A couple of reactions to my column about Sarah Palin…
I am a straight 40 something Republican who enjoys reading your column. I never would have learned about things like pegging, donkey punching, or a myriad of other things if it wasn’t for your enlightening columns. However, I grow tired of you tirades against the GOP. Can’t you just stick with the kinky sex columns? Maybe you can start a political column? Then at least we know what we are in for. Your most recent column wasted half of your space just because you wanted to go off on Sarah Palin. You could have spent that time actually helping someone instead. How about it, a nice non-partison sex column?
Republican Who Reads Savage Love
Why can’t GOP politicians stick to politics? Why must they legislate about sex? GOP politicians are clearly obsessed about sex — kinky and otherwise — so maybe they should all get kinky sex columns? But until that day comes, RWRSL, I’m going to keep going after the GOP from my platform. Because, you see, the GOP keeps going after our sex lives in their party platforms.
Once again I am amazed by the need for people such as yourself to interject your political views in a piece that clearly is not political in nature. The reason why so many people are getting so turned off by today’s newspapers and press is because of such bias. We read columns such as yours for entertainment not for you political opinions.
But because you brought the subject up, you suggest that the choice of what to do in the event of an unplanned pregnancy should be left up to the teenager. A teenager who has not the wisdom, knowledge or life experience to fully understand the ramification of those decisions. I speak from experience. I had an abortion when I was 16 years old. I did not even question whether or not it was the right choice back then. I just reacted. It has been the “CHOICE” that has plagued me since. No one ever seems to mention the consequences that women experience after they choose an abortion. I have spoken to many, many other women who have made that similar “CHOICE” and have the same guilt and deep regret, especially now that we are parents and fully understand and appreciate the beauty of the life that grew within us. I have met many women who regret the “CHOICE” for an abortion that they made, I have yet to meet any who regret the decision that they made to keep their child.
P.
I’m sorry you regret the choice you made. I strongly support make all possible options — all choices — available to women who find themselves pregnant. Adoption, abortion, and the resources and support necessary for women who want to go forward with an unplanned pregnancy and keep the baby.
Women that choose abortion under duress — financial or emotional duress — or choose abortion impulsively or in ignorance of their other options are, of course, very likely to regret the decision that they made. But to then seek to deny other women the right to make the same “mistake” is, i believe, the wrong response. You should want to make sure all young women are educated about all their options — in particular about open adoption, which allows a woman to stay involved in her child’s life without having to assume the responsibilities of full-time parenting — rather than seek to ban abortion. Even if abortion is illegal, women will still “choose” abortion. They’ll just get unsafe, illegal abortions — potentially fatal abortions.
I have spoken to many, many women that have had abortions and do not regret the choice that they made. I am, however, sorry for your pain.
Some people simply don’t want to realize the horrible implications of the decisions they make politically… Thank you for continuing to point it out to them! And your last report on Bill Maher was wonderful as always. The part about public restrooms had me laughing so hard I almost crashed my bike…
I’m amazed any Republicans at all read your column Dan. Most that I know seem pretty content with their heads lodged firmly in the sand, occasionally pulling them out to listen to Limbaugh or Faux News, then getting “outraged” about some bullshit exaggerated story they heard on there about poor people taking advantage of “the system” or something. Because God forbid they think for themselves!
But Dan, how dare you make them think about issues like oh I dunno, gay rights! Because hey, they don’t have a problem with “you people” as long as you’re… “entertaining”.
Like you’re going to meet women that admit they regret keeping their child, even if they do.
Ritchie with the call of the day. Plen-ty of women do indeed wish they hadn’t had that kid, but realize that they’d be viewed as monsters if they said so.
I just wanted to add a bit of something that the conservatives are refusing to look at and help reform: unethical adoption agencies and attorneys are not telling expectant mothers considering relinquishment everything they should know about adoption. As an example, the open adoption band-aid mentioned above is often touted as the “solution to the abortion problem.” However, those unethical adoption agencies and attorneys aren’t telling these to-be-birth-mothers that open adoptions are not legally binding in all states. What does that mean? The adoptive parents can disappear off the face of the Earth without recourse or reason given. But the conservatives don’t want to tell mothers considering adoption stuff like that (you know, the truth).
Keep on writing. Kudos.