Yes. Labor is chemically induced (which is why it is often called "partial birth abortion.") But I'm no certain of all the details of that part of the process (nor do I particularly wish to know).

"Do you think it's alright to perform the abortion in a way that kills the fetus?"

How else does one terminate a pregnancy?

My (limited) understanding is that a late-term abortion is a multi-step process, that involves administering drugs to the mom to soften the cervix and promote dilation, as well as drugs sometimes administered to the fetus, to stop its heartbeat, before it is extracted. The extraction process is graphic ad awful. But is done with the intent of causing he last amount of suffering to woman or fetus.

"you realize this is the same argument pro-lifers make when they say that woman make their choice when they engage in the sex act, don't you?"

Ummm, no. Or rather, if they do, they can not construct a proper argument.

How do any of these Sotomayor decisions lead a person to conclude she's a forced-birther?

If anything they reveal:

1. Sotomayor is not an "Activist judge" who will rewrite the law when it fails to conform to her ideaology (in the fubding case).

2. Sotomayor is not willing to sacrifice the rule of law, even for contemptible people (the beaten forced-birther protestrs).

3. Sotomayor is not interested in allowing the State to interfere with a woman's right to control her own body (amnesty for woman subjected to forced birth control).

None of these rulings ring any alarm bells in my head.

"A person who views a baby as a parasite is a disgusting person indeed."

Well, let's start with St Reagan and work our way through the GOP. You know, the ones who insist single mothers are "queens "rinding around in cadillacs wearing designer jeans, soaking up the public funds with their undeserved welfare checks. The ones who fight tooth and nail for funding for education, health care, nutrition and child care for poor children.

Love the fetus, hate the child is old politics.

Bill O'Reilly asked "do late-term fetuses have any rights at all?" Of course they do. Which is why only 3 doctors provided late-term abortions in this country. The question is really "Who has more rights, a late-term fetus, or its mother?"

We already have a guideline (established in Roe v Wade) that grants more rights to the mother in the first trimester, and cedes more rights to the fetus as the pregnancy progresses.

(How many cases are there, really, of a 7-month's pregnant woman walking into a clinic, saying "Meh, I just changed my mind."? I can't imagine there are many. A woman who would choose to terminate a pregnancy for trivial reasons - she's afraid of labor, she doesn't want to get fatter, she broke up with her boyfriend and wants to "show him!", or born under the wrong zodiac sign) likely has bigger psychological problems to begin with.

Maybe in recent years. But civil disobedience and organized protests served the abolitionists, the labor law reformers, the suffragettes, and the civil rights movement.

I too, was lucky to have a great dad. While he did call me his princess, he never treated me like one. Probably the best thing he did was to talk to me like a rational adult, from the time I started becoming "rational" (6 or 7). We could talk about school, the news, boys and dating, politics, religion, whatever was bothering me or exciting me, and I never felt talked down to or brushed off. I knew I could talk to him about anything, that I'd get a straight answer, and that he wouldn't sugar-coat anything just to spare my feelings (though he would always be kind). What a gift to one's child. Thanks Dad!

The taking (and later freeing) of the American hostages is one of my earliest political memories. I was 7, the same age as my daughter is now. According to Fareed Zakaria, the Iranian Revolution is over (as a philosophy), even if the regime manages to squash the protests and remain in power. The people are no longer buying what the Supreme Leader is selling. I certainly hope for real political change in Iran, with a few lives lost as possible.

This is all I've seen from Glenn Greenwald on the Iranian election:

"Speaking of Iran, I don't have any idea what really happened with its presidential election -- if, as Juan Cole argues, there was widespread fraud, that would be entirely unsurprising --" but Iran is not as full of Reformist lefties as we might wish.

How is that an endorsement of the election?

Isn't Friday the day you release stuff you hope people forget about over the weekend?

pregnant (from Miriam-Webster online dictionary):

preg·nant

Pronunciation:

ˈpreg-nənt

Function:

adjective

Etymology:

Middle English, from Latin praegnant-, praegnans carrying a fetus, alteration of praegnas, from prae- pre- + -gnas (akin to gignere to give birth to) — more at kin

Date:

14th century

1archaic : cogent

2: abounding in fancy, wit, or resourcefulness : inventive

3: rich in significance or implication : meaningful, profound

4: containing a developing embryo, fetus, or unborn offspring within the body : gravid

5: having possibilities of development or consequence : involving important issues : momentous

6obsolete : inclined, disposed

7: full, teeming

"Pregnant" has always been a word that describes a state of becoming, not being. It's a state of possibility, not certainty.

A newly fertilized egg, an embryo, or a non-viable fetus is a *potential* baby. Not to be confused with a fully-developed, breathing, infant.

Have you heard of Google?

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/pregnancy/adoption-21520.htm

has a direct link to

http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/

also:

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/teen-talk/teen-pregnancy/teens-adoption-25083.htm