Kansas Late term abortion doc trial set to begin.

[Howler]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/14/AR2009031401607.html


WICHITA, March 14 -- For abortion opponents, the trial of one of the nation's few late-term abortion providers has been a long time coming, a chance for a little bit of justice after years of seeing their efforts thwarted.

To abortion-rights supporters, George Tiller's trial, set to begin Monday, will be the culmination of repeated harassment, a witch hunt in which his foes have been willing to do anything to gain a conviction.

Tiller and his Wichita clinic have been regular targets of antiabortion demonstrations, including the 45-day "Summer of Mercy" event staged by Operation Rescue in 1991. His clinic was damaged by a pipe bomb in 1986, and in 1993 a protester shot him in both arms.

Abortion opponents contend Tiller illegally aborts fetuses that could survive outside the womb. Kansas law allows late-term abortions if two doctors agree that it is necessary to save a woman's life or prevent "substantial and irreversible" harm to "a major bodily function," a phrase that has been interpreted to include mental health.

[stray cat]

1. I wonder how late term the abortions are and what the health reason was

and what is meant by the baby surviving on its own. It seems strange that we will invest millions in saving premature babies but if they are not wanted we will actively participate in destroying them. However, its really important to know what they mean by late term.

[Howler]

4. I wanna know what they mean by right to life.

Who's life?
The Doc they shot twice. what about his life?
If the Doctor goes to jail What about his life?
If they bomb the clinic what about the people that are in its lives?
If the baby is forced to be carried to term by a woman who doesn't want it what about the womans life? Hell what about that unwanted child's life? I mean come on!!!!Who's life??????

[patrice]

2. If "a major bodily function" were to exclude whatever "mental health" is, the alternative to LTA

would have to be allowing a potentially unstable mother to have the baby anyway (with or without what? kind of mental health support? to what kind of effect?) or somehow mandating that she have the baby and give it up for adoption (or to sell it?).

Are either one of these possibilities realistic?

[patrice]

3. This, and millions of other situations, say, systemic end of life medical choices, or . . .

killing a million Iraqis who were NOT a threat to U.S., are examples of how you cannot expect to legislate morality into the hands of Government. The system must do its absolute best to fulfill all of its responsibilities to their ultimate best possible circumstances under the prevailing conditions and then "the last mile" to what is good or bad MUST be the responsibility of genuinely FREE, fully developed, honest individuals, who have realistic functional alternatives. Anything less than that is The Road to Extinction.