Hellobee Boards

@daniellemybelle: Not weighing in on the political aspect of this thread, but I wanted to say I don't believe being pro-life would mean you can't be compassionate to a person who had a reduction of her pregnancy.

@daniellemybelle: There are a lot of things that people do that I don't agree with/support but I still offer my support to the person individually.

@babynumber1: What medicare legislation was that?

@MrsBrewer: I understand. I just don't believe those two things can coexist. The end result very well may be the serious restriction of abortion rights, which means that the lives of women will be in grave danger if they need an abortion to save their lives. I would personally rather show my support by my political positions in addition to my personal, because my personal feelings alone won't mean much when her rights are taken away.

@yoursilverlining: Thank you. I don't mean to offend anyone or start a fight, but these are the tough issues we have to confront as American women. You can't shy away from the disconnect that can happen here.

I think a LOT of people don't understand who/what they're voting for. Just from comments I read on facebook and hear dropped casually about who should be prez, I don't think many people do research before deciding what candidate to support.

@MrsBrewer: Absolutely. I completely respect that. I have said before that if I truly believed a fetus at any stage of development was exactly the same as a full term baby, I would not support abortion in any cases. However, I personally believe there is a difference, which is partly why I am pro-choice.

My point was simply that if you are "in between" on this - meaning you are personally pro-life but support women who make different choices because they are in really difficult situations - you should understand that voting for a more conservative candidate can take away those rights for other women completely. It is not just an ideological statement - there is real impact that does affect the health, safety and lives of American women.

I'm not saying who I voted for, but I will say that I'm offended when people assume that because I am a woman, women's issues are the ONLY issue I am voting on. I take all the issues into consideration, like @sslm: so nicely put it. I prioritize how I feel about all of them, line up my agrees and disagrees, and decide based on that, not based on one party or only one issue.

I have always felt strongly about women's rights, but as the mother of a little girl I feel even more strongly. The thought of a conservative presidency (as the party stands right now) saddens me.

@anonysquire: This isn't an attempt to start an argument, but more an attempt to understand. Why is this? I see from other threads that you are voting. If it weren't for the work of women who were very much supportive of women's rights, we wouldn't be in a position to vote. I understand that when some people hear "women's rights" they think radical feminism but honestly, it isn't just about that. How about equal pay for equal work for one?

@boiledpnut: I agree with this. Thanks for outlining it in a way I wouldn't have been able to, which was why it took me 15 minutes to write my post.

i just wanted to add that i am a conservative that firmly believes in the separation of church and state. being conservative does not mean that you are a religious fanatic that wants to see the bible enacted as law. that being said, i believe a woman's right to choose as it pertains to abortion is not a religious issue, it is an ethical issue, which should absolutely be governed.

i think it is our responsibility as women to be kind, loving, and empathetic to one another. regardless of our personal beliefs we should be quick to encourage and love, and slow to judge and belittle.

@boiledpnut: As a left-leaning Canadian (practically off the charts in terms of the American political spectrum) who has an intense interest in American politics, can I just say, hear, hear!

Refraining from commenting as I am not a fan of Mitt Romney and any of his policies.

@caffeinated: I never said I was voting for Romney. I was merely making a point.

@chopsuey119: How did it change your views? For it or against it? Just curious, as it changed my views a lot as well.

Hi. I am prolife and a democrat. I voted for Obama.

Abortion has become this hallmark issue, and I think people forget it is not a legislative one. The president can't just make sbortion illegal. She or he would have to appoint a Supreme Court judge (who would have to be approved by congress) who then would have to hear a course on abortion and overturn roe v wade. The court is already 5-4 conservative and this hasn't happened. The other option is to amend the constitution, but attempts to do that have also failed. It's just not happening.

I am typically opposed to most measures to outlaw abortion that circumvent these realities. I don't think they are effective. I think it is more important and more humane to support single mothers, provide child care, support programs like WIC and food stamps. Or domestic violence screenings These programs are really what enables a woman to be able to choose to raise her kids.

It bothers me that the Vice Presidential candidate sought to permit abortion only in cases of "forcible" rape. I am against abortion in the case of rape, for me personally, but it makes my skin crawl because the implication that if you are date rape, it wa probably still your fault and you should have to deal with the consequences. That offends me deeply as a woman.

I agree that women shouldn't only focus on our lady parts when voting. I voted for Obama because I strongly believe health care is a human right, because I believe in gay rights, because I believe we need a more equitable tax structure, because I support minorities, immigrantion reform, equal pay for equal work. And also because I believe that he is better for the economy. History actually shows that the economy improves significantly more under democrat presidents than republican ones. To me, all that is much more important than voting for some just because they are also prolife, especially since they can't/won't do anything about it, and if the did, probably in a way I think unethical/ineffective.

@Coco Bee: sorry, i think i misread your comment...i went back to your comment and i'm not sure why i put you in the reply. my apologies!

@caffeinated: @boiledpnut: you can find research to support either economic plan. What can’t be argued is that under Obama, government deficits have continued to spiral out of control, the jobless rate is higher than it has been in decades when accounting for people who dropped out of the job market and that the US credit rating has been downgraded. What can’t be argued is that the President has done next to nothing to resolve the fiscal cliff that’s coming up, and he totally ignored the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which HE set up. What can’t be argued is that when crafting Obamacare, he did virtually nil to create bipartisan support, and thus received no Republican support, alienating roughly half the country. He’s also ignored burgeoning costs for entitlement programs like Social Security, which experts (Bloomberg) suggest will likely run out of money in 2024. He’s turned down positive & privately funded economic projects like pipelines to avoid opposition from environmentalists, and he’s allowed protectionism in the Buy America act to continue, both of which have hurt the economy.

There’s no doubt he inherited a gigantic mess, and there’s no doubt Republicans in congress have been obstructionist. But he CHOSE to spend his political capital on health care reform, he chose to ignore Republican opposition to the bill, he chose to ignore reforming entitlement programs and taxes and he chose to take only 1 Republican golfing out of 114 trips while in office (per The Economist), and as such he created motivated and extreme opposition to his positions. His Presidency has been an unmitigated disaster, and the economy is starting to improve in spite of his actions, not because of them.

Whether or not Romney will do any better is certainly up for debate, and there is research to suggest his policies won’t help. But in the last four years the US President has demonstrably gotten in the way of recovery, not added to it.