Philadelphia abortion doctor accused of murdering patient, newborns

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

My well-researched reply ended up being an editing nightmare, so here's the Reader's Digest Condensed version:
1.) Yes, I was shown the "pictures" of my breasts, as well as my ureters when I had exploratory surgery on them. I know of women who were shown pictures of the outcomes of various breast cancer treatments - so they would know what they were getting into in terms of physical outcomes. I would never have surgery without having seen all of the relevent data, shown to me by a doctor who could "read" the x-rays, ultrasounds, etc.

Were you required to see them even if you didn't want to? By law?

2.) It's subjective to call requiring an ultrasound "paternalistic, misogynistic, manipulation". The ultrasound will show the stage and completion of development and position of the fetus - all of which can affect medical care.

Which is NOT what the law says. What part of a politician telling a woman that she MUST view an ultrasound of her fetus before she can get an abortion is NOT paternalistic, misogynist or an attempt at manipulation? Again this is not about a doctor being required to view an ultrasound for medical reasons, this is about a requirement on a patient.

3.) Couldn't find the stats for percentage of abortions due to genetic defects. Advances in medicine mean that babies like Lillian Grace are becoming the rule, not the exception, more and more. I know of at least 7 premies in my limited field of friends who were/are perfectly fine. It's still a crapshoot, but being a premie is no longer a death sentence or 100% chance of disability.

Of course it's not a 100% chance of disability, but that wasn't my point. One of the major reasons you can't just say X weeks is the absolute cut off is that there is a lot of gray area. In addition, if a fetus is now "viable" but is only 24 weeks do you allow the woman to induce delivery so she can give birth and then abandon the child to the care of the state, or do you force her to carry it longer?

I'm making a second post with some data I did find.

4.) It's a political issue, voted on in many cases, so restricting the information to the medical profession would be counter-productive. At least in Philadelphia something with the enforcement of the current regulations went horribly wrong - what we need to know is how to prevent this from happening anywhere.

I'm not saying restrict the information to the medical profession, I'm saying that medical professionals should make the decisions about medical care, not politicians (particularly not male politicians who REALLY have no right telling a woman what to do with her body). I'd rather that my medical care, whether abortions or surgery not go up for a public vote.