Hear that dog whistle?

There is something rotten in the state of Florida.

First, there was the anti-abortion crusaders with an initiative called The "Personhood Amendment" that would add new terms to the state constitution, defining someone as a "person," regardless of age or health status, "from the beginning of the biological development of that human being." The organization behind this move was likely the American Life League, a socially conservative Virginia-based organization that is supporting similar amendments in over 20 US states. Critics of this amendment say that it could make it illegal to provide birth control pills in Florida. More here.

Then the case of Samantha Burton, currently before the Florida appeals court.

In March 2009, a Leon County circuit judge ordered Samantha Burton, a pregnant mother of two, to be confined to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and undergo all medical treatments proposed by her doctor to save the fetus she was carrying. Burton’s child was eventually delivered by cesarean section, but was stillborn.

Burton had experienced problems with her pregnancy, and her doctors had suggested she be hospitalized. But Burton wanted to explore other options and declined to be admitted. Doctors, saying they feared for the viability of the pregnancy, then got a judge to order Burton to be confined to the hospital.

Lawyers for Burton and the American Civil Liberties Union argued that Burton – and in similar circumstances, other women – was in the best position to make such a decision and that the court ignored Burton’s right to privacy. They also argued that the circuit court relied improperly on a legal standard that focused on the best interest of the child.

“There was never any finding of what was in the best interest of Samantha Burton,” said her attorney David Abrams. ACLU attorney Diana Kasden, who also represented the American Medical Women’s Association, submitted a supporting brief on behalf of Burton, and argued that many obstetricians and medical groups argue that working with the mother is usually what is in the best interest of both he mother and child because it keeps the situation low stress.

Burton was not refusing medical treatment, Kasden argued, but simply wanted to be able to go home with her two other children. Other options could have been pursued, she said, such as home nursing, and noted that if the appeals court sided with the state it would set an “unconstitutional and dangerous precedent.”

More here.

And now we have the insufferably self-righteous Pam Tebow. JJ at unrepentant old hippie has raised some interesting questions about the validity - or "truthiness" - of some of Tebow's claims, here.

William Selatan wrote a powerful piece for Slate: The Invisible Dead The grisly truth about the Super Bowl abortion ad. He looks beyond the religious fervour and focuses on the hard realities of pregnancies that become complicated and go bad. He injects a reality check into the hoo-haw of wishful thinking and religious zealotry.

Pam's story certainly is moving. But as a guide to making abortion decisions, it's misleading. Doctors are right to worry about continuing pregnancies like hers. Placental abruption has killed thousands of women and fetuses. No doubt some of these women trusted in God and said no to abortion, as she did. But they didn't end up with Heisman-winning sons. They ended up dead.

Being dead is just the first problem with dying in pregnancy. Another problem is that the fetus you were trying to save dies with you. A third problem is that your existing kids lose their mother. A fourth problem is that if you had aborted the pregnancy, you might have gotten pregnant again and brought a new baby into the world, but now you can't.

Perhaps as more facts comes to light regarding the actual circumstances of Pam Tebow's choice, it will serve to inform the public and set the record straight about the odious lies and murderous propaganda that The Fetus©™ fetishists constantly fabricate.