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Beyond the Abortion Debate

April 15, 2004

(archived broadcast )
Special guest: Dr. Frank Boehm, author of Doctors Cry Too.

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  • Babies 'R Us December 7, 2006 10:20 am

    Kaliha–make a bra out of coconut halves and give the baby to Babies ‘R Us

  • Babies 'R Us December 7, 2006 10:20 am

    Kaliha–make a bra out of coconut halves and give the baby to Babies ‘R Us

  • kaliha December 6, 2006 11:29 am

    I don’t live with my mom I live with my godmother and she told me that if I was to bet pregnant I woulb have to leave. And that she wouldn’t help me with the baby and that she have me to live with the baby father. My boyfriend’s mother told me that if I eas to have a baby by her son that she would let me live with them.Should I take that offer?

  • Vicky November 17, 2004 8:26 am

    I read this at the MSN news site this morning and thought I’d share the link here. It’s about another death with an 18 year old who used RU-486.
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6502927/

  • Vicky November 16, 2004 7:38 pm

    I just listened to this debate this afternoon and enjoyed hearing Dr. Boehm share his views and perspectives on this issue which as he said, will never go away.
    Dr. Boehm is a MD who describes himself as “pro-choice, but…” I sensed that he is a very decent, honest and moral man, even though I am very much pro life. I give him credit for admitting that the fetus is a human being, a child; in admitting this he also admits that he is killing a human being when he performs an abortion. I think it takes a lot of courage for him to admit this and not use terms like a “bunch of cells” or a “blob of tissue” etc. He admitted that he believes in telling girls/women exactly what he is doing and not trying to disguise what is actually being done. He claims of the 1.2 million abortions that were done in 2003 that 90 % of these were done in the first trimester, which takes the unborn up to the 13 week mark. As Dr. Boehm admitted, brain waves have been determined at 13 weeks as well. He told of the in utero fetal surgery that he has been a part of and that the child does move and react to being touched, although it is not determined if the child feels actual pain at this point. (He did say that during a 2nd trimester abortion,13-26 weeks, that they sedate the woman, not only for her benefit but also due to the concern for the pain the unborn child would experience during the termination of it’s life) (This just makes me shudder.)
    The discussion on birth control was interesting as well and I want to state that the biggest majority of the “Conservative Pro Life” people I know are not against using birth control. There are those on the fringe of all of this but the majority of us have nothing against this and would much prefer the use of bc to an unplanned pregnancy which would result in a termination. I am against the RU-486 as it is an abortifacient and it has been shown to have problems of it’s own and I have read of several deaths connected to women using this drug. I didn’t know too much about Plan B or the Preven, so this information was helpful. I do understand the concerns of this but still would much prefer a woman rely on this rather than terminate a pregnancy already in progress! I do have a problem with any of these “hormone” type drugs simply for the reason that they are chemicals – they are drugs – they can cause their own problems, but my concern here is for the woman’s overall long term health.
    I think the biggest argument for abortion is not the biggest reason women are getting them. The arguments for abortion that we hear the most are in cases of rape, incest or the woman’s life is in danger. These situations do arise but I believe that they are a very small percentage. I would not presume in these cases to make a judgement,however. The nightmarish stories of botched abortions before Roe vs Wade scare people into believing that we needed to legalize the murdering of the innocent – there are still “botched abortions” and horrible things happening to women from this practice, even though it is legal and supposedly “safe.” It is a very unnatural act to interrupt a pregnancy and there are some studies that show a relation to an abortion (or abortions) in a woman’s past and her inability to conceive at a later date and also some studies have shown that there is an increase in breast cancer for women who have had abortions.
    Dr. Boehm reminded us that in 1962 Kennedy’s son died due to prematurity at 34 weeks ; today survival is at 24 weeks. He said he doubts that medical technology will advance any further than this age, but how do we know? In 1962 they wouldn’t have been able to imagine an unborn baby surviving outside the womb at 24 weeks.
    I have to comment on the parental consent/parental notification issue! I was glad to hear Dr. Boehm’s remarks on this as he supports parental consent. Mark, I know you took issue with that and said while you supported parental notification, you thought a 16 year old girl or even a 12 year old girl, for that matter, should not have to have parental consent to get an abortion! (Do you have children, Mark?) Your rationale was that it’s her body and if she doesn’t want to have a baby, she shouldn’t have to. It’s her body if she wants to take drugs, smoke cigarettes or weed too right? What if she wants to quit school? I have to sign a consent form so my now 16 year old can take a tylenol at school or carry her inhaler with her. When she was 13, we took her to get her ears pierced – I had to sign for her to have her ears pierced. When she was 15, I had to sign again for her to have her ears pierced the 2nd time and yes when she turned 16, I signed one more time for her 3rd piercing in each ear. (That’s it, I told her I’m done.) She has to have my consent to have her ears pierced but she shouldn’t have to have her parent’s consent for an abortion?
    I know a lot of young girls, who when they first get pregnant are “scared to death” to tell their parents and yet many times, once the parents get over their shock, disappointment or whatever, they draw closer to their daughter and their grandchild and things work out very well. Yes, there are those situations where it doesn’t work out this way, but I think it’s a small percentage in this case as it is with the awful reasons people cite for abortion in the first place.
    This was a good broadcast. Mark, I feel you were a gracious and fair host. I am going to look for and purchase a copy of Dr. Boehm’s book, “Doctor’s Cry Too”.