Oddbean new post about login | logout @f884fa2b I agree with every single thing you said, except in *this* case. The decision should always be between a woman & her doctor, even if her doctor has seen her for a video visit. Abortion should be unrestricted during the first trimester, under medical care. 16 weeks & up, between a woman & her doctor. Over that? Ethical Dr’s have good reason to do late term abortions. Medication isn’t safe after 11 weeks. This was unsafe medically unsupervised abortion. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/abortion/the-abortion-pill
@47bd94e2 Yes, I agree with what you say. What I think we do not know — or I don't, not having read any credible reporting about this — is what caused this 17-year-old (and her mother) to make the decisions they did. I think the point can be made strongly that it has become so difficult if not impossible for many women who find themselves pregnant in the US to obtain an abortion now, and I can see that this would cause confusion, hesitation, panicked decisions.
@f884fa2b I don’t think we will ever know. According to this article, daughter suffers from mental health issues & at the time they couldn’t have afforded a burial. She was pregnant due to an abusive relationship. I’ve missed something, though. At the time the case was brought the law only prohibited abortions after 20 weeks. That’s why she was charged. Personally, unless a doctor says, yes abortion is necessary, I don’t have a problem with a 20 week cut off. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/22/burgess-abortion-pill-nebraska-mother-daughter
@47bd94e2 I don't have a problem with a 20-week cut off — as long as a woman who finds herself pregnant is given total freedom to consult with medical folks from the outset, and as long as such a cut off includes leeway for the situations that arise more frequently than some people think later in pregnancy which require termination for sound medical reasons. All things considered, I'd like to give overweening weight to the right of a woman and her medical advisors to make the decisions.
@f884fa2b We both agree with every single word you just wrote in that order. We always have. That’s my problem in this case. There was no medical supervision. My mind is blown that an adult woman, the mother, didn’t think that she could have been placing her daughter’s life at risk. She was. She did.
@47bd94e2 Yes, but, again, we really don't know what caused the mother to make a decision that, to us looking in from the outside, caused her to act so injudiciously. This is the horror of the situation the Supreme Court and many states have now created: decisions that are deeply personal and should be handled in consultation with medical professionals now, willy-nilly, become public ones, and as they do so, we just don't have all the information we need to evaluate them.
@f884fa2b Thanks for your patience, William. I know we aren’t trying to change each other’s minds but it’s nice to really see another’s perspective. I’m not quick to judge but this hits close to home. I am sure that has influenced me. I almost lost my kids @ 21.5 & 19.5 weeks. I was born @ 33 weeks @ 2# 11 ounces. Babies are routinely being born & surviving at 23 - 24 weeks. A few at 21 weeks. I have worked with PP for 45 years. I know the options and avenues to help. I wish they had.
@47bd94e2 I can share that wish. I also cannot pass judgment on this mother and daughter, because I don't know their circumstances and am not walking in their shoes. And I'm absolutely certain that the situation the Supreme Court has created by ripping away the right of abortion recognized by Roe v. Wade puts many people in intolerable situations.