Birth @ MindSay 
baby
The truly interesting thing about the below email and article is that is makes me recall the late 70's when women were doing self abortions with coat hangers and dying from infections and lack of proper medical care. Nowdays a lot of young women don't realize or know what their mothers and grandmothers went thru to ensure that they today DO have choices, and now the powers which be are doing their level best to take those hardwon rights away......What ever your beliefs are on abortion, whether pro life or not....every woman should have choices...it is after all....OUR BODIES and OUR LIVES, a fact which seems to escape many men and particularly legislators.
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"How much more is Bush hoping to slip into law unnoticed? Yesterday, it was
the weakening of the endangered species regulations and today it is taking
the abortion war to the level of contraception. Please check out the sources
listed by moveon.org at the bottom of this email.
I have come to realize that it was never about anti-abortion or pro-life. It
was about pro-pregnancy to keep women in their "place" and out of any
position of freedom and power. Dayum, my inner goddess is sincerely pissed
off.
Pen"
==================================================
Dear MoveOn member,
Can you imagine living in a place where birth control is considered an
"abortion" and health insurers won't cover it? Where even rape victims are
denied emergency contraception?
It seems unbelievable, but the Bush Administration is quietly trying to
redefine "abortion" to include birth control. The Houston Chronicle
says this could wipe out dozens of state laws that protect women's
reproductive freedom and protect rape victims.1 Access to basic health
care for millions of women would be jeopardized. And it's being pushed as
a "rule change"--meaning, it doesn't need congressional approval.
Can you sign an emergency message to Health and Human Services Secretary
Mike Leavitt, whose department is considering this rule change right now?
Tell him: "Contraception is NOT abortion. The Bush Administration's
proposal to change the definition of abortion and reduce women's access to
birth control must be stopped."
Clicking here will add your name to this message:
http://pol.moveon.org/contraception/o.pl?id=13468-7884433-6rQEppx&t=14
The best way to beat back this proposal is to show Secretary Leavitt
massive public outrage--that's why today we're launching this petition
jointly with Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Together, we'll deliver every
signature to Leavitt. You can help add to our momentum by forwarding this
message to friends.
Here's what some others are saying about this proposal:
The draft regulation would define birth control as abortion...it could
deny access to critical family planning for women across the
country.--Letter signed by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and 26 other
senators.2
The draft rule could void laws in 27 states that require insurance
companies to provide birth control coverage for women requesting it [and]
laws in 14 states requiring that rape victims receive counseling and
access to emergency, day-after contraceptives.--Houston Chronicle
editorial3
The administration needs to stop playing word games with women's health
and state clearly they will reject any regulations that will undermine
women's access to basic health care.--Cecile Richards, president of
Planned Parenthood Federation of America.4
[It's] a spectacular act of complicity with the religious right... --RH
Reality Check, Information and Analysis for Reproductive Health5
The birth control pill, the IUD, and emergency contraception might all
become unavailable--illegal--as a result.--Brigid Riley, executive
director of a Minnesota teen pregnancy prevention organization6
Can you help send a loud message to Secretary Leavitt that birth control
is NOT abortion? Clicking here will sign your name:
http://pol.moveon.org/contraception/o.pl?id=13468-7884433-6rQEppx&t=15
Thanks for all you do.
--Nita, Laura, Patrick S., Adam G., and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Redefining abortion; Federal officials considering a rule allowing
health care workers to refuse to provide contraceptives," Houston
Chronicle, August 10, 2008
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5935532.html
2. Letter to Secretary Mike Leavitt from Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton,
and 26 other senators, July 23, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4042&id=13468-7884433-6rQEppx&t=16
3. "Redefining abortion; Federal officials considering a rule allowing
health care workers to refuse to provide contraceptives," Houston
Chronicle editorial, August 10, 2008
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5935532.html
4. "Birth control: is administration backing down--or not?" Los Angeles
Times blog, August 8, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4043&id=13468-7884433-6rQEppx&t=17
5. "HHS Moves to Define Contraception as Abortion," RH Reality Check, July
15, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4041&id=13468-7884433-6rQEppx&t=18
6. "White House Considering Contraception Restrictions," Public News
Service, August 11, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4040&id=13468-7884433-6rQEppx&t=19
Hi,
I had to share something with you. Can you imagine living in a place where birth control is considered an "abortion" and health insurers won't cover it? Where even rape victims are denied emergency contraception?
It seems unbelievable, but the Bush Administration is quietly trying to redefine "abortion" to include birth control. The Houston Chronicle says this could wipe out dozens of state laws that protect women's reproductive freedom and protect rape victims. And this proposed "rule change" doesn't need congressional approval.
I just signed a message to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, whose department is considering this rule change, telling him: "Contraception is NOT abortion." Can you add your voice to this cause? Click here to sign the message: http://pol.moveon.org/contraception/?r_by=13468-8015267-S_PdJgx&rc=confemail
Thanks!
(provided by moveon.org)
Where I end and you begin
Harmonies and rhythms
Merge with the heartbeat of God,
Om is heard.
Where I end and you begin
Still waters ripple,
A stream flows
From the sacred place.
Where I end and you begin
Fire is ignited.
Darkness turns to light
Shadows scatter
Secrets are revealed.
...where I end and you begin
Love decides.
lovespirit
If you were adopted and born on 8/17/73, in Hinsdale, Illinois, you can get your original birth certificate from the state. And if, on that birth certificate, you see these names, Trojanowski or Trzos, then you can email me at <thebratland@yahoo.com>. I hope you find this site. I hope you email me. I'll be watching.
[The Boy, by the way, is a guy I met and lived with from 1998 to 2007.]
~August 17, 1973~
I am a mother.
OK... I'm a mother times TWO.
And maybe today is the day to talk about my first child. Because I have never hidden the fact that I had a child that I gave up for adoption.
When I first started talking to The Boy via Instant Messages, I told him about the fact that I had given a child [a boy] up for adoption when I was just a [wee] lassie.
Because when you've 'done that' you learn that some people think you are some kind of freak. I kid you not.
And before I became really good friends with The Boy I wanted to know right away if he thought I was some kind of freak.
He didn't.
So, we became friends.
You see, I never kept it a secret because I always wanted the child I gave birth to to be able to find me. And I foresaw the danger of keeping his existence a secret.
How would I have explained it to people otherwise?
That's not how I am.
If you want me, you take my baggage, too.
And I've been extremely blessed in that regard. I truly have not had one man walk out on me because of it. Either they are wonderful men, or [I'm rather more inclined to believe] I am an extraordinary woman.
Oh, yes I am.
But I digress.
Almost six years after giving birth to a boy, I gave birth to a daughter. And when she was old enough to really understand things, I let her know that I had given birth to a child with a different man and I had 'given him away' to people who could take care of him and give him things that I could not.
I must have done a superb job because my daughter never felt in danger of being 'given away' or abandoned, or any of that other shit that people tell you will happen to your kids.
My daughter is, at this writing, 28 years old. And if the boy I gave birth to knocked on my door tomorrow, no one in my life would say, "OH MY GOD YOU NEVER TOLD ME."
And The Boy would let him in and treat him like his own, or at least one of my family, and he would never raise an eyebrow.
And he would be happy for me.
Not that I lose sleep over this, folks. I don't.
While that baby was growing in my belly I kept telling myself that I was growing him for someone else because I KNEW that there was no way that I could give that child a decent life AT THE TIME.
And I knew, thanks to someone close to me [who shall remain nameless, although she knows who she is] that an adopted child is as loved as a child who is flesh and blood to the people adopting.
No, it wasn't an 'open adoption' although I knew the names of the people who adopted my child. [Notice I do not say 'my son'? I'll get back to that.]
When I got pregnant, I was a junior in high school. And BACK THEN, pregnant girls were not allowed to stay in school. So I didn't graduate high school.
Years later, when my daughter was a sophomore in high school, she was talking about dropping out of school, and I told her she couldn't.
And she said to me, "YOU DID!"
And although there were extenuating circumstances for me dropping out of school, I realized I had no excuse anymore.
So I got my G.E.D.
Then I got this crazy idea that maybe, just maybe, I COULD GO TO COLLEGE!
And I did.
Now, I'm not gonna get into college life except to say this: It got me onto the Interwebs. And I thought maybe, just maybe, I could put my info OUT THERE and make it easier for the child I had put up for adoption to find me.
And I've done that.
The bad part is that the really popular sites for adoptees looking for their birth parents are sites that make you pay a [hefty] yearly fee to keep your info on the site, and I've never been wealthy enough to be able to do that.
But I have found plenty of other sites and have 'registered' with them.
I just want to give him a chance if he is trying to find me.
Because there are, I'm sure, reasons to find me. Like the health history of his birth family.
But I don't call him My Son for a couple of reasons.
And some of those reasons are:
A mother is someone who changes your shitty diapers.
A mother is someone who sits up with you when you are sick and changes the sheets you puked on in the middle of the night.
A mother goes through the chicken pox with you.
A mother teaches you to tie your shoes.
A mother finds ways to teach you how to eat and like vegetables, even peas.
A mother cries when she sends you off to kindergarten.
A mother teaches you how to say "Daddy" when she would much rather you said "Mommy".
A mother delights in watching you roll over for the first time.
A mother lets you touch bugs.
A mother lets you taste dirt.
A mother gives you pots to bang on with spoons and thinks you make beautiful music.
A mother teaches you not to pull on the kitty's tail or bite the puppy's ears.
A mother holds you when you are hurt and kisses your boo-boos.
A mother looks at a crayon drawing and declares it is the most beautiful thing she has ever seen as she puts it on the refrigerator.
A mother exclaims that you are growing "like a weed".
A mother thinks dandelions are the most beautiful flowers EVER.
A mother sees you through graduations and proms and driving lessons and weird haircuts and pierced ears and wet dreams and periods and friends who are being mean to you.
A mother buries pets in the back yard with you and gives you ice cream afterwards.
I was never a Mother to the child I gave away.
I never did any of these things with the child who went away from me after I made sure he had all his fingers and toes and was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT.
And I may never meet him this side of Heaven, and I'm resigned to that. I don't get maudlin and get drunk over it.
But I will admit that sometimes, like tonight, I stop and say a prayer for him, wherever he is, and I say to God, "Oh, please, just let him be HAPPY."
Because when it comes down to it, isn't that all we want for our kids? All we want for those that we love?
I think it is.
And for that Someone who is Somewhere Out There, here's a birthday song for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSyRFLlYnWI
Because I Know You're Out There Somewhere.
Happy 34th birthday. I hope it's a great one for you.
.
http://www.birthverse.com/mybirthverse.cfm
My Birth verse:
Revelation 7:12 KJV
Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, [be] unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
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