It took a several weeks from when I found out that I was pregnant until I was able to get my abortion. I always scoff when people talk about "abortion on demand". There is no place that you can walk in off the street put down your $300 and get an abortion that day. No unless you are having some sort of medical emergency. I found out I was pregnant very early, but was told by the clinic that they could not do a surgical abortion that early on. Having a chemical abortion was not even an option (this was in the mid-90s) so I had to wait about 2 - 3 weeks until I could get an abortion. It was not a pleasant experience, but it certainly wasn't traumatic. I've never regretted the abortion, I regret the pregnancy. I should have been more responsible and vigilant with my pill usage; I felt disappointed in myself. My experience did nothing but strengthen my pro-choice beliefs. I was lucky to have the support of my mother, to live in a location where clinics are available, to not have navigate through protesters and to be able to afford the procedure. Many others don't and that is something that I remember every time I donate to PP and every time I vote.

My sister and brother-in-law, parents of two young and active boys, explained the timeline to me:

terrible twos

horrible threes

f*cking fours

That along with this article is making me rethink my plan to reproduce. All of a sudden my cats are looking pretty well behaved!

Amerigo, Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year, a high holiday for Jews. The Senate is off for two weeks for Easter (easily found on their calendar). And I'm glad that they aren't in session for this holiday since it allows for more discussion and review of this crap legislation that is being shoved down our throats.

Re biogirl: If the gov't buys out the bank for $500K and refi's the owner at $300K, the neighbor has lost 200K in his own equity and ALSO the extra $200K in tax money that went to the bank. There has to be a middle ground here. Restructure the loan, reset the interest rate or set the terms to 45 years and lower the monthly payments. Or lower the principal but if the owner sells then the gov't recoups it's expenses at a certain percent. But is the mortgage crisis really people that can't make principal payments or is it because of resetting ARMs and super-high interest rates? In that case just restructure the loans to 30 year fixed rates. If someone has lost their job, are they even going to be able to cover a reduced mortgage of $300k? Is it job losses that are the problem? If so, mortgage relief is only going to go so far, so it's more about job creation(and keeping them here) then. Also there needs to be a limit on mortgage relief, if people have refi-ed and take out equity several times and spent it on consumer goods then tough luck. Half million dollar houses and above? Really, couldn't those people cut back on their spending and make their damn mortage payments?

You must have watched a different John McCain than everyone else did. He did NOT "explicitly point out that there are real and serious threats to health of the mother, but that there are also cases where the health of the mother is not seriously threatened, but that a doctor can/might claim that it is." Instead he dismissed the medical fact that a woman's health can be in danger from a pregnancy and said that the health exclusion is a political ploy by the "extreme pro-abortion position." That dismissiveness and cavalier attitude towards my rights as citizen is one of the many reasons why I would never vote for John McCain.

So let's extend this argument, why should this be limited to just pregnant women? If the gov't has the right to force a woman to bodily support a fetus then the gov't should be able to force all citizens to donate blood, organs and bone marrow. Every citizen should also be compelled to be an organ donor when they die. Why should a dead person have more rights than a pregnant woman? There should never be a shortage of blood and organ transplant wait lists should be cut drastically.

And I also second the accounts that a 1st trimester ultrasound shows little more than a blob. Sex cannot be determined, bones have not formed nor have fingers and toes formed.

Bones start to develop late 1st trimester, they ARE NOT VISIBLE on an ultrasound, fingers and toes are in bud stage and also are not visible. The fetus is a mere 2 inches in size and half ounce in weight. I've got my 9th week ultrasound right here, it's a black and white blob.

Although I don't think women should be forced to have an ultrasound before an abortion, I really don't believe that looking at an ultrasound is going to make them change their mind. And if it does, they shouldn't get the abortion in the first place. What this legislation probably will do is push the cost up of an abortion so that women will not be able to afford it.

The richest people that I know are being hit by the recession, just in their case they are selling their yacht (in the south of France) to cut expenses. No it's not as painful as selling your blood for food money, but they are feeling the pinch. And expensive houses aren't selling either. My retired parents have a $800K+ house in the DC area that they can't unload even priced $200K less than other comps in their neighborhood.