Most Democrats,
including President Clinton, Governor Kitzhaber and most of those elected to the Oregon
Legislature *proudly* support a woman's right to choose.
Just so that we are on the same page, let's be sure we understand what being
"Pro-choice" means. Pro Choice means that you support the right of
a woman to kill the life a human being growing inside of her. Some
Democrats support the right of women to undergo late term
abortions which is the violent termination (murder) of a developed human
life inside a woman's body. In most cases, a Democrat being
Pro-choice means supporting the use of Taxpayer funds to end the life of
a human being.
The rationale given for this position is that "it's a
woman's body and she should be able to decide what is best for her." The
right to an aborion is a freedom of choice issue in America. The fact
that Taxpayer funds are being used to terminate a human life is secondary.
Personally, I think that abortion is an abomination and is murder. However, I recognize
that I am not the one who is going to have to raise this child or live with the
consequences of an abortion decision. I also have very strong feelings about the injustice
of imposing my morals on someone else. While I feel strongly that abortion is wrong, I
support a woman's right to choose because it is their life and not mine. I also
[involuntarily] support Taxpayer funded abortions because there is no way that I know of
to keep the Government from using my tax payments to do so.
In my opinion, abortion is a very expensive, Taxpayer funded
means of birth control. Democrats apparently feel that this is money well spend so
long as it promotes a woman's freedom of choice.
So.... Oregon Government spends a lot of money every year to kill unborn children ...and
is proud of these expenditures.... even though in the vast majority of cases this outrage
could have been avoided buy the simple use of an inexpensive, readily available condom. If
there is a benefit to me, the Taxpayer, for this policy, I would like to know what it is.
In talking to many Democratic Legislators in Oregon, it seems
that their positions concerning "Pro choice" and freedom of
choice end with abortion.
For years, Democrats in Oregon have been telling me that Government must continue to force
me to wear a motorcycle helmet when riding, for a variety of mostly illogical reasons. The
fact that motorcycle helmets have never been proven to provide any measure of safety does
not seem to compute with these folks. It is a fact that States that do not require helmet
usage experience about the same ratio of fatalities to accidents as States like Oregon
which do. The only reports that have ever "proved" helmet effectiveness were
done under Government grants where the objective was to
substantiate a pre-determined outcome. There has *NEVER* been an independently
performed, scientific study done regarding motorcycle helmet safety. In
fact, a lot of my tax money has been used by the NHTSA and Oregon Health Department to
provide Law Makers with misleading and in some cases outright lies regarding the
"effectiveness" of motorcycle helmets. An example is the Oregon Health
Department's claim that repealing the mandatory helmety law in Oregon will cost Taxpayers
$20 million per year. When pressed to substantiate this "fact", the
Director of the Oregon Health Department was forced to admit that the figure was an
"estimate" that was pretty much pulled out of the air because it sounded good.
There has also been a lot of discriminatory accusations about the "social
burden" theory... the notion that we'd be all for "allowing" Adult American
Citizens to chose except that it would cost Taxpayers billions in medical expenses....
ostensibly because Motorcyclists are running around the State without any insurance.
Please tell me which Democrat in America would dare
to say that most Blacks or Hispanics or Gays or women are running around without insurance?
Aside from being a highly bigoted statement, it is also completely untrue. Just like most
Italian Americans have no association with the Mafia, so too are most Motorcyclists law
abiding, tax paying, responsible Citizens.
Like most activities in life, riding a motorcycle can be dangerous. This is why we promote
things like Rider training, sober riding and education as safety philosophies. However,
contrary to popular lore, head injuries claim a lot more (about 25,000 each year)
Motorists' lives than Motorcyclists .... yet there is no Legislative outcry to
stick helmets on the heads of the motoring public. Why? Probably because wearing a helmet
while driving a car would be insane! The accident rate would skyrocket immediately
after creating such a law. Motorists would quickly find out, as every Motorcyclist
already knows, that helmets greatly increase the likelihood of accidents
due to reduced visibility and hearing. If you don't believe me, get yourself a full face
helmet (don't forget the face shield), put it on and drive out into heavy traffic. Even if
you don't run someone over or get clobbered, I think you will start to see what we have
been talking about for the past several decades: motorcycle helmets cause
accidents and they kill Bikers
One cannot be selectively pro freedom. Either you
believe that all adult Americans have the inalienable right to make their own choices
about their body or you don't.
As a decorated combat Veteran, it angers me that we are even having this conversation in
this "Land of the free and home of the brave". The freedom to ride my
motorcycle without a helmet ought to be automatic and not in need of justification in the
United States of America. However, not only am I not being allowed my freedom of choice,
but I am being forced to wear a piece of so-called safety equipment that is far
more likely to get me killed than it is to do me any good.
And to make matters worse, this injustice is being perpetrated on me by Bureaucrats who,
for the most part have never even been on a motorcycle!
What I want to know is this: Are Democrats "pro choice" or simply Pro abortion? If Democrats truly believe in promoting life in a free Country, I wish that they would get out of the mode of trying to regulate every breath that I take. If they can't do that, I wish that they would at least learn how to ride a motorcycle so that they'd know what they are talking about when they make decisions that adversely effect my health and well being.
Click HERE to chat with Marc Abrams, Democratic Party of Oregon Chair. Note that I have had several conversations with Mr. Abrams and that he has always said that he supports our right to choose. The problem is *NOT* with Mr. Abrams but with many in his Party.
For more information
about the "effectiveness" of helemt laws, Click HERE
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