Does anybody read these?

More on abortion...

I swear this isn't a political blog, except that I'm a very political person. It's not a religious blog, except that I'm a religious person. (Do you know how many people found their way to the nun story by googling words like "nun," "habit," "convent" and "Catholic"? Only slightly less than those who googled "Shannon Brown.")

This blog is about me. It's about what I believe. Sometimes I go on rants. Sometimes I say things that make you all collectively say WTF? Sometimes I'm funny. Sometimes I'm boring as hell. And yes, sometimes I offend people. In the past, I've been offensive on purpose. Sometimes I've been funny at the expense of others. And sometimes people just don't agree with me. That's OK. That's America. And that's why everyone has their own blog and they all look different. Yeah, I feel badly that my post on South Dakota's new abortion law offended a very good friend of mine from that state. I hope I clarified my position in the comments. Yes, I'm mad. I'm always mad when I see my rights being eroded. So, I ranted.

After I responded to Kay's comments, I went back and checked my e-mail again. There was a press release from the Ohio Catholic Democratic Caucus about the 95-10 plan for reducing abortions. I figured I'd share that with all of you as well. Maybe it makes my point a little better than I did.

For immediate release:
Ohio Democratic Catholic Caucus
Contact Jeff Sinnard 513-582-4241

The Ohio Democratic Catholic Caucus supports in the 95-10 Plan for Ohio.

The 95-10 Plan will reduce abortions 95% over the next 10 years once implemented. We must move beyond the failed rhetoric of the past and look to the future where women are empowered with real choices regarding their pregnancies. Instead of failed legislation that makes abortion more difficult to have, the 95-10 plan makes abortions less necessary to have. Instead of taking away a woman’s right to choose, the 95-10 plan empowers women with the right choices, allowing her to choose life. The 95-10 plan will do more to reduce the number of abortions than all the speeches, all the campaign ads so called pro – lifers have used over the last thirty years.

All too often in this country concern is not given to the baby who has been born. Babies and their mothers are forgotten and pushed into a social neverland where they suffer in poverty, neglect, and often abuse.

The basic health, safety and well being of mothers are in jeopardy. Important programs meant to enable women to function as good mothers and lead productive lives such as the ability to continue her education, equal pay for equal work, maternity leave from her job, quality health care, adequate housing, reliable and safe child care, and a realistic minimum wage do not reach many who need them the most. These programs are often the most criticized and least popular with our federal and state lawmakers.

The correlation between this lack of economic and social means and the abortion rate cannot be underestimated or ignored. In fact, two thirds of women who have had abortions claim their primary reason for having one is that they cannot afford a child.

Poverty is both a crisis and a tragedy in our modern society in the United States. Six out of ten women who seek abortions have an income level below $28,000 per year for a family of three.

During the 1990s, the abortion level in the United States reached a 24 year low. It has long been known there are fewer abortions in countries where women and their babies have access to good health care. Conversely, according to the World Health Organization, the highest ratio of unsafe abortions in the world occurs in countries where abortions are illegal and where few social services are available.

The Ohio Democratic Catholic Caucus supports in the 95-10 Plan for Ohio. This does not mean that the specific proposals in this initiative do not need further refinement, debate, and modification. We are confident that this will happen. We must move beyond the rhetoric of division and focus on real issues that will address the real problems facing women specifically with respect to abortion. The debate must start somewhere and this plan will accomplish that.

Our concern and respect for life does not end at birth, but includes an unfailing commitment to the spiritual, economic and social well-being of all children, both born and unborn, pregnant women, and mothers.

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The 95-10 Plan - http://www.catholicdemsoh.org/ht/d/sp/i/584998/pid/584998

Democrats for Life - http://www.democratsforlife.org/

posted by Laura at 4:18 PM