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Do you think we should see murder for murder? is there any alternatives other than murdering someone for murdering another indivdual?

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1.) i learned taht its notMexican independence day

2.) when they won victory over the french

3.) a lot of americans celebrate it more than mexicans lol

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my other question is for Richard kern . What jobs do you feel women get paid more than men or vice versa , what makes s mans job a mans job and a women's a women's ?

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I her s question to ruby , I wanted to know why you felt the way you felt about animal testing and what made you choose this topic ?

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this to me just says it all , we protect bald eagles, go green trying to conserve rain forests, but why not pro life? this goes a long way and it really makes you sit and think because at first i didnt get it but then i realized these are all the things we try and fight for to save and try to protect. so why s life not protected?? raises a big question in my head.

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i think the people on my cohort page fought on both sides of the fence with this one, but majority thought that we could possible have another civil war or something that would divide our country again. i personally disagreed , but the people in my group who did agree had backed up why they agreed and had pretty good insight as to why they felt the way they id. it was interesting reading through my coherts to see everyones opinion as to why they felt the way that they did.

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“I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.” - Ronald Reagan

- i feel this means a lot becuase when you think about it everyone who is speaking against it has been born and they were given a chance at life. i think what he was meaning by this is that life matters and no matter how the situation was for it to get here its here and you should work with what you got. you never know the girl or boy that was created couldve found the cure for diseases and cancer. all its saying is step back and look at your life, you wouldnt want it taken from you so why take anothers just because you dont want it ?

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who: christian medical fellowship

what: an online organization where doctors come and talk about topics within their religion. the topic happen to be abortion .

when: unknown

where: unknown:

why: this brings out a lot of bias because christians are against abortion and as being a doctor who performs abortion of course they are going to be pro abortion , this article is sayin gthe negative affects it has on the women

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who: susan michelle

what: this article is about the negative affects that abortion has on a women . all the statistics about abortion

when: july 29th, 2013

where: ... unknown

why: to show that more women are depressed after an abortion and how their studies show the negative affects abortion has on the women.

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A common criticism of pro-lifers is that their arguments are steeped in emotionalism, not facts. Women have abortions all the time, they insist, and they aren't depressed or traumatized. However, solid academic research proves this isn't true. The findings show that "fetal loss is traumatic" and that this may have serious impact on our national health care system.

In a review of scientific studies on post-abortive women, published on July 16 in Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience s, entitled "Abortion and subsequent mental health: Review of the literature," Carlo V. Bellieni MDand Giuseppe Buonocore MD, PhD (Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Reproduction Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy) show objectively that the likelihood of women who have abortions suffering from metal illness as a result is significantly increased.

The physicians reviewed all of the research between 1995-2011 that related to abortion and its correlation to mental problems in order to asses the connection. Of the 36 scientific studies that exist in that period, 30 were used; the eliminated studies were primarily due to "methodological bias," such as invalid questionnaires or control groups.

Ultimately, the researchers discovered that in "Abortion versus childbirth: 13 studies showed a clear risk for at least one of the reported mental problems [Depression, anxiety disorders (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder) and substance abuse disorders] in the abortion group versus childbirth,... and only one paper reported a worse mental outcome for childbearing" (Bellieni & Buonocore, 2013).

The researchers examined the differences reported between abortion, childbearing and also miscarriage because it is known as "fetal loss." The results are statistically significant.

Some results:
Abortion versus childbirth
Researchers noted that "Thirteen studies supported the presence of a risk of mental disorder in the groups of women who had had an abortion versus those who gave birth. Only five papers showed no risk in the abortion group." This is an important finding to note. Scientific unbiased research found there was a presence of mental disorder resulting from abortion. Most often, abortion advocates insist that it's in a woman's best interest to have an abortion if she feels unprepared to parent; it is presented as a positive metal health decision; however, almost 20 years of research proves that assertion incorrect.
Abortion versus unplanned pregnancy
Researchers found, "When comparing abortion and unplanned pregnancies that ended in delivery, four studies found a higher risk for loss of self-esteem, anxiety disorders, depression, suicide ideation, and substance abuse disorder or substance abuse rate in the abortion groups" (Bellieni & Buonocore, 2013). This finding was the majority of this category, further showing abortion affects mental health, and for most in a negative way-more negative than if the woman has an unplanned birth.
Some other findings from the research review, all from (Bellieni & Buonocore, 2013):
Clinical depression - present in 17% of women who give birth to a living baby and in 26% of those who abort.

Depression and bipolar disorder- present in 43.2% of women who miscarried, in 45.5% of those who had an abortion, in 28.7% of those who gave birth and in 25.1% of never pregnant women.

Anxiety- One study showed that 10 days after the event, 47.5% of the women who had a miscarriage had high Impact of Event Scale [ self-report measure that assesses subjective distress caused by traumatic events] scores, compared with 30% for women who had an induced abortion. After two years this became "2.6% and 18.1%, respectively. [And] Another study that compared term childbirth and abortion found that after 14 months, relevant psychiatric diagnoses were present in 0% and in 16.7% of women, respectively."

These findings fly in the face of what abortion advocates say is truth. And it would be beneficial for them to review these findings regardless of their view on abortion-assuming they actually care about women and not a cause. The final discussion of the article notes two important implications of the fact that these articles support that "abortion is a risk factor for subsequent mental illness when compared with childbirth" (Bellieni & Buonocore, 2013). The authors note:

"The first is that fetal loss is traumatic. It is a risk factor for mental illness - both in the case of abortion and in miscarriage - and its impact on a woman's life can erroneously be underestimated. Most studies show that abortion has a greater impact on women's mental health than childbearing; all remaining studies show similar mental consequences and only one seems to have noted a worse outcome for childbearing. Even the birth of an unplanned child is often traumatic, but abortion seems to be even more traumatic, or similar with regard to the psychological outcomes; this should be taken into account when counseling women scared by a non-desired pregnancy. Making their choices, women should be clearly informed." (Bellieni & Buonocore, 2013)

There is no pro or anti to this statement. The facts are the facts. In every objective study for almost 20 years, which followed internationally accepted research guidelines, abortion is shown as a risk factor for mental illness. To ignore this fact in the name of "choice" is evidence that the abortion advocates actually care more about the issue than the women they claim to defend. Academically and scientifically speaking, there isn't a much better standard by which all sides can agree than solid academic research. The pro-life community has asserted this for years and one of the reasons abortion is so bad for women. Countless post-abortive women tell stories of the trauma they endured. Now we see that scientific research also upholds their cause. It is time for abortion advocates to listen to what the facts say.

And finally, it is time for our action to listen to the last conclusion the authors make:

"These data show that a greater involvement of the national health system in clinical follow up of women who have had a fetal loss is desirable.... In particular, elective abortion is one of the most common medical interventions in the world: 1.29 million were performed in the USA in 2008. Thus it is important to monitor mothers who have undergone abortion, to prevent negative mental consequences: although the discussion in this field is limited to ethics and morality, we emphasize that there is also a serious public health problem. The discussion in this field does not currently trespass on the moral boundaries; now, it is important to consider the hypothesis that abortion is an independent risk factor for mental health, and carry out more research accordingly." (Bellieni & Buonocore, 2013)

This news should be a startling wake-up call for our nation and our health care system which will have mandated abortive birth control coverage and even has an " abortion surcharge." We continue to fund Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, and while that money is technically not allowed to cover abortion, it is fungible money that frees up the clinics to provide abortions with money coded otherwise.

Virtually all that abortion advocates argue for-women's rights, women's health, women's access to abortion, women's funding of abortion-is shown, factually, to be bad for those same women. This research wasn't from a couple of pro-life guys plugging out a blog. It was conducted the same way all academic research must be conducted and met the same standards.

When will the abortion industry listen to what's actually best for women? Perhaps when they are mandated to pay for the counseling of the damaged women who were lied to about how abortion was no big deal psychologically. Only the ignorant could argue abortion is harmless to women.

Reference:

Bellieni , C., & Buonocore, G. (2013). Abortion and subsequent mental health: Review of the literature. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 67(5), 301-310. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pcn.12067/full

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Academic research shows abortion's negative mental health impact on women - Live Action News

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A common criticism of pro-lifers is that their arguments are steeped in emotionalism, not facts. Women have abortions all the time, they insist, and they aren't depressed or traumatized. However, solid academic research proves this isn't true. The findings show that "fetal loss is traumatic" and that this may have serious impact on our national ...

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The debate over whether abortion should be a legal option has long divided people around the world. Split into two groups, pro-choice and pro-life, the two sides frequently clash in protests.

Proponents of legal abortion believe abortion is a safe medical procedure that protects lives, while abortion bans endanger pregnant people not seeking abortions, and deny bodily autonomy, creating wide-ranging repercussions.

Opponents of legal abortion believe abortion is murder because life begins at conception, that abortion creates a culture in which life is disposable, and that increased access to birth control, health insurance, and sexual education would make abortion unnecessary. Read more background...

Pro & Con Arguments

Pro 1

Abortion is a safe medical procedure that protects lives.

The death rate for legal abortions is 0.7 deaths for every 100,000 abortions. By contrast, there are one to two deaths per 100,000 plastic surgery procedures, three deaths for every 100,000 colonoscopies, and three to six deaths per 100,000 tonsillectomies. Childbirth has nine deaths per 100,000 deliveries.

Pregnancy-related maternal deaths could increase 20% in US states with abortion bans. Amanda Stevenson, Sociology Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, explained, "People with resources are more likely to make it out of state or find out about medication abortions. People who can't are more likely to have health issues, to live in poverty and have less access to resources." People of color are especially likely to be in the latter category and, thus, negatively impacted by abortion bans.

The predicted 20% maternal death rate does not include those who will die from "back alley" or illegal abortions because legal options were not available.

Globally 45% of abortions are unsafe, 97% of which take place in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Evidence shows that restricting access to abortions does not reduce the number of abortions; however, it does affect whether the abortions that women and girls attain are safe and dignified. The proportion of unsafe abortions are significantly higher in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws than in countries with less restrictive laws."
Read More

Pro 2

Abortion bans endanger healthcare for those not seeking abortions.

Medical treatment for nonviable pregnancies is often exactly the same as an abortion.

Ectopic pregnancies occur when a fertilized egg implants somewhere other than the uterine cavity. About one in 50 pregnancies are ectopic, and they are nonviable. Bleeding from ectopic pregnancies caused 10% of all pregnancy-related deaths, and ectopic pregnancies were the leading cause of maternal death in the first trimester.

One out of every ten pregnancies ends in miscarriage. The drugs used for medication abortions are the only treatment recommended for early miscarriages. For later or complicated miscarriages, the same surgical procedure used for abortions is recommended.

While some abortion bans include specific exceptions for nonviable pregnancies and miscarriages, other bans are too vague to be practicable. Healthcare providers may refuse to perform a procedure that could be interpreted as an "on-demand" abortion for fear of liability or prosecution.

Further, bans are a slippery slope to contraceptive and other healthcare restrictions. For example, some already wrongly view Plan B (the morning after pill) as an abortifacient and are thinking of including it in abortion bans.
Read More

Pro 3

Abortion bans deny bodily autonomy, creating wide-ranging repercussions.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated, "eliminating the rights of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades.... In many cases, abortions are of teenage women, particularly low-income and often Black, who aren't in a position to be able to care for children, have unexpected pregnancies, and it deprives them of the ability often to continue their education to later participate in the workforce."

After being denied an abortion, household poverty increased and lasted four or more years, resulting in an inability to cover basic expenses including food, housing and transportation. A denied abortion was associated with a lowered credit score, increased debt, and an increase in negative public records including evictions and bankruptcies. The households were also more reliant on government assistance. Transgender and nonbinary people denied abortions may face even worse outcomes.

And the consequences can be much more dire. "If a woman of childbearing age dies, it has enormous economic consequences.... It's someone who society has invested in and who has many productive economic years ahead of them," according to David Slusky, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Kansas. Often, death also removes a wage-earner and caregiver from the household.

60% of women seeking abortions already had other children. Being denied an abortion worsened the well-being of their older children, including not meeting childhood development markers.

The Turnaway Study concluded, "Abortion does not harm women," and "Women who receive a wanted abortion are more financially stable, set more ambitious goals, raise children under more stable conditions, and are more likely to have a wanted child later."
Read More

Con 1

Life begins at conception, making abortion murder.

Conception is the moment a sperm cell fertilizes an egg cell, which begins the process of cell division that creates a human.

Tara Sander Lee, Senior Fellow and Director of Life Sciences at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, stated, "life begins from the moment of conception when the sperm fertilizes the egg, because there is the creation of a new, totally distinct, integrated organism or a human being, which is going to be biologically distinct from all other life forms on this planet." The first cell is biologically distinct because it has its own DNA that is different from either biological parent and all other humans.

Ending a life is murder legally and ethically, even a life that is only a few growing cells at the time of death.

Pope Francis explained, "Abortion is murder. Those who carry out abortions kill.... At the third week after conception, often even before the mother is aware (of being pregnant), all the organs are already (starting to develop). It is a human life. Period. And this human life has to be respected. It is very clear.... Scientifically, it is a human life."

That people may face difficulties without abortion as an option does not excuse or justify murder. A reader of The Atlantic, who gave only the initial K., clarified the moral dilemma: "I wish that I could be pro-choice because the awful circumstances so many women face-that I can't even imagine facing-seem so much more real to me than the rights of a fetus who doesn't even always look human. But abortion is the intentional killing of a human being and we look back with horror at anyone in history who decided a group of people did not actually count as people. We cannot solve the problem of injustice against women with more injustice. We need solutions that support women without killing fetuses."
Read More

Con 2

Legal abortion promotes a culture in which life is disposable.

Echoing a 2014 remark by Pope Francis that connected abortion to " throwaway culture," Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, stated, "abortion represents a failure to recognize the sanctity of human life and promotes a culture in which human life in its most vulnerable moment is perceived as disposable. Such a proposal targets poor women as needing an expedient solution to a complex problem."

Tobin previously declared legal abortion a "brutalization of the American heart" on par with the "dehumanization of the undocumented" immigrants.

Alveda King, former Georgia state representative and niece of Martin Luther King, Jr., also connected abortion to other societal ills: "Abortion and racism are both symptoms of a fundamental human error. The error is thinking that when someone stands in the way of our wants, we can justify getting that person out of our lives. Abortion and racism stem from the same poisonous root, selfishness. We create the deceptions that the other person is less important, less worthy, less human. We are all fully human. When we face this truth, there is no justification for treating those who look different than us as lesser beings. If we simply treat other people the way we'd like to be treated, racism, abortion, and other forms of inhumanity will be things of the past."

As King notes, some fetuses are treated as less than human. This ideology combined with legal abortion could create a slippery slope to designer babies, gender selection, termination of disabled but healthy fetuses, and other trait-selection-based abortions. The slippery slope can then extend to the mentally disabled and elderly in general.

"[A]bortion is an act rife with the potential for eugenic manipulation," according to US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. "Technological advances have only heightened the eugenic potential for abortion, as abortion can now be used to eliminate children with unwanted characteristics, such as a particular sex or disability."
Read More

Con 3

Increased access to birth control, health insurance, and sexual education would make abortion unnecessary.

Experts largely contribute the decline in abortions in the United States and elsewhere to the improved safety and availability of LARC (long-acting reversible contraception) including IUDs and contraceptive implants that can last up to 10 years.

Access to health insurance to pay for contraceptives also contributed to a drop in abortions. With the passage of Obamacare (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), more people were insured with access to free or low-cost contraceptives and reproductive care.

Linda Rosenstock, Public Health Professor of Health Policy and Management at UCLA, summarized the simplicity of the connection: "In the United States each year, about half of pregnancies are unintended and about 40% of those lead to abortion. Access to birth control leads to fewer abortions."

Further, teens are having sex later in life than their parents. 38.4% of American high schoolers reported they have had sex (down from 54% in 1991) and only 27.4% reported they were currently sexually active (37.5% in 1991).

Because teen birth control use has not increased significantly, experts attribute the decline in part to better sex education. A 2021 study found that students who received comprehensive sexual education initiated sex later than students who did not participate in sex ed. The later teens have sex, the less chance there is for them to become pregnant unintentionally, which leads to fewer abortions.
Read More

Did You Know?

1. Throughout much of Western history, abortion was not considered a criminal act as long as it was performed before "quickening" (the first detectable movement of the fetus, which can occur between 13-25 weeks of pregnancy).

2. In 1821, Connecticut became the first US state to criminalize abortion.

3. The death rate for legal abortions is 0.7 deaths for every 100,000 abortions. By contrast, there are one to two deaths per 100,000 plastic surgery procedures, three deaths for every 100,000 colonoscopies, and three to six deaths per 100,000 tonsillectomies. Childbirth has nine deaths per 100,000 deliveries.

4. Abortion rates in the United States have fallen at what the CDC called a "slow yet steady pace" since a peak in 1981. That year there were 29.3 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44. The rate fell to 11.4 abortions per 1,000 women in 2019.

5. 60% of women seeking abortions already had other children.

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Abortion - Top Arguments For and Against - ProCon.org

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The Pro Choice side says women should have control of their bodies. Pro Lifers say abortion is murder. Explore both sides of the debate.

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Linda Weber , co founder of boulder valley abortion clinic built in 1973 , colorado, it was the first in clinic to offer abortion. "abortions can be enriching", said Weber. she wrote a book called "Lifestyle choices: the teachings of abortions" a book she wrote specifically for women who have been through abortion and are dealing with the after affects of it. weber talks to each one of her patients to insight them that what they are doing is for the better, a way of making her patients feel as if they're doing the right thing. no judgment being passed.

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No apologies necessary

Here's something you don't hear every day: Abortion can be life enriching.

It's an idea, among many, that Linda Weber discusses in her book, "Life Choices: The Teachings of Abortion." Weber was one of the founding members in 1973 of Boulder Valley Women's Health, then Boulder Valley Clinic, the first clinic in Colorado to offer abortions. She created the counseling program there and worked as director of counseling until 1987. She now works as a psychotherapist.

Weber wrote the book over a period of 20 years. What started out as a manual for counselors got broadened to include historical perspective on women's reproductive rights, then broader yet to include a spiritual perspective, which developed as Weber talked to clients in her practice. Most importantly, she says, the book is for women who have had abortions. She adds that the experience can be positive in many ways.

"The choice to say no to a pregnancy creates an opening for other things to happen in a person's life," she says. "Life becomes more than it was when she made the decision ... job, creative endeavor, relationship, another pregnancy. There is a creation of something that came from saying no. I think life is one whole thing. Life is one unity and has many different aspects," she says. "I wanted to bring that perspective (to) a discussion of abortion."

Weber's choice of the word "life" is intentional.

"I've been concerned for some time about the monopolization of the word 'life' by people who are anti-abortion," she says. "I think it's inappropriate. We need to reclaim that."

Indeed, the word life and concept of life occurring at conception is the very crux of the belief system of antiabortion groups, as are the terms "killing" and "murder."

"It's always wrong to kill a baby," says Leslie Hanks, vice president of Colorado Right to Life. "Women have to live with the guilt of what they did. God has written on our consciousness that it's wrong to kill an innocent life."

Intertwined or separate

In "Life Choices," Weber talks about the sheer biological power of being a woman, having the ability to bring life forth from her body or in her phrasing to "turn it back."

She cites one client she worked with who compared her abortion with pinching a leaf off a plant to allow stronger growth.

"It was such an important idea," Weber says of her client's metaphor. "She had an equilibrium in her decision and a perception of her experience that was unusual and valuable to know about."

Weber believes that it's impossible physically and philosophically to separate a woman from her pregnancy.

"I feel like separating out the developing pregnancy and the fetus from the woman is demeaning for women. It's also not true. There is no separation," she says. "There's no such thing as abstract life. Life has to be nurtured. It exists only in relationship. Life is being part of what nurtures it."

Contrast that with the personhood movement, a referendum on which failed last week in the conservative state of Mississippi and in Colorado in 2008 and 2010, which considers a fertilized egg a person entitled to full constitutional rights.

Hanks of Colorado Right to Life, which has supported the personhood amendments, believes a distinct life is created at fertilization. She compares abortion with slavery.

"The black man was considered property to be disposed of, used or harmed, the same way a baby is considered property of the mother. The baby is a person," she says. "We don't have a right to make a willy nilly decision to (have an abortion) because of a career choice or a bad hair day."

Many people, whether they favor abortion rights or oppose abortions, have a position somewhere in between solely woman-centered and solely embryo- or fetus-centered, from the "safe, legal and rare" formulation on abortion rights by former president Bill Clinton or exceptions for rape and incest by some who oppose abortion rights.

Rickie Solinger, an historian who has written several books on abortion and related topics, says Weber's perspective on abortion is not uncommon among women who fought in the 1960s and early 1970s for the legalization of abortion.

Solinger, a former visiting scholar at the University of Colorado who lived in Boulder for 13 years, says in the days leading up to and after legalization many women saw being able to get a legal abortion as a crucial right in their fight for equality.

"I think the women of my generation were expressing the perspective how -- I don't want to use a word so dramatic -- how enslaving it was not to be able to control the consequences of sex," she says. "To know we would be able to enter professions, to complete an education."

She adds there were professional women before legal abortion.

"In an earlier period, they didn't get married and have children," she says.

She adds that the antiabortion movement has been extremely successful in altering the way people think about abortion.

"When the antiabortion movement was smart enough to ally itself with the concept of life, to suggest that people who violated this relation to life could be called murderers, this was an enormously effective tactic," Solinger says.

In her book, Weber recounts her own abortion, at age 19 in the early 1960s. After becoming pregnant and realizing she was not in a position to have a child, she met with a woman who offered to "do something" to her and also suggested that as an alternative, she go to a clinic and request that an intra-uterine device be implanted. Weber used a false name and wore a fake wedding ring. The doctor quizzed her closely on whether she was pregnant. She denied it, and he inserted the IUD. Over five days of cramping, bleeding and fever, the abortion was complete.

Complexity, not judgment

If there's one thing those of different beliefs have in common, it's desire to come up with a simple, consistent way to view/judge abortion.

Weber rejects the idea of trying make the abortion debate fit into a neat category.

"It can be a significant experience for many women," Weber says. Yet, she says, "It's just another experience. Life is full of them. I don't believe in categorizing an experience as good or bad. It might feel good or bad, but it's not good or bad in terms of morality."

While she stands firmly in the pro-abortion rights camp, she says her book is not political, but rather an exploration of the way individual women feel about their abortions and how the experience can be an opportunity for them to examine their lives, their relationships and their sexuality.

Weber, who has counseled more than 1,000 women on their abortion decisions, says most women are not conflicted about having an abortion.

But she says, "there are (sometimes) other issues that come up in the context of having an abortion. Sex and sexuality is one, relationship is another, life direction, life purpose. There are very important issues that come up for some people when there is a crisis pregnancy, a whole complex of issues of self-esteem and self-worth. That's not about abortion, it's about much more."

Karen DeClerk, the current supervisor of counseling at Boulder Valley Women's Health, says Weber's book is the most honest she has read about abortion.

"It's honest about the complexity of the issue," she says. "Linda's perspective comes from talking to hundreds of women making these choices."

DeClerk says many women seeking abortions are not the stereotype of a young woman who sleeps with a lot of men. The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a research and advocacy group for sexual and reproductive health reports that women in their 20s account for almost half of all abortions. It also reports, however, that about 61 percent of women who have abortions already have one or more children.

"We have married women, women in committed relationships, women who have had sex one time in six years. We also see menopausal women. They don't expect to be fertile, yet their body still produces eggs," DeClerk says. "The reality is we have 40 years of reproductive fertility as women. The fact is women get pregnant when they aren't planning to, even when they have taken precautions."

The abortion closet

If Weber's matter-of-fact tone about abortion seems a little jarring, historian Solinger says that might be because the societal narrative about abortion has changed in the decades after legalizaion.

"If you look at the literature about abortion, the way women describe their experiences from the first couple of decades after legalization, you will find a very full and rich expression of exactly what (Weber is) talking about," says Solinger, who wrote "Beggars and Choosers: How the Politics of Choice Shapes Adoption, Abortion, and Welfare in the United States." "(That) suggests to me that women getting abortions (now) only express relief, a sense of autonomy and the ability to control their own bodies within ... the protected space of the clinic."

Solinger says women often do not talk about their abortions.

"When I lecture around colleges, I ask students, 'How many of you know somebody who has had an abortion? You know it, but the person has never told you.' Almost everybody raises her hand. It's a complete secret," Solinger says. "That's something that's gathered intensity over the last 25 years."

If indeed most women who have had abortions don't talk about their experience, that's a lot of secrets. At least half of American women will experience an unintended pregnancy by age 45, and, at current rates (which have been declining), three in 10 women by age 45 will have an abortion, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Currently, 22 percent of all pregnancies, excluding miscarriages, end in abortion.

Solinger says that in the late 1960s and early 1970s before Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, abortion speakouts, in which women spoke of their experience with then-illegal abortion, were common.

Weber believes her book will let women know that others may be experiencing the same thing they are. She acknowledges that some people have characterized the book as provocative. For people who believe life begins at conception, the book would be shocking. And even for some who support abortion rights, the book might not comport with their view of abortion.

"People become very apologetic about (having an abortion)," Weber says. "I'm saying you don't have to justify it. In my experience, women are honest with themselves about what they feel and what they think. They're very careful in making that decision."

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Abortion 'can be positive,' writes Linda Weber, co-founder of Boulder clinic

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No apologies necessary Here's something you don't hear every day: Abortion can be life enriching. It's an idea, among many, that Linda Weber discusses in her book, "Life Choices: The Teachings of Abortion." Weber was one of the founding members in 1973 of Boulder Valley Women's Health, then Boulder Valley Clinic, the first clinic in Colorado to offer abortions.

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"We're gathered to celebrate Women's History Month, but I don't celebrate Women's History Month," announced writer Mona Charen, one of the panelists at the Heritage Foundation's recent panel on feminism and happiness. "It doesn't interest me whether a person who happens to share my chromosomes sits in the Oval Office. It doesn't interest me how many women members of the Senate there are." No, Charen continued, one of the things that interests her the most about Women's History Month is how "feminism has done so much damage to happiness."

It was a bold statement, and one that set the tone for the conservative foundation's panel discussion among a group of conservative writers and academics addressing an audience of mostly male interns. During the meeting, the attendees waxed poetic about the failures of the "project" known as , spending hours decrying the perceived failures of the women's movement in America.

But that's simply not true.

It may seem like a bizarrely obvious statement, but somewhere between earning women the right to vote, pushing through legislation opening up universities to female students and advancing the civil rights movement (to name just a very few examples), feminism has indeed made life much, much better (and as a result, happier) - not just for American women, but American men as well. Far removed from the stereotypical and inaccurate image of the bra-burning activist, feminists have proven time and time again that women's rights are human rights. And as the Declaration of Independence so elegantly points out, the ideals of life and liberty are intrinsically tied up with that third pursuit: happiness.

Yes, feminism has changed the world. And yes, it has made people happier. To argue otherwise, as the Heritage Foundation panelists attempted to do in Washington, is to show blatant disregard (or willful ignorance) for the historical record. It is also an argument that insults the legacies of centuries of badass feminists who have bravely fought, failed and ultimately prevailed in the ongoing struggle to empower the marginalized and elevate the disenfranchised. A comprehensive list of these achievements would be far too long, but here we've compiled a pocket edition, just in case you ever run across someone who honestly believes feminism has made the world an unhappier place.

1. They quietly propelled the civil rights movement.

Everyone knows about Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, but most Americans don't know about the other women involved in organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

In her book, At he Dark End of the Street , Danielle McGuire recounts the many women who copied and distributed fliers, effectively leading the boycott, not only to protest segregation but to fight back against sexual assault. That fight, against the ritualistic rape of black women by white men in the South, had begun generations before Parks, who is rarely granted credit for the breadth and depth of the feminist work she did.

2. They made Americans get serious about gender discrimination.

The Equal Rights Amendment , first written by Alice Paul in 1923, read, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

Proposed as a constitutional amendment that would guarantee all women have equal rights under the U.S. Constitution, the ERA failed to be ratified in dramatic fashion in the late 1970s.

However, the fight to get the ERA passed signaled a monumental shift in American society and sparked a new debate about the role of women and how they should be treated, pushing many states to draft their own gender discrimination laws.

3. They brought women out of the household - if they so chose.

Thank goodness she's just a relic.

In reality, the women's movement has brought women out of the household and into the workplace. Women of color who were already working were joined by housewives in the labor force, which fundamentally changed the economy.

4. They called out rape culture.

Increasingly, young feminists are starting to taking active roles in the fight against violence, as well. The recent wave of campuses to activism on college , as well as the movement, highlight some of the ways young women are working to protect their own bodies, while creating safe spaces to learn and thrive.

5. They used online feminism to give the marginalized a voice.

Online feminism is responsible for some of the movement's most high-profile recent victories. The backlash against the Komen foundation for pulling Planned Parenthood funding for political reasons, forcing the takedown of in downtown Manhattan, as well as the response to Rush Limbaugh's sexist attacks on anti-choice billboards , feminism is alive and well. Sandra Fluke

Feminist blogs are among the most popular on the web and stories about women and the issues that impact their lives are creating the space for important conversations about inequality. Further, online spaces have allowed for people living on the margins to find a proper audience, whether domestically or abroad, and this has opened discourse on intersectionality and transnational feminism.

6. They pushed pop culture icons to join the fight.

When Beyoncé explicitly labeled herself a feminist on her latest album, feminists everywhere rejoiced at the opportunity to introduce young women to the fight against sexism. That mainstream entry point, even more crucial for marginalized women, has been opened by popular artists in the past, however, including Madonna, Cindy Lauper, MC Lyte, TLC and Queen Latifah. These proud ladies have inspired young people to be fiercely independent and opposed to injustice - and to not be afraid of the feminist label.

In other corners of the entertainment industry, role models like Lena Dunham, Lupita Nyong'o, Ashley Judd, Laverne Cox, Kerry Washington and Janet Mock have all taken up the call for equality, representing a cultural shift in how we perceive women, women of color and the feminist identity.

7. They helped pass Title IX, opening new educational possibilities.

Although Title IX is commonly associated with compelling colleges and universities to support women's athletics, one of the biggest and most immediate impacts of the law affected women enrolling in law and medical schools.

8. They took on campus sexual assault.

Feminist activists have been working tirelessly all over the country to file complaints against their universities for inadequate handling of sexual assault cases, in order to make campuses safe for everyone.

9. They put a human face to sexual harassment.

During the confirmation hearings of now Justice Clarence Thomas, Hill, Thomas' former assistant, testified that he habitually sexually harassed her. At the time, instead of questioning Thomas' actions, the media and the Senate interrogated the unflinching Hill.

As a result of Hill's act, women around the country realized they did not have to suffer harassment in silence.

"We still have a lot of challenges in terms of making sure that the people who are found guilty of harassment suffer the consequences of their behavior."

10. They fought legal discrimination in the nation's highest courts.

The unequal treatment that Ginsburg received as a student at Harvard Law School shaped her staunch feminist principles and inspired her work to fight for equality.

11. They stormed the Beltway's Boys Club.

In 1992, the 93rd Congress was deemed the "year of the woman" as more women were elected. The number of women in public office has only grown over the years, and the , the highest total in American history. Senate currently boasts 20 women

As the number of females in Congress rises, so does the profile of women's issues. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), arguably one of the most successful speakers in history, has helped pass several pieces of feminist legislation, including the Violence Against Women Act, which was originally passed in 1994 but was reauthorized in 2013.

More women in office is good, but more women with feminist ideals is even better and the legislation is proof.

12. They broke barriers for little girls with presidential aspirations.

Before there was Hillary, there was . Shirley Chisholm, a fiery congresswoman from New York, was the first black woman to run for president n 1972. When she announced her historic candidacy, Chisolm cut right to the point.

"I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud," she said. "I am not the candidate of the women's movement of this country, although I am a woman and I am equally proud of that. I am the candidate of the people, and my presence before you now symbolizes a new era in American political history."

13. They joined in the struggle for marriage equality.

14. They demonstrated why revolutions must include the female perspective.

15. They realized a balanced court is a happier court.

For the first time in American history three women are simultaneously sitting on the nation's highest bench. The seasoned Justice Ginsburg was joined by fellow liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan during the first term of the Obama presidency - and they hit the ground running.

More recently, during the oral arguments in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., the case that seeks to challenge to the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate, these justices . Justice Kagan noted that women are "quite tangibly harmed" when they are unable to afford contraception. showed their feminist cred

16. They forced Americans to recognize the importance of birth control.

Women were instrumental in electing President Barack Obama, and feminists therefore were at the forefront to hold the administration accountable after the election.

17. They focused attention on domestic workers' rights.

Feminist labor leaders are changing the face of the labor movement and refocusing their efforts on the rights of domestic workers, mainly nannies, home care workers and housekeepers, many of whom earn less than the minimum wage. In 2010, New York passed a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights that gave domestic workers the right to overtime pay and paid sick days.

18. They helped create the White House's Council on Women and Girls.

At the signing of the executive order, Obama said the council's purpose is "to ensure that each of the [federal] agencies in which they're charged takes into account the needs of women and girls in the policies they draft, the programs they create, the legislation they support."

The true purpose of our government, Obama continued, is "to ensure that in America, all things are still possible for all people."

19. They worked to eradicate back-alley abortions.

The landmark case Roe v. Wade and subsequent cases upholding women's constitutional right to privacy and choice to terminate a pregnancy if necessary has been under assault since it became a crowning feminist achievement in 1973.

20. They made the workplace a little more equal - for everyone.

As it stands now women on average make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, and that number gets worse for black and latina women. It's telling how far we have to go that this legislation was considered controversial when it was just making a common-sense adjustment to an existing law.

21. They proved that the next big thing in science could be discovered by a woman.

"If we're going to out-innovate and out-educate the rest of the world, we've got to open doors for everyone," she said. "We need all hands on deck, and that means clearing hurdles for women and girls as they navigate careers in science, technology, engineering and math."

Women in STEM jobs earn 33 percent more than those in non-STEM occupations and experience a smaller wage gap relative to men. While women remain at a plateau of under representation in STEM careers, more women are graduating with related degrees, hopefully for telling a more promising future.

22. They earned women the right to vote.

23. They argued that, "Women's rights are human rights."

Who can make a list about feminism in 2014 without mentioning Hillary Clinton? The former Secretary of State, primed to run for president again in 2016, will always be known as a hero for women and girls because of her speech to the United Nations in 1995.

"I believe that, on the eve of a new millennium, it is time to break our silence," she said. "It is time for us to say here in Beijing, and the world to hear, that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights.

"If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is that human rights are women's rights. And women's rights are human rights."

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23 Ways Feminists Have Made the World Better for Women

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"We're gathered to celebrate Women's History Month, but I don't celebrate Women's History Month," announced writer Mona Charen, one of the panelists at the Heritage Foundation's recent panel on feminism and happiness. "It doesn't interest me whether a person who happens to share my chromosomes sits in the Oval Office.

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you'll be a different person in 10 years .  Introduction: 

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you'll be a different person in 10 years .  Introduction: 

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This article introduced the concepts on how age comes with changes . The older a person is the more wiser . Telling you how your thoughts change with years and how this FACT , is scientifically proven to be true . Not just with age though , throughout years , expirences, etc .

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No matter how old people are, they seem to believe that who they are today is essentially who they'll be tomorrow.

That's according to fresh research that suggests that people generally fail to appreciate how much their personality and values will change in the years ahead - even though they recognize that they have changed in the past.

Daniel Gilbert, a psychology researcher at Harvard University who did this study with two colleagues, says that he's no exception to this rule.

"I have this deep sense that although I will physically age - I'll have even less hair than I do and probably a few more pounds - that by and large the core of me, my identity, my values, my personality, my deepest preferences, are not going to change from here on out," says Gilbert, who is 55.

He realized that this feeling was kind of odd, given that he knows he's changed in the past. He wondered if this feeling was an illusion, and if it was one that other people shared: "Is it really the case that we all think that development is a process that's brought us to this particular moment in time, but now we're pretty much done?"

Gilbert says that he and his colleagues wanted to investigate this idea, but first they had to figure out how. The most straightforward way would be to ask people to predict how much they'd change in the next decade, then wait around to see if they were right. "The problem with that is, it takes 10 years," says Gilbert.

So the researchers took a much quicker approach. They got more than 19,000 people to take some surveys. There were questions about their personality traits, their core values and preferences. Some people were asked to look back on how they changed over the past 10 years. Others were asked to predict how they thought they would change in the next decade.

Then the scientists crunched the data. "We're able to determine whether, for example, 40-year-olds looking backwards remember changing more than 30-year-olds looking forwards predict that they will change," Gilbert explains.

They found that people underestimated how much they will change in the future. People just didn't recognize how much their seemingly essential selves would shift and grow.

And this was true whether they were in their teen years or middle-aged.

"Life is a process of growing and changing, and what our results suggest is that growth and change really never stops," says Gilbert, "despite the fact that at every age from 18 to 68, we think it's pretty much come to a close."

Personality changes do take place faster when people are younger, says Gilbert, so "a person who says I've changed more in the past decade than I expect to change in the future is not wrong."

But that doesn't mean they fully understand what's still to come. "Their estimates of how much they'll change in the future are underestimates," says Gilbert. "They are going to change more than they realize. Change does slow; it just doesn't slow as much as we think it will."

The studies, reported in the journal Science, impressed Nicholas Epley, a psychology researcher at the University of Chicago. "I think the finding that comes out of it is a really fundamentally interesting one, and in some ways, a really ironic one as well," says Epley.

He says everyone seemed to remember change in the past just fine. "What was bad, though, was what they predicted for the future," says Epley.

He notes that if you want to know what your next 10 years will be like, it's probably good to look at what your past 10 years were like - even though we seem not to want to do that.

Gilbert says he doesn't yet know why people have what he and his colleagues call the "end of history illusion."

One possibility is that it's just really, really hard to imagine a different, future version of yourself. Or maybe people just like themselves the way they are now, and don't like the idea of some unknown change to come.

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You Can't See It, But You'll Be A Different Person In 10 Years

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No matter how old people are, they seem to believe that who they are today is essentially who they'll be tomorrow. That's according to fresh research that suggests that people generally fail to appreciate how much their personality and values will change in the years ahead - even though they recognize that they have changed in the past.