I-See-Dead-People: Palin and her sycophant.

Last year, The Fetus©™ fetishists went on the rampage, claiming that recipients of the Order of Canada would return their snowflake medals in the hundreds, as a protest against Morgentaler's award. To date, the convergence of various astroturf zygote zealot organizations has produced 10 returned medals, including one from a priest convicted of physically abusing 2 children in his care, and three deceased recipients. Those who presume to defend the interests of the "pre-born" now also speak for the post-dead.

In a recent post, Blob Blogging Wingnut yammered:

"I recently read the story of someone I knew who told me his mother almost aborted him, but at the last minute decided against it. I was rather blown away by the thought that he might never have existed-- all those years, he would have been non-existent. You might object: but you would not have been none the wiser. But the truth is, just because you don't know something doesn't mean reality has not been altered. His person would not have been around to enrich his world. The world would have been poorer without his presence. More and more of these people will be coming to prominence."

As always, SUZIE ALL-CAPS's ideological glurge has the capacity to stun, with all the finesse of a RCMP-wielded Taser™. Someone with a secret Magisterium decoder might understand the above tirade.

In this SHE ressembles HER idol, Sarah Palin who has a similar way with words.

Funny how Sarah and Sainte-Nitouche never "see" any of the hundreds of thousands of women who have died as a result of AIDS, ectopic pregnancies, and self-administered or illicit abortions.

They may “see-dead-people” but only the ones that it is politically expedient for them to see.

And furthermore: Go read Ann Leary, a US citizen who provides a heartwarming/hearwrenching first-person account of her experience with the UK National Health Service when she went into premature labour, here.

Merci to BlastFurnaceCanada for that!

Acid Test

According to a news report that tweaked our radar on such matters, violence against women in Pakistan has increased this year.

More than 220 women were burned in the period from April to June this year, resulting in the death of 40 women in Punjab, according to a report issued by the AGHS Legal Cell. The report is based on data collected from four hospitals. ...

"Violence against women in Pakistan is endemic," Nisha Varia, deputy director of women's rights division at Human Rights Watch told The Media Line. "Although there are never reliable numbers about violent incidents, we know that in every study carried out, there are very high rates of domestic violence and incidents like acid attacks." The numbers documented by AGHS mark a staggering increase in such attacks, given that 68 women reported to have sustained burns in the first quarter of the year. ...

Hundreds of cases of burn attacks on women are reported in Pakistan every year. Many cases are not reported to the police so the actual numbers are estimated to be much higher than those documented by various organizations.
Acid attacks, where acid is thrown onto the face and other parts of the body causing severe pain, bodily harm and mutilation, is common practice is other South Asian countries such as Bangladesh and India.

These outbreaks of violence against women are but one form of the gynophobia that also manifests itself in the callous indifference many governments have towards maternal reproductive health. Antonia Zerbisias blogs about the "Every Mother Matters" campaign currently targeting G8 leaders because of the upcoming meeting in Europe.

... an incredible ad today in The Globe and Mail, which I cannot find online anywhere. Too bad. It's a montage of photos of G8 leaders as children with their mothers. At the bottom, the text says:

Your mother taught you how to write your name, now she'd expect you to sign it.

Every single minute a mother dies in pregnancy or childbirth. 80% of those deaths are preventable.

At this week's G8 Summit in Italy, you are the 8 people who can prevent them -- it's as simple as that. Reduce maternal mortality and make every mother proud of you.

Mothers everywhere are watching and hoping.

Go read her.

Maternal reproductive health at risk.

Last week we wrote about a campaign in Nigeria to end unwanted pregnancies.

This week, the New York Times looks at Tanzania and what happens there when women have few or no reproductive health options.

Abortion is illegal in Tanzania (except to save the mother’s life or health), so women and girls turn to amateurs, who may dose them with herbs or other concoctions, pummel their bellies or insert objects vaginally. Infections, bleeding and punctures of the uterus or bowel can result, and can be fatal. Doctors treating women after these bungled attempts sometimes have no choice but to remove the uterus.

Pregnancy and childbirth are among the greatest dangers that women face in Africa, which has the world’s highest rates of maternal mortality — at least 100 times those in developed countries. Abortion accounts for a significant part of the death toll.

Maternal mortality is high in Tanzania: for every 100,000 births, 950 women die.

Pregnancy kills one woman per minute.

According to the United Nations, a woman’s chance of dying in childbirth in the United States is 1 in 4,800. In Sierra Leone, it's 1 in 8.

A small amount of Christian love and most of all, money diverted from abortion-criminalizing organizations could do much to help programs in support of maternal health care in the US and in Africa.

Unfortunately, HATE winds up the donation crank in the shrieeekkking masses; their CEOs - men like Randall Terry - like the income and don't want their cash flow impended by restrictions on their marketing techniques.

A Campaign Against Unwanted Pregnancy

... in Nigeria. Cue the shrieeeking from Blob Blogging Wingnut and the foaming-at-the-mouth hyperbole from SoWrongOrNuts. Because here are the facts - also known as a reality check - as presented by the Executive Director of the Campaign Against Unwanted Pregnancy, Dr. Boniface Oye-Adeniran, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist:

"The general public needs to become more enlightened on issues of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. The media, both electronic and print, are recognised pathway for achieving increased enlightenment on unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion."

Oye-Adeniran stated that based on several hospital based studies carried out by the CAUP and the Gututtmacher Institute, 760,000 abortions were carried out in Nigeria annually. According to him, one out of 10 women in Nigeria has had an abortion, while two out of five women who have obtained abortion used the services of quacks.

He said, "The majority (about two-thirds) of women who had abortion used dangerous methods and objects." The medical doctor identified those who mostly sought abortion in the country as unmarried women; students and those whose partners refused to accept pregnancies.

Oye-Adeniran disclosed that complications from unsafe abortions contributed about 30 per cent to maternal deaths in the country. He stated that the CAUP had generated new data on maternal mortality based on a study carried out in ten local governments‘ areas of Lagos State. According to the medical doctor, the findings from the study will help in programming and intervention initiatives to reduce pregnancy-related deaths in the country.

In March the pope toured some countries in Africa, spreading the Vatican Taliban's anti-condom and anti-contraception message, which can be summed up thus: Women must die to uphold Catholic Church doctrine.