Reuters: "... Santa Ana, an affluent city..." Clearly they've never been to Santa Ana.

This is just sooooo freakin' creepy to me. Gross and probably emotionally damaging...

Good post over here at Effect Measure: "Thinking About Abortion" http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2010/04/thi...

"I don't know if empathy is a learned skill or a matter of natural temperament or both. But I don't see much empathy in the anti-abortion movement. Bart Stupak, for example. He represented a very conservative district but took a tough stand against guns and a lot of NRA heat for it. The reason was personal, however. His son committed suicide with a handgun, so he knew without having to conjure it up in his mind the devastation firearms can bring. But he never was in the shoes of a scared and young woman who has to run a gauntlet of vicious taunts at an abortion clinic, so apparently he wasn't able to imagine it. "

I wish there were more abortions, too... most especially on these shows that teens watch, where teens get pregnant. But NO, the few times there HAVE been shows where a teen girl character decides to abort (Degrassi, for example), it's kept from broadcast in the US.

All we ever see are teens who get knocked up and either keep their babies or give them up for adoption. Where's the THIRD and more SANE choice for any knocked-up teen?

To that end, I've been posting links to various other deities associated with Spring. My beef is not with individual persons' beliefs, but with institutionalized religion and the taboos restraining criticism of faith systems.

American holidays are excuses to gather with friends and family, eat, and make children smile. Some people just can't seem to do it without making it about God... more power to 'em. The point is to celebrate being ALIVE!

You'll get through it :) One moment, one WORD at a time. Hang in there, Lady, & give 'em hell. Don't take NO for an answer!

I know you've got reservations, and I'd be the first to say ask lots of questions and demand details. But we've got the technology... trust me; I & the Princess are only still here because we do. :)

Oh yes, vasectomy is FAR less invasive (lucky bastards, with all their junk on the outside and easily accessible). And tubal ligation is laporascopic now, so I think the anesthesia & waking up takes longer than the surgery :) Just a couple snips to the tubes, and they don't take your ovaries... they continue to produce hormones enough to stay a regular girl for a LONG time (dammit, I'm 47 and tired of making the rag companies rich... c'mon menopause LOL).

The people at Planned Parenthood are the best. I'm sure they're taking good care of you.

And yep, I'm with you. Even if I lost my daughter, I'd still never have another child (assuming I was fertile & unspayed). She was the only one I wanted, and I get to have her until one of us is gone. That's as it's meant to be, and I enjoy every moment!

Sending ya big hugs.

P.S. My high school friend was following your tweets (@JoinARIN) & posted something on her FB wall. She and some others wanted you to know that they're praying for you (in the sincere way) and hope you're faring ok through this.

"This wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I put 'water sports' in that Craigslist ad, Jesus!"

I support you all the way. "I don't want to" is a perfectly valid reason, no matter how many people try to say differently. YOU are the only one whose wishes count, although it's great that Dave's in agreement.

It'd certainly be interesting to see a serial blog/YT vlog documenting what happens if you pursue permanent sterilization... that is, if you can manage to avoid committing assault on the "well-meaning" medical staff who'll go out of their way to try and talk you out of it because you're still under 35, unmarried and only have one child.

My personal favorite: "But what if, God forbid, something happens to your only child?" Because yanno, if your child dies, you can just make a new one... Oh, the lengths people will go to, to reinforce the notion that the women's primary value is as a host organism for every embryo that takes root, no matter what measures we may have taken to prevent that from happening. Grrrr....

Gender equality, LGBT rights, education, defense of the Constitution...