Recently, Senator Obama had a problem articulating an opinion on the matter because the question of when life begins, to quote, "is above my pay grade." He also has, in the past, indicated that he does not want his daughters "punished" by forcing them to have a child because "they made a mistake."
In the spirit of bi-partisan cooperation, I thought I would provide a little tool to assist in the education of young women between the ages of 13 and 25 about the dangers and consequences of unprotected sex:
Let's say, your potential partner is hot (or you've had a few too many beers)
Subract the following:
- 3 to 5 years that you might have spent free, single, going to school, hanging out with your friends, traveling and enjoying a nice nightlife without paying for a babysitter
- 3 to 5 months of throwing up
- 9 months of steadily growing the size of a beached whale, bloating, swollen ankles, having to pee every five minutes, etc
- $3000 (minimum) for a new wardrobe that will fit over the beach ball semi-permanently attached to your waist (yes, that is what you are going to look like trying to wear all those "cute" clothes still hanging in your closet; believe me, you will NOT look like this)
- $5000 in pre-natal doctor visits, vitamins and other medical care (triple that if you have no insurance)
-$20,000 for child birth (yes, that is what you think it is and it is coming from where you think it is coming from) where a bunch of people stand around watching and waiting
By now, your potential hot partner is looking like this
Continuing...
- $4000 for crib, car seat, bottles, blankets, baby clothes
- that's just for starters; multiply exponentially for every year of the child's life until 18 or until you reach the average cost of raising a child $200,000
- Let's not even pretend you're thinking about the cost of college $82,000 by the time the child is 18
- 6 months of sleepless nights making you late for work, irritable and punchy)
- $30,000 for new furniture, paint, broken windows and other items that will need to be replaced due to extensive "child" use
Your guy is a stud, right?
- clothes that smell like baby puke, food, poop, you name it, you're wearing it
-$7,000 two broken bones (or other medical need) minimum over lifetime of financial responsibility
- $12,000 minimum one surgery for appendectomy or some other minor surgery
- $50/night you want to go out x number of potential days you aren't too tired or too broke to do it ($3600 - $6000)
- 5 to 18 years fighting for pittiable child support that costs you more to try to get it than what you end up collecting
= Your Date
Any questions?
Try these on for size
This message brought to you by the Feminist against Abortion
In the spirit of bi-partisan cooperation, I thought I would provide a little tool to assist in the education of young women between the ages of 13 and 25 about the dangers and consequences of unprotected sex:
Let's say, your potential partner is hot (or you've had a few too many beers)
Subract the following:
- 3 to 5 years that you might have spent free, single, going to school, hanging out with your friends, traveling and enjoying a nice nightlife without paying for a babysitter
- 3 to 5 months of throwing up
- 9 months of steadily growing the size of a beached whale, bloating, swollen ankles, having to pee every five minutes, etc
- $3000 (minimum) for a new wardrobe that will fit over the beach ball semi-permanently attached to your waist (yes, that is what you are going to look like trying to wear all those "cute" clothes still hanging in your closet; believe me, you will NOT look like this)
- $5000 in pre-natal doctor visits, vitamins and other medical care (triple that if you have no insurance)
-$20,000 for child birth (yes, that is what you think it is and it is coming from where you think it is coming from) where a bunch of people stand around watching and waiting
By now, your potential hot partner is looking like this
Continuing...
- $4000 for crib, car seat, bottles, blankets, baby clothes
- that's just for starters; multiply exponentially for every year of the child's life until 18 or until you reach the average cost of raising a child $200,000
- Let's not even pretend you're thinking about the cost of college $82,000 by the time the child is 18
- 6 months of sleepless nights making you late for work, irritable and punchy)
- $30,000 for new furniture, paint, broken windows and other items that will need to be replaced due to extensive "child" use
Your guy is a stud, right?
- clothes that smell like baby puke, food, poop, you name it, you're wearing it
-$7,000 two broken bones (or other medical need) minimum over lifetime of financial responsibility
- $12,000 minimum one surgery for appendectomy or some other minor surgery
- $50/night you want to go out x number of potential days you aren't too tired or too broke to do it ($3600 - $6000)
- 5 to 18 years fighting for pittiable child support that costs you more to try to get it than what you end up collecting
= Your Date
Any questions?
Try these on for size
This message brought to you by the Feminist against Abortion
If you bring a self-centered materialist outlook to the discussion - which is what this particular argument uses for a foil - your take-away is "Thank God for Roe! Now I don't have to be punished for making a mistake!"
Heh.
Thus the references what your "potential partner" will look like. As liberated women, we're supposed to actually think about these things in advance and make good decisions. The idea that we are just too stupid, lazy or irresponsible to do so and end up getting abortions as the "cure" to pregnancy, totally blows a hole in the entire point of liberation. Freedom means responsibility. Responsible people think about their actions in advance and weigh the costs and benefits.
This is just a tool to help evaluate those costs and benefits.
And, funny, too, if I say so myself.
Thus, my approach. Think about it before you do it.
I rather agree with the premise. I'm not very involved with the whole abortion debate. It is after all not part of gay life, and it's also not a hot issue over here. I'm not very pro choice or pro life. I would like to see all that energy poured into more useful efforts like evading the abortion situation altogether. I feel responsibility is one of the keys to this.
If you are *not* receptive to the message, you may well react as I suggest.
Argent and John bring up a VERY good point- one I know has been used as the reason for abortion. A former co-worker of mine has a step-daughter with 2 little girls... and countless aborted children. I think she was up to about a dozen abortions 3 years ago- that her Dad knew of. Her reason was that getting an abortion was an "easy" way of avoiding the birth of a child she didn't want, didn't want to carry, and didn't want to pay for, or give away after birth.
I'm not saying it's right- I completely disagree with her reasoning... but her thought process is not unique, unfortunately.
Secondly, "countless" abortions? a) she can still get pregnant? b) how much is it costing her per abortion because the national average is about $500/per.
That's not very cheap. I don't think her real reason could possibly be for financial purposes based on that info.
Great job pulling together the pics that have killed my appetite. I have no girls but will show my boys. I have always told them there are three things you can't walk away from - a criminal record, a drug habit and a baby......everything else I can work with.
I am equally scarred by all the photographs of men in your post. No one looked good to me.
My Darling Chief - Of course she didn't use your pic - this is supposed to be a disincentive to having sex.
Argent - You missed her point, this is the arguement you make to those girls who are being careless but haven't been caught.
I think it's a very good arguement because most of the 15-24 have rose colored glasses on and think babies will be cute and cuddly....................and that they will look so good in those maternity clothes.
AFSister - There will always be the extreme cases. You can't stop them all. You think about that girl because you know her story and it's extreme enough that it's still being talked about. Most people who have abortions don't advertise it.