Roundup: It's Time to Play Monday Morning Quarterback

certain groups of people are being totally wiped out by abortion.

This is alarming -- who?  Who is being "totally wiped out by abortion"?

It can't be Black people, their fertility rate is still 30% higher than that of Caucasians even after abortion.

It can't be people with Down's Syndrome -- aborting even 90% of the present group won't change the number caused by the recurring DNA recombinant problem that  occurs statistically in a certain percentage of pregnancies.  It does seem a little cold to be scornful towards the women who abort those pregnancies when the societyal prejudice against DS is effected by marginalizing the lives of DS individuals.  Abortion may be the only way the women can protect that child from society's prejudice.

That African American women are unable to make decisions for themselves on their use of contraception, access to family planning services, pap smears, breast exams and access to abortion services?

Are you suggesting that African American women who choose abortion are incapable of making those decisions?

Are you even remotely aware of the fact that a large movement for reproductive justice in this country led by African American, Latina, and Asian women has advocated specifically for increasing access to such services in low-income neighborhoods so that women and men in those neighborhoods have access to a wide range of services?

Your inability to think outside your own box is revealing.

I trust women to make decisions for themselves.  The reality?  Higher income people are more likely to have private insurance.  Lower-income people are more likely to depend on subsidized services for a wide range of care, including Planned Parenthoods among other such services.

A little fact and a little knowledge go a long way toward dispelling these sorts of ignorant claims.

Jodi Jacobson

Snerk...geez progo...you set the shame bar mighty low.

You must go through life riddled with guilt.

Re "species" Don't treat your readers like dunces-clearly that is a play on many environmentalist's message of "save the whales," while totally ignoring the fact that certain groups of people are being totally wiped out by abortion.

Oh, so you think that "certain groups of people" (i.e. Black people) are like whales, eh? Large, slow and dumb? No wonder you like to deny blatant racism when others call attention to it---you engage in it yourself! How does it feel to be swimming miles below the surface of white privilege?

And, moreover, sometimes I've wanted to use the same "endangered species" tactic for disabled children

Oh, so the disabled are like whales too! Not only are you an inveterate racist, you clearly have a deep-set hatred of people with disabilities. Perhaps you should seek professional help to sort through your destructive prejudices instead of commenting on a progressive site like RHRealityCheck.

It doesn't seem to me that it would be too pleasure for the child, being the club with which his mother "fights against society's prejudice".  Seems downright painful, in fact.

Had to laugh at your description of me as "prejudiced against the handicapped".  As I recall our prior discussion, to be very un-politically correct blunt, what I said was "crazy people shouldn't be allowed to adopt children" and "dying people shouldn't be allowed to adopt children".   I still don't understand why you think either one is a good idea.

Marginalization is exactly what you did in the previous paragraph by insisting that anyone with any kind of mental illness is automatically a poor parent.

I know lots of people who had or have mental illnesses who are great parents to their own children.  What we're talking about, however, is how to choose a home for a child available for adoption, in a venue where there are lots of different homes available to that child.

I'm not sure how up you are on the requirements to qualify as an adoptive parent, but besides being in 'good health' you also must be between 21 and 39, have a steady job, have a 'nice' home, a stable marriage, etc., and a bundle of cash to pay all the fees.  At some agencies, whether you go to church is even a factor.  Does that mean that they are discriminating against younger and older people, the self-employed, those who live in apartments, the unmarried and atheists?  People in all of those groups may be great parents.  What the adoption agency is trying to do is select the best possible home to meet the CHILD'S needs based on factors that have been shown to provide an optimum home.  6.5% of adoptions fail, to the great detriment of the children involved.  Why risk the child?  Why set the parent up to fail?

Two decades of research have unequivocally indicated that children who have a parent with mental illness are at significantly greater risk for multiple psychosocial problems (Beardslee et al., 1996a; Canino, Bird, Rubio-Stipec, Bravo & Algeria, 1990; Oyserman, Mowbray, Meares & Firminger, 2000). Studies have noted rates of child psychiatric diagnosis among offspring ranging from approximately 30% to 50% (Canino et al.; Oyserman et al.), as compared to an estimated rate of 20% among the general child population (Friedman, Katz-Leavy, Manderscheid, & Sondheimer, 1996). These same children are more likely to show developmental delays, lower academic competence, and difficulty with social relationships (Barocas, Seifer, & Sameroff, 1985; Oyserman et al.; Sameroff & Seifer, 1983; Weintraub & Neal, 1984). Despite these risks, many children of parents with mental illness are resilient and appear to "avoid" significant problems (Beardslee & Poderofsky, 1988).

http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/KEN-01-0109/ch4.asp

 A Deakin University psychologist is shocked the State Government's Suicide Prevention Taskforce has ignored the high risk of suicide by children of mentally ill parents.

... 

She said the taskforce failed to recognise children of mentally ill parents as a high risk group for suicide despite research showing this group was eight times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population.

...

Ms Holgate said the children of mentally ill parents often had to take on adult responsibilities.

She said this isolated children from their peers and affected their ability to develop relationships in adult life.

"The children have to take on responsibilities beyond their years, such as cooking and looking after younger siblings. Professionals encourage children to take on these responsibilities and it places an enormous burden on them," she said.

"They tend to have lower self-esteem as adults, don't know how to have fun and are more prone to anxiety and depression."

http://home.vicnet.net.au/~nnaami/ignore.htm