Outspoken Feminist Attacks Abortion Pill Instead of Promoting It



(This update courtesy of LifeSite News.)


SYDNEY, AU (LSN.ca) – Feminist icon Germaine Greer spoke at a gynecologists and obstetricians conference in Sydney last week startling her fans worldwide by attacking the abortion pill. Dr. Greer, speaking at the “Best for Women” conference told her listeners that she had been asked to assist in “bringing pressure to bear” to increase access to the abortion pill RU-486.

However, Greer said it was “odd” that access to abortion would be regarded as a privilege. “Of course we need access to amputation but we need even more to make sure that as few people are in a situation where they need amputations as possible. Likewise abortion,” she said.

Speaking of the harm done to women by the pill, Greer said: “These are violently active chemicals and they have violent reactions on the organism.” She concluded: “What is the situation in which a woman would undergo that kind of assault? What is it that's brought us to a situation where a woman who is pregnant doesn't want to be?”

Click here to see coverage from the Australian Associated Press.



Mr. Daschle, Bring up the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban for a Vote!

by Kenneth L. Connor

While the war against terrorism has understandably diverted the attention

of members of Congress to pressing foreign-policy issues, the current

crisis has been used by some as an excuse not to address a critical

domestic issue facing our country.

Partial-birth abortion (PBA) is an outrageous, horrific procedure that

ought to be deemed utterly intolerable in a civilized society. Since the

U.S. Supreme Court struck down more than 30 state laws banning the odious

procedure in 2000, a new federal law has been crafted that includes a

series of findings from congressional hearings. These findings demonstrate

conclusively that the procedure is never medically necessary to preserve

the health of a woman and, in fact, could be extremely hazardous to her

health.

The dangers of partial-birth abortion to women include abruption of the

placenta, amniotic-fluid embolism, a ruptured uterus which could lead to

hysterectomy or other major surgical procedures, and cervical incompetence,

making it difficult to carry future pregnancies to term.

In July, the House passed a new bill to ban partial-birth abortion by a

vote of 274-151. Since then, the measure has lingered in the Senate because

Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D., S.D.) does not believe the issue “merits

the highest priority.”

Daschle has voted to support a ban on no fewer than three occasions in the

1990s. Back then, of course, Daschle knew that Bill Clinton would veto the

measure, so it was in effect a “free vote” for him. Now that President Bush

resides in the White House, and has announced his intention to sign a PBA

bill, Tom Daschle refuses to take the matter up in the Senate.

There can only be two explanations for his inaction: Either he has changed

his mind and now supports this grisly and brutal practice — which all but

the most extreme abortion proponents find abhorrent — or his earlier

“support” was mere “eyewash” and he cynically voted to pass the procedure

knowing that President Clinton would veto the bill, thereby assuring others

would be credited with doing the dirty work. If the latter is the case,

Daschle's willingness to embrace brutality is exceeded only by his cynicism

and duplicity toward the American people.

But then Daschle would not be the first Washington politician who wanted to

have his cake and eat it, too. As it is, Daschle wants credit in South

Dakota for being “pro-life” on partial-birth abortion, while genuflecting

to the politically powerful pro-abortion interest groups in the Democratic

party.

In passing the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, the Congress of the

United States acknowledged that the newly born child who survived an

abortion was vested with inherent dignity and an unalienable right to life.

These are qualities whose existence is based on the nature of our being and

not on the location of our bodies. Whether born or almost born, infants who

are alive are members of the human family and deserve protection against

brutal acts that kill our kin and callous our conscience.

Daschle should take up the bill to ban partial-birth abortion with dispatch

and not hide behind the war on terrorism as an excuse for inaction. Surely

the Senate can walk and chew gum at the same time, especially in view of

the fact that it passed a PBA by overwhelming votes on two previous

occasions.

Every time we have this debate the public becomes better informed about the horrors of abortion. Americans, including South Dakotans, are overwhelmingly opposed to this grotesque procedure.

Senator Daschle should heed the voice of his constituents, as opposed to

the national pro-abortion lobby, and bring this issue to a vote in the U.S.

Senate. He has one week left to do so. If he doesn't, he will have proven

once again that he puts politics before principle, and sadly, he will have

done so at a very high cost.

Take Action

Call Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle at 202-224-5556 and urge him to bring up the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (H.R. 4695) for a vote on the Senate floor. Also, contact your two U.S. senators and urge them to support H.R. 4695. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.

To learn about other pressing pro-life issues, sign the “Stop Partial-Birth Abortion Petition,” or write to ALL of your state legislators with one click, visit the website of the National Right to Life Committee.


(This article courtesy of Steven Ertelt and the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email infonet@prolifeinfo.org.)

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