I actually thought the most “sanctimoniously smug” CNN anchor was Soledad O’Brien, but apparently it is actuallly Ashley Banfield. I have to be honest, I didn’t watch the video in that Breitbart.com post I just linked to, because I have a very low tolerance for “sanctimonious smugness,” particularly if it is also “nauseatingly insufferable.”
Anyway, included in Banfield’s performance is apparently an accusation that Paul Ryan is “soft on rape.” I assume he has a similar position to me on the issue of abortion, so I am going to offer my position on “rape” to show that it is possible to be simultaneously opposed to abortion, even in the case of rape, and not soft on rape.
First, women should be allowed to carry concealed and open weapons. Even the possibility that a woman might be carrying a weapon might make a few rapists reconsider. Second, the minimum penalty for rape should be a very long time (I’m thinking life in prison, where rapists aren’t very popular). That will probably make a few more rapists reconsider. Third, if a rape victim (of forcible rape) should be impregnated by the rapist, and that pregnancy should be aborted, the rapist should be convicted of murder if he is convicted of rape. That possibility might make a few more rapists reconsider (or at least wear a condom, which is better than nothing even if not much better).
Unfortunately, there will always be rape. Rapists are among the worst people on Earth, and Ashley Banfield’s histrionics notwithstanding, being opposed to abortion doesn’t make one think otherwise. I’m still of the opinion, however, that it is a greater injustice for one human to be deprived of their life than for another to be deprived of about 8 months (I have no idea when a woman starts showing signs of pregnancy and how long it is from then to the end of the pregnancy, but that is how long I mean).
In other abortion related news, Barack Obama’s position on abortion is rather extreme. Even if you don’t think a zygote is a baby, hopefully you think a baby is. Not Obama though; he supported* “partial birth abortion” which is a euphemism for “killing a partially-birthed baby by sucking its brain out.” Here is a description of the procedure from Wikipedia:
[T]he largest part of the fetus (the head) is reduced in diameter to allow vaginal passage. According to the American Medical Association, this procedure has four main elements. Usually, preliminary procedures are performed over a period of two to three days, to gradually dilate the cervix using laminaria tents (sticks of seaweed which absorb fluid and swell). Sometimes drugs such aspitocin, a synthetic form of oxytocin, are used to induce labor. Once the cervix is sufficiently dilated, the doctor uses an ultrasound and forceps to grasp the fetus’s leg. The fetus is turned to a breech position, if necessary, and the doctor pulls one or both legs out of the cervix, which some refer to as ‘partial birth’ of the fetus. The doctor subsequently extracts the rest of the fetus, leaving only the head still inside the uterus. An incision is made at the base of the skull, a blunt dissector (such as a Kelly clamp) is inserted into the incision and opened to widen the opening, and then a suction catheter is inserted into the opening. The brain is suctioned out, which causes the skull to collapse and allows the fetus to pass more easily through the cervix.
So, it’s basically infanticide. If the fetus becomes an infant once it leaves the uterus (although I am still not sure how that happens), it is impossible to argue otherwise. People who support abortion (in all or only some cases) might have an argument if the abortion occurs in the first trimester, but not “partial birth abortion.” It is indesputably murder. And Barack Obama support(ed) it.
But, as despicable as that is, I think what is more despicable is his destruction of the economy and his attempts at distracting voters away from that (not to mention his covert Marxism, his racism, and other things). Obama’s support of infanticide is a way to counter the “Romney and Ryan are extreme on abortion” narrative, but the real issue is the economy. So, hopefully, this will be the last abortion-related post on this blog for a while (although the media will probably keep talking about it, and they’ll probably make another ridiculous claim that I will want to write about, so I’ll see).
*It seems like Obama “evolved” on this as well (in 2008) to make himself appear more moderate than he really is in preparation for his presidential bid.
