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Reasonable for us to judge

Posted by Signout on September 1, 2008
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You heard it here first: John McCain got Sarah Palin’s daughter pregnant.

You think I’m kidding?


John McCain has repeatedly voted against legislation that would have prevented unwanted pregnancy by providing insurance coverage for birth control, programs to increase access to and awareness of emergency contraception, and biologically-based sex education.

He has repeatedly voted in support of abstinence-only sex-education programs, which don’t work to prevent teen pregnancy. He also voted against laws requiring that they be vetted as medically accurate before being used.

He voted to earmark a chunk of U.S. aid for HIV/AIDS prevention in the developing world (PEPFAR) for abstinence-until-marriage programs, which don’t work–especially not for women.

In general, when it comes to women’s reproductive rights, John McCain has voted and spoken publicly in favor of programs that get–and keep–women pregnant, whether they like it or not.

The New York Times today quoted Barack Obama as urging that “people back off these kinds of stories.” While I certainly hope we avoid publicly judging Palin’s kid for this, I think it’s very reasonable for us to judge the programs that got her into this pickle to begin with, and the people who promote them. Moreover, I think it’s very reasonable for the press to use this episode as an example of the conservative movement’s hypocrisy and total ignorance of the truth. May their teeth gnash until the McCain campaign is chewed up and spit out.

Palin is quoted as saying her daughter has grown up “much faster than [she] would have ever planned.”

No shit. Blame John McCain, blame your party, and blame your ideology. I do.

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Comments

  1. #1 Darek
    September 1, 2008

    Palin herself is also on record as being against comprehensive sexual education. Think there’s any chance that this will force her to step out of the dream world that anyone who supports abstinence-only education seems to be living in?

  2. #2 Joe
    September 1, 2008

    Great post. Agreed, conservative, faith-based, non-rational approaches to family planning are, ah, less than effective, shall we say.
    Women need to have the RIGHT to make informed family planning decisions. Health insurance providers need to cover all aspects of family planning options. The byline of your post, “John McCain got Sarah Palin’s daughter pregnant” is funny on several levels, but mostly because…I simply can not imagine John McCain and ANY woman having…, but that is beside the point.
    Just like you, I hope all women (and men) understand what voting for Senator McCain means in the context of their family planning options.

  3. #3 decrepitoldfool
    September 1, 2008

    Think there’s any chance that this will force her to step out of the dream world that anyone who supports abstinence-only education seems to be living in?

    No.

  4. #4 Dr.Someday
    September 1, 2008

    “Think there’s any chance that this will force her to step out of the dream world that anyone who supports abstinence-only education seems to be living in?”

    If only…

  5. #5 Zeno
    September 1, 2008

    I think we can count on Sarah Palin and others like her to draw exactly the wrong lesson from this situation: Bristol Palin is pregnant because they didn’t teach her abstinence well enough. See?

    Besides, also teaching her about condoms would have made little baby Jesus cry.

  6. #6 wrpd
    September 1, 2008

    Darek: Jeebus is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow. He never approved condoms, birth control, or anything else that is part of the satanic-liberal agenda. Change? Change? Xians don’t know that word.

  7. #7 bioephemera
    September 1, 2008

    Fabulous post. I grew up surrounded by people in complete denial about their teenagers’ illicit activities – sexual and otherwise. As a result, there were lots of pregnancies, idiotic accidents, and DUIs. Denial may be a nice place to visit, but you can’t stay there indefinitely; real life catches up.

  8. #8 Konradius
    September 2, 2008

    Zeno:
    Besides, also teaching her about condoms would have made little baby Jesus cry.

    Why? Do they think condoms would have prevented the conception of jesus?

    Well, they would have a point in that…

    (and yes, I know the quote was ironic)

  9. #9 iRobot
    September 2, 2008

    They keep saying she is so brave for making the choice to keep the baby, I thought it wasnt a choice? why does she get props for doing something that they want to make all other women also do, stop them by force btw?

    She dosnt, the only thing that this issue does is illustrate that “just say no” doesnt work!

  10. #10 Sili
    September 2, 2008

    Well, Palin has come out in favour of ignorance-only, yes.

    But has she ever said she applied it to her own family?

    Wouldn’t it pay for her to say that she tried telling her daughter about safe-sex yadda yadda?

    It’d be a lie, of course, but no different from the “I used to be an atheist, but then I found Jesus” or “I used to drink, BTIFJ” and so on and so forth.

    “I used to believe in comprehensive sex-ed, but then my daughter got teen-preggers.”

  13. #13 haber
    October 26, 2009

    its very nice and amazing.

  14. #14 komik videolar
    November 18, 2009

    Palin herself is also on record as being against comprehensive sexual education. Think there’s any chance that this will force her to step out of the dream world that anyone who supports abstinence-only education seems to be living in?

  15. #15 replica rolex
    November 22, 2009

    I am glad you recognized her dread about pronouncement as something more than paperwork. One part of my residency I loved was the once a week the hospital chaplain/counselor/ethics professor would round with us.

  16. #16 Jason
    January 20, 2010

    Seeing the vote fight in last year, I can’t help smiling. Who said politic can not be fun? :)

  17. #17 hikaye
    July 23, 2010

    Besides, also teaching her about condoms would have made little baby Jesus cry.

    Why? Do they think condoms would have prevented the conception of jesus?

    Well, they would have a point in that…

    (and yes, I know the quote was ironic)

  18. #18 film izle
    August 4, 2010

    hey do not know the story of young children and what are you supposed to mean condoms :D

  19. #19 şarkı sözü
    May 31, 2011

    once thank you for share. “Think there’s any chance that this will force her to step out of the dream world that anyone who supports abstinence-only education seems to be living in?”

    If only…

  20. #20 dr mustafa eraslan
    May 4, 2012

    I read this mail a bit too late. If I can still contibute please let me know.