Amnesty International is reaffirming its stand in favor of abortion access for victims of rape, sexual assault, and incest, and in cases when pregnancy poses a risk to their lives or a “grave risk” to their health. The policy change (Amnesty previously called itself “neutral” on abortion - it opposed forced abortions, but neither attacked nor supported voluntary abortion) was inspired by regions like Darfur, where rape is being used as a weapon of war.

“Amnesty International stands alongside the victims and survivors of human rights violations. Our policy reflects our obligation of solidarity as a human rights movement with, for example, the rape survivor in Darfur who, because she is left pregnant as a result of the enemy, is further ostracised [sic] by her community,” said Kate Gilmore (Executive Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty International).

Amnesty International is still far from acknowledging the right to abortion as fundamental in defending each individual’s bodily integrity, but it’s taken a huge step in the right direction. Countless victims will finally have all of their options open to them. Amnesty is also calling for an end to the criminalization of abortion “to ensure women have access to heath care when complications arise from abortion and to defend women’s access to abortion … when their health or human rights are in danger.”

Ratzinger is not a happy Pope:

The church, which considers abortion to be murder and never justified, has urged Catholic organizations to withdraw their support for
Amnesty over the policy. The Vatican says Amnesty has “betrayed its mission.”

If forcing pregnancy on battered, assaulted women so they cannot return to their communities is “the mission,” then it’s about time it was betrayed. If sentencing innocent women to death by keeping abortion out of reach for those in risk is “the mission,” then we need to drop the damn mission. It’s just tragic that religious leaders are so desperate to keep victims of human rights violations in the dark.

You can never quite be sure what you’ll dig up when you do a news search on “abortion.” Oh, there’ll be the typical LifeNews garbage - apparently they’re now lashing out at Planned Parenthood for suggesting that their clients stop smoking. Because, you know, there’s no difference between cigarettes and sex… it will KILL you, and God will giggle uncontrollably (or so says Fred Phelps).

But sometimes - just sometimes - you find something worth reading:

If the Mississippi Legislature passes Senate Bill 2391 - which basically was written by the national Right to Life organization, one legislator says - it will be like trying to shove a Q-Tip into your brain and stopping at your eardrum.

It doesn’t go far enough.

First of all, there’s not a provision requiring a woman who receives an abortion to get a scarlet “A” tattooed on her forehead. But this was probably an oversight and, chances are, will be remedied soon.

(Stock tip: Buy red ink.)

The author points out some of the frightening potential effects of the bill’s terminology. A minor is only entitled to the right to choose when she is deemed “mature” enough, but with this “maturity” most pro-lifers contend that she is also capable of raising a child and should therefore be obligated to do so. As Pettus mentions, this is a real can of worms… an abortion may be allowed if it is deemed “in the girl’s best interest,” but is it in anyone’s best interest to be forced into childbirth or to be forced to abort? Choice, freedom, self-determination - those are in a person’s best interest.

The article’s closing hits home.

Finally, another July 1 provision says that, before anyone performs an abortion, he or she would have to do an ultrasound and allow the pregnant woman to hear the fetal heartbeat.

I have no problem with this requirement. In fact, lawmakers ought to expand it and apply it to themselves - before they publicly support a war or send someone else’s children to one, they should have to put on a stethoscope and listen to those heartbeats - which left the womb at least 18 years ago.

Maybe that’s another bill “Right to Life” could write.

A new Abu Ghraib investigation has allegedly begun to examine the validity of a Youtube video in which an unidentified man claiming to have been a guard at Abu Ghraib boasts about abusing and torturing inmates and the rape and suicide of a young girl. It’s just about the most disgusting, evil thing I’ve ever witnessed. The video was removed from Youtube for violating the terms of use.
From the transcript:

Know any of those guys who got busted, you know, for torturing those inmates?

They got fucked, man. You know, just cuz someone let the pictures get out.

I don’t get that.

Yeah, why’d they….

No one expected…

****

I mean, compared to what we were doing every day? Teasing a couple of hajjis? Give me a fucking break. You know, what’s the big deal about making a haji walk around like a dog and bark?

****

….expected anyone to get all upset…

****

What else would you guys do?

What would we do?

****

Or we would take plastic and wrap it around their heads until they started choking….

****

CIA showed us a lot of shit….

****

…..crank generator, where we’d hook it up to their nipples or their nuts, fucking crank it and shock the shit out of them.

***

What was the most fun things?

The most fun thing, umm….definitely the women.

Yeah? They had chick insurgents, man?

No, they didn’t have chick insurgents.

***

Something goes down, they just grab everyone around, you know, fuck em. I mean, you gonna have 35 trials? No, you know. People are like, “Oh they’re innocent.” You know what, I don’t give a fuck. As far as I’m concerned, they’re all guilty. You know what? They should have kicked Saddam out themselves. Instead, we’re there doing the fucking job. We’re losing guys…..

***

Were those people in the World Trade Center guilty? No. Fuck them. They fucked us, so now we’re fucking them. Fuck them, dude, anyone with a fucking rag on their head is fair game.

***

….girl, she was probably like 15 years old. Yeah, she was hot dude. The body on that girl, yeah, really tight. You know, hadn’t been touched yet. She was fucking prime. So….

***

One of the guys started pimping her out for 50 bucks a shot. I think at the end of the day, you know, he’d made like 500 bucks before she hung herself.

Really?

Yeah.

She hung herself? How’s come she hung herself?

I don’t know. She wasn’t happy.

***

In their culture, it’s really shunned upon if you get raped. I guess she would have been stoned to death anyways by her people, you know. It’s fucked up.

She was fucked anyway, I guess. In more ways than one.