception," but then you said you don't support the morning-after pill. Do you know that the morning-after pill IS contraception, it's simply a higher dose of hormonal birth control? Now that you know that, does it change how you feel about it being made available?"
How is contraception that interferes with a fertilized egg implanting in the endometrial tissue any different than a mechanical abortion a few weeks later?
Me, I think "woman's freedom of choice" is sheer narcissism. When did you ever hear men moaning and whining about "men's freedom of choice"? And you won't hear it, because women do not believe in men's freedom of choice. You feminists still want us to be second class citizens. It was never about equality.
Men have two choices in life: work or prison. Women have the choice of work or living off a man's work. Even if you don't make that choice, it is always an option (unless you hate men so much that you can't pretend long enough to get one). I'll know sexual equality has been achieved when women quit whining about acquiring options that men can never have.
WHAT's the BIG DEAL here about Sarah Palin ??? She doesn't decide anything anyway----and all this is PARROT talk by the Obama group to SCARE people.
I'm in no hurry to go back to the bad old days, thank you. I'm far too much of a reality-based feminist to relinquish hard-won rights. Palin's views ARE extreme for 2008. There are men in Saudi Arabia who wouldn't insist that a woman be forced to bear the child of a man who raped her or in cases of incest. Sarah wouldn't make an exception for a hypothetical teenaged girl carrying her own father's baby.
Thanks, but a great big NO THANKS! In her own right, Palin is a Bridge to Nowhere.
Obama/Biden '08 because I want my NEXT president to be Reality-Based.
Sarah Palin: The Great Leap Backward in High Heels.
" they didn't condone abortion or birth control"
i don't believe in dragons or unicorns.
abortion and birth control happen. period.
as far as assuming what RFK and JFK believed........ you need to back off
you have absolutely no idea what they believed.
read the article...... being pro life is more than being anti abortion.
in ms palin's case it seems to be anti mother also.
what with cutting funding to young mothers by 20%
pro life...... what a joke.
it is a hot button issue to get people to the polls.
Whenever the anti-choice crowd throw out the numbers for how many abortions are supposedly performed each year, I can't help but wonder how the states and the federal government would have been able to support that many children, most of whom were the children of the poor. I can tell you right now that if abortion is made illegal in this country, the states and the fed will have to find a way to enforce child support by the fathers.
Women will not be the only ones who will suffer if abortion becomes illegal. Men will pay the price, too. And yes, so will children.
Another confusion is that all Pro Choice people are pro abortion. I might never consider the option for myself, but realize that my life has been an easy one. I have never been raped, suffered incest, been homeless, been on welfare, been a single mom, been unable to afford childcare, been a runaway on the streets. What right do we have to decide that all abortions are for convenience only? 15% of abortions are requested by young women "with fundamentalist backgrounds" (I'll look up the study & post) meaning these girls are more afraid of their parents than their God. Something to think about.
If ANY exceptions are to be allowed, Roe v Wade must stand. Our nation does not need to become further split - the haves from the have nots. Reversing Roe will hurt only the poor, as the wealthy will be able to jet off to wherever to "fix" things. Turning the US into another China is not the thing to do - the Chinese forced to not have children, the US forced TO have children. BABIES SHOULD NOT BE A PUNISHMENT!
If your beliefs keep you from making that choice, by all means follow your faith. But do not presume to make the decision for those who's circumstances might be very different from yours. God is certainly more forgiving than those who worship him.
The whole reason why there are so many births out of wedlock is in part due to abortion. Sex is seen as nothing more than fun with the old "Friend with benefits". The whole machine has created an imbalance in the fabric of our society. Men are no longer men, they are wandering sperm donors. Woman are sperm banks and only allow the "wanted" child when it seems convenient through the gateway of abortion. Read up on the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, and you will find she has more in common with unsavory characters in our history then she does with the pro-life Susan B. Anthony.
That's a softball. The right to privacy does not override the right to life. You can't kill an innocent human being in the name of privacy.