Whew….. I cannot believe I’m even going to write this, but I am. Whether I hit that publish button or not……we’ll see. I’m writing this as a woman, as a Mom, as a daughter and as an American who doesn’t want to have any more of her rights, or the rights of any other woman, taken away. As an American who is loaded for bear and not willing to lose this presidential election to more of the same without going down fighting.

I’ve had some experience with giving birth, adoptions, abortions…… my experience runs the gammit. When I was 17, I got pregnant. My boyfriend was fresh home from Vietnam. By the time we decided not to get married, abortion was out of the question. So the question then was……do I keep the baby or give it up for adoption. Now I come from a loving family. But my Mom and Dad made it perfectly clear to me that under no circumstances were they going to raise the baby. That if I kept it they would be fine with that, but that I would then become a Mom and the job to love, feed, cloth and take care of that child would be mine. Not theirs. They could not help me financially or help care for the child, as they both worked. I cannot tell you the months of torture I went through. In the end, I decided to give that child away for adoption. I never saw him. (I know it was a male, and that’s all I know) The doctor made the birth as painless as possible because he wanted for the birth of the child I would one day have and keep be a “new” experience for me, which it was. I have never regretted the decision. I regret that I got pregnant at all, but I don’t regret the adoption. Now you would think I would have been really smart at that point. But….. I wasn’t. A few years later I got pregnant again. I had an abortion. I struggled terribly with that decision, too. But in the end I knew it was the best thing I could do. I was not going to get married, I was not in any position to raise a child on my own and so it was the decision I made. I have never regretted that decision, either. Again, I regret that I got pregnant, but not the decision not to give birth. I then went on to marry and have two wonderful children. (of course the man I married was wrong by a way lot, but that’s another story) I have to tell you that I was sure God was going to punish me…… until each one of those kids was born with all their fingers and all their toes and everything perfect, I was a wreck. But, God did not punish me, for he is a forgiving God. (I joke not about this) My daughter was born a month early. She was my second child. A nurse delivered my beautiful baby girl on the gurney in the hallway on the way to the delivery room. The doctor didn’t make it. (To this day I don’t see why I had to pay that doctor for delivery…..I thought the nurse should have got that money) She was very small and had to be put under some kind of heat lights for awhile, they had to make sure her lungs were fully developed and all that good stuff. But things turned out great, Mom and baby healthy and here we are 24 years later.

I wish we had been taught about birth control when I was a teenager. I wish I had used some kind of birth control. But there was no talk of it and so you were pretty much on your own. My sister, who is 4 years older than I, also got pregnant as a young woman. At the time, abortion was illegal. My Dad, God rest his soul, took her to a doctor who performed abortions in his basement. It all went ok and she was fine. But it was all very shady and scary. So this was life and birth and abortion and adoption for my family. We had our share of it. I totally agree that all of this is, and should be, a totally private family matter. And Republicans are telling me that it IS a private matter. But they don’t mean it. They lie. No….they don’t want these life altering decisions to be private. They want to stick their noses into every home in America and make these decisions for us. They want to decide what is best for every woman in America.

Sarah Palin wants to be the vice president of the United States of America. That’s bad enough. But to add to that, she is running with a 72 year old man who has had cancer and was a POW. From Department of Defense psychiatrist Dr. (Lt. Col.) Elspeth Cameron Ritchie:

It’s very important that we know who Sarah Palin is. It’s even MORE important we know who she is since her running mate is 72. (and you might say he’s already a bit off his rocker but I won’t go there) And her stance on things that are important to me…..well those are things I need to know and discuss. She does not believe in sex education. She does not believe in pre-marital sex. She believes in “abstinence only” education. She believes that abstinence only education works. Now I have not read this, but I’m guessing she believes that “personhood” begins at conception. She does not believe in abortion, even if impregnated through rape or incest.

Whether you believe in abortion or not, when a woman does decide, all on her own, to give birth…..that new life is so precious. The miracle of birth. I guess as women it’s something we have over the guys. It truly is a miracle. That is the greatest pain I’ve been through, and the one I forgot the fastest when I saw those little darlings.

There is NOTHING I would have done to jeopardize the lives of my two kids. NOTHING. Most women can say the same. Sarah Palin did a really stupid thing. I mean REALLY stupid. And she can’t be all that intelligent if she thought what she did was ok. This woman was in Texas to give a speech. Her water broke. This was her fifth child. (in my experience in life, with all my girlfriends over the years, I’ve found the more children you have, usually the easier the delivery and often faster) A child who she already knew had Down’s syndrome, which is ok because their births are usually uneventful. But this was a child being born a month early. I don’t know a doctor on earth who would say…..when a child was going to be born a month early, your 5th child and you’re 5,000 miles from home…… oh, ok…..no problemo. Go give your speech and then get on a fucking plane and fly home, oh but wait…..stop in Seattle on the way. NO FUCKING WAY. Now why would a woman who places such value of life, do such a thing??? Anything could have happened on that plane. That baby, being born early, could have needed immediate medical attention. I don’t care what kind of shape she was in, how many births she had before, what the doctor said……. there’s no fucking way a reasonable woman would do what she did. Having said that, when I read the rumors that the baby may have been her daughters, it wasn’t hard for me to believe. But it was just a rumor, so of course, I did not post about it. I figured if there were anything to it, it would come out. Well, believe it or not, there were reporters out there snooping around to find out if this rumor was true. Probably female reporters who, like me, when reading of this bizaare trek back to Alaska to give birth, thought maybe there was something to it.

And then lo and behold, she and her husband come out and state that her daughter is now pregnant, so it couldn’t have been her daughter’s baby. She’s gotten pregnant out of wedlock. And she’s decided to get married and have that baby. All on her own! I congratulate Bristol Palin. Good for her. She has a family to support her. (and I do mean support her) I scorn her Mom, who is a hypocrite. Who does not believe in sex education, does not believe in teaching or providing birth control to teenagers, who believes abstinence education works…..and doesn’t believe in abortion. Well obviously that abstinence shit didn’t work with your daughter honey. And it doesn’t work with other kids. And luckily your daughter has a family who is going to support her and help her. How about all the girls out there who DON’T have a loving family, who don’t have the means to support themselves and a child? They should suffer……their children should suffer…. just because they MADE THE SAME MISTAKE YOUR OWN DAUGHTER DID?????? I don’t think so.

I can’t support a woman with such poor judgement as to put her unborn child at risk so she could give a speech and fly back to Alaska to give birth (truly I would have felt better about this woman if it HAD been a hoax). I can’t support a woman who’s going to try and outlaw abortion, and put women back in the basements to get illegal abortions. I can’t support a woman who believes in abstinence only education and doesn’t believe in providing teens with sex education and birth control, even knowing that abstinence only education DOESN’T WORK…….not even in her own family!!! I can’t even listen to a woman such as this talk about these issues. Whatever she thinks or believes……doesn’t count. Because she’s got horrible judgement and she is a hypocrite. But THAT should be discussed. And to say that we now cannot discuss her hypocrisy and poor judgement regarding this subject because it’s a “private family” thing is total bullshit. Not if she wants to run this country. Not if she wants to take what should be a “private family thing” out of my living room. Not if she doesn’t want the women in my family to make their OWN decisions in regard to these private matters. Not if she thinks she’s qualified or has a right to make such decisions for us. Now if she wants to go back to the PTA in Mooseville, then fine. But sorry honey……. if you want to run for Vice President of the great United States of America……..we’ll discuss this all we like, whether you and John McCain and all the rightwing neocons (like Bill Bennett) who love you llike it or not!!! This discussion has nothing to do with your daughter. God bless your daughter…….. I wish her luck. This discussion has EVERYTHING to do with YOU and your lack of good judgement and your wish to push your sick rightwing neocon beliefs on the rest of us. And it will be had.

Don’t even get me started about the “family values” crowd and how precious they think life is, but she’s willing to dump a special needs 5 month old baby and run for vice president. I guess they don’t need a mother’s love and attention then. I guess once they are born, the value of their life and their well being dwindles……. if you’re a rightwing religious nut.

Think twice about voting for McCain/Palin. Don’t do it…… unless you DON’T believe some things are “private matters.”