Monday, March 31, 2008

Is having a baby at young age, punishment? What is Obama saying?

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/348569.aspx

4 comments:

Pete said...

He's saying that if his young daughter were to get pregnant because she made a mistake (or all she ever got was "abstinence only" sex ed), then he would want her to have the option of abortion vs. the difficult life of a single mother. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that if he felt parenthood was a punishment, then he wouldn't have chosen to do it to himself. Twice.

For the record, I was raised by a single mother, and harbor no bitterness toward her. She was older than most, though. I wouldn't wish the disadvantages and limitations of trying to lovingly care for a young child while also finding yourself in early adulthood on anyone.

My sister-in-law is one of the few success stories. Not only is she nearly finished with her college degree, but her daughter (now 10 years old) is bright and well-adjusted. For every one of her there are thousands of girls who never recover from the setback.

What Senator Obama is saying, then, is that we should keep abortion safe, legal, and RARE.

Do you disagree? Are you opposed to abortion? I'd like to hear some of your opinions instead of the constant Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt you're spreading.

(You're stooping pretty low by attacking him for being pro-choice. Is Hillary really that bad that there are no rational reasons for choosing her, only hysterical reasons or not choosing him?)

Anonymous said...

Obama: "When it comes specifically to HIV/AIDS, the most important prevention is education, which should include -- which should include abstinence education and teaching the children -- teaching children, you know, that sex is not something casual. But it should also include -- it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. "

Pete, first of all, I didn't "attack" your beloved candidate. I simply ask, "What was Obama saying in the comment above regarding having babies at a young age being punishment." I know that the pregnancy rate is higher among blacks & hispanics than it is whites. However, with more racially mixed dating now days, I bet the teen pregnancy rates with whites start to rise. Yes, I do believe that Blacks & Hispanics have much more liberal and tolerant views regarding sex than whites and the respective communities as well as tax payers suffer because of it.

http://www.cfah.org/hbns/news/pressure01-13

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/factsheets/teenpreg.pdf-03.cfmwhites.

Yes, I am doing my best to spread doubt, fear and uncertainty about Obama because I have all of those feelings about the man.

For example, in this instance he got caught with somewhat of a freudian slip, IMO, because he is probably much more pro-life than pro-choice, personally, but won't publically say it. I could be wrong. However, that would explain his comment of "punishment" about an early pregnancy due to a "mistake" because in his family or way of thinking, abortion would not be an option.

I would respect Obama alot more if he would come straight out with it and ask that the Black community start demanding responsible parenting in the community in a larger degree than it is now. I would respect Obama alot more if he would use his campaign for Black America to reiterate the need for Black America to become less tolerant of casual sex, the importance of staying out of prison, the importance of education, the importance of being intensely involved in your young children's lives, etc. However, I very well know that he doesn't have the political courage to do this.

Yes, there are rational reasons for voting for Clinton. I've listed them before but basically a simple one is that Clinton, IMO, is more "rational" than Obama which is why I support her.

BTW, next Wednesday night at 6pm, Sycamore Community Center I am attending a special presentation by CFW Health Dept. about Infant Mortality in the Black Community and how CFW in some zip codes has infant mortality rates as high as third world countries. You can find info here

http://www.fortworthgov.org/generic/default.aspx?id=54090

Thanks for reading.

Anonymous said...

Sorry for the links not working properly...I can't figure out what causes this! What a pain!!

Pete Wann said...

I appreciate your comments and reply.

I see his comment in a different light. I choose to think that he feels exactly the same way about abortion that I do: It should be legal, it should be safe and available, but it should only be used as a last resort.

That doesn't make you anti-choice, it makes you pragmatic.

That's what I've seen from Obama throughout his campaign: pragmatism.

Other people see waffling or an unwillingness to "say what he believes." I see someone who understands that situations aren't black and white. Our current president says what he believes and thinks things are black and white. Look where that's gotten us.

Clinton embodies the politics of the past. Obama is the frontrunner for a new generation of pragmatic progressive Americans who don't believe in party dogma and who think that answers come from within and below, not from on high.

Suzette, you keep coming back to the fact that he's black as if he's only a candidate for black people. It's not his job to push for these changes in the black community, not as a candidate for President of the United States. He has to do what's right and best for ALL Americans, regardless of race or gender. To expect him to only appeal to or consider himself the leader of black America is shortchanging him and insulting to his non-black supporters.

Lastly, the point you make about black and hispanic communities having more liberal attitudes toward sex IMO is just wrong. You find the same level of high teen pregnancy rates in ANY area with a high concentration of low-income, poorly educated people. Even white people. (If teen pregnancy rates are your defining statistic for liberal attitudes toward sex.) What this indicates to me is not a liberal attitude toward sex, but the total lack of education about how to prevent pregnancy beyond abstinence.