On Jan. 23, 1973, when the Supreme Court struck down state criminal abortion laws in Roe v. Wade, President Richard M. Nixon made no public statement. But privately, newly released tapes reveal, he expressed ambivalence.My dad was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Some of his grandparents had been slaves. My mom was born in Hollywood, California. One of her great-grandfathers, on her dad's side, is said to have signed the Declaration of Independence.
Nixon worried that greater access to abortions would foster “permissiveness,” and said that “it breaks the family.” But he also saw a need for abortion in some cases, such as interracial pregnancies.
“There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white,” he told an aide, before adding: “Or a rape.”
You might guess I'm not so keen on the availability of abortion in the case of interracial marriages? Perhaps if my parents had not been in love I might not have been born? And now, what will the leftists say? They're all about civil rights, diversity and social progress? Would NOW think twice before a suction cutterage abortion for a black fetus? How about dilation and extraction, eight months after a white mother-to-be has second thoughts about the child's black father? Abortion is already racial genocide for the black community, where "One of every three black babies is killed before birth."
Maybe President Nixon would have aborted Barack Obama?
God have mercy ...
27 comments:
Feel free to crib my I,RANCID image to place below Neda, if you like, sir. That is original with me, but I don't alter the look of ToM in any way. Or not.
Cheers,
Chris
Thanks Smitty! Obama is indeed rancid!
I'm glad I'm here too, Philippe!
Donald..just from what I know about the kind of man you are, I would doubt, very seriously, if your parents were the kind of people who would have even considered aborting you, no matter the difficulties they may have encountered as a biracial couple.
I'm glad you're here, and glad you're exactly who you are.
Thanks Jan! What about all the other lost souls whose parents didn't care about life?
I know you're glad I'm here, and I know all my blogging friends are glad. But what about the lefties? They'll attack Nixon for his racism, but they won't question the abortions themselves ...
To be fair, I think Nixon would've left it up to your parents to decide your fate. You & Barack would've only been in danger from Nixon and his backward views of interracial procreation if he was your father.
(To me, this speaks more to Nixon's racism than to his thinking on abortion, which as you note, seems kind of ambivalent.)
As soon as one looks at the race of the pregnant women who choose to abort those black fetuses, the racial issue--as a moral issue, anyway--kinda goes out the window. As with all the other issues that disproportionately impact minority communities, it is something to address and solve... ...but not by removing the choice from their (and everyone else's) lives.
I'm not keen on taking the decision away from pregnant women, and putting it in the hands of the government. In the end, no elected or appointed official forced your parents or his to abort you or Barack for any reason. Hopefully, there will never come a time when some elected or appointed government official forces any woman to carry a child against her will, either.
For the record though, I'm glad ol' Tricky Dick didn't get you, as well... I quite enjoy our discussions... ...whatever you may believe.
Life is good, Donald. I'm so pleased you're here, too.
As for Nixon, what an appallingly horrible addition to his legacy. Ugh.
I'm glad you are here too.
Like I said earlier, where else can you get smart political discussion and pictures of Jessica Simpson?
Dr.D,
I have always felt abortion to be a stain on our collective consciences. History will judge us harshly I fear. I'm sure you've seen the ad from Catholic Vote on the Obama angle in abortion. You certainly elevate the level of debate. Good day.
Repsac3: I wouldn't engage you if there wasn't some utility somewhere, as hard as it may be to find. But that's all you can say? Come on?!! The racism is not Nixon's, it's the left's genocide on black babies. President Nixon was a man of his times. Only a David Duke type would openly say something like that today and mean it. But just read the link to "One third" of all babies. Another black political scientist is calling him out. And you're saying this is more about Nixon's racism? Man, that is beneath low...
I'm pleased you are here, Pundette!
Dave: I'll put up more of Jessica Simpson!
Law and Order Teacher: I had the Catholic Vote ad posted in my sidebar for a while. It's the most moving ad from the entire campaign. I'm surprised it didn't have more of an effect on the outocme of the election, but I'm convinced things are going back the other way...
I'm sorry... Are you suggesting that Nixon wasn't a racist, but pregnant black women who choose abortion are?
As I said the first time (pretty clearly, I though), I'm saying that when Nixon said “There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white,” he told an aide, before adding: “Or a rape.”, he spoke to and exposed more about his own racism than he did his feelings about abortion.
Yes, there is a black professor who shares your opinions and beliefs about abortion. But like I said this morning in response to your RSM quote at AmNi, one's opinions don't become facts just because one can cite a third party (or even one hundred third parties) who shares them.
I believe one has to answer to one's own morality and spirituality on an issue like abortion. I certainly don't begrudge those who view it as you do from expressing their opinions and beliefs, and trying to persuade others--especially pregnant women who are faced with that choice--to agree with them. Believe it or don't, I even counseled one friend not to abort, back in high school. (I also went with her when she did choose to abort, because her "boyfriend" wanted nothing to do with her or the fetus, whatever she chose.) I oppose abortion, but moreso, I oppose taking the choice out of an individual woman's hands and giving it to anyone else's political or religious ideology aside her own.
I find debates over abortion somewhat interesting - mainly from the standpoint of the mindset of the debater.
This statement, for example,
I oppose abortion, but moreso, I oppose taking the choice out of an individual woman's hands and giving it to anyone else's political or religious ideology aside her own.
to me quite nicely encapsulates the thinking of many on the left. On the right the thinking seems to be that the baby is an innocent human at the moment of conception, and as such, deserves to not be murdered.
The distinction between the left and right appears to be over when the baby becomes human.
Discussions of "choice" seem to be simply a diversion away from the more fundamental issue.
While I can easily grasp the argument on the right about when the baby is human (indeed it is human & cannot be anything else), I never understood the argument for essentially shrugging our shoulders over the question of when the baby deserves rights.
I was adopted in 1964. Had I come along a few years later....
-Dave
@Donald,
No, I was referring to the Ahmadinejad pic on my FaceBook profile.
The abortion debate hinges on whether or not that growing, nascent human life is blessed with a soul or (as leftists who are almost always atheists, hope) it is nothing more than tissue growing in a soulless animal whose species has just somehow managed to evolve enough to understand that it's endowed with a singular consciousness but not progressed enough to know when or how to control the animal urges that drive the species to still act as, at times, uncontrolled animals.
So, if we humans have souls (and all that that means), and we still continue to abort nascent humans who are undoubtedly assigned said souls at conception, then we are trespassing on grounds we shouldn't be trespassing on. Cue the thunder and lightning.
If we do not have souls, and are truly just well-evolved animals, then abortions won't matter at all, and carry on. Smile and have much fun. Hold her hand throughout the procedure; it's absolutely no big deal.
But don't make that decision lightly, is all I'm saying.
Wow, my dear friend, more than impressive post.
I have a lump in my throat.
We all should all learn from this post. In comments, sometimes it is better to say less, than say more. Some of the verbosity here, if you re-read it, is in sympathy with your eloquent posit.
Thanks Rusty!
You linked this on my blog, and I wrote a response. If you want a progressive race person's response to the anti-choice "race" card, here goes: Pro-Life Race Card: Anti-Choice Activists Blow a Gasket Over Lifting of "Global Gag Rule" and Trying to "Get" Hillary Clinton, Mona Charen Contradicts Her Statistics.
Nixon's comments are "wrong" not becaus he seems to embrace a pro-choice position, but because he advocates white supremacy and bigotry -- in addition to equating interracial sex with rape (which is simply more racism).
As a conservative, I have never understood the love many have had for Richard Nixon. He was a liberal Republican, moderate at best. But, his racial views had long been on display before this revelation. Now, I wonder if Mr. Nixon wanted to use the rape BEFORE the interracial crap in his commentary? Anyway, I am glad that YOU were not aborted! The only good thing that Mr. Nixon did was bring us Ronald Reagan.
Darren: I'm interracial. I don't appreciate bigotry, but I especially don't appreciate the left's double standards on abortion, which you have not addressed.
Shhhhhhh, the left do not want you to bring up the fact that so many black babies are being aborted. They completely ignore that fact, and while they tout such huge amounts of BS about Republicans being racists; they fight tooth and nail to keep abortions coming, and refuse to be confronted with the cold hard facts- that so many black babies are destroyed each year. As long as no one reports on it, it doesn't happen in the world of liberals. Hypocrisy in the left's actions is what it is, no amount of truth will make them see it.
I agree with Righty, never saw Nixon's attraction to Republicans. He was not only moderate, but a jerk as well. For as smart a man as he was, he was equally as paranoid, and probably a racist too!
I forgot to add, that I am very glad that Donald wasn't a statistic. The world would have been missing out, big time. And then I just think about all of the other babies who could have contributed to this world, but never got the chance...
Trish's comment reminded me of the fact that the left was always touting all the miracle cures that would occur from the rainforest if we took better care to see that it grows and prospers. I always wondered how they missed the point that if we took better care to bring children into this world, ensured that they prospered and not abort them that many of those who were aborted may have been the ones who found those miracle cures that allegedly existed in the rainforest.
I guess seeing that connection is far too nuanced for some to grasp.
I never could see Nixon popularity with some people except he was, maybe, better than the other guy. I sometimes wish we could have a selection when we vote called, "NONE OF THE ABOVE." If "NONE OF THE ABOVE" won a plurality then we would have to start again with new people. Costly I know, but not any more costly than the damage done to us by people who the vast majority of us do not like and would not have voted for had we had better choices. I would posit that the vast majority of us are unhappy with the poor excuse we have running for office.
Dennis:
Both major parties would be scared out of their wits after seeing how often NOTA would beat their own candidates. (Third parties are already used to it...)
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