This video rocked me to the core. I've posted before about the hysterical attacks upon the Octo-Mom being an atavistic reaction to our fear of the Womb. We've had extraordinary debates and constitutional campaigns here to defend the 'right to life' and the 'unborn', assisted financially and strategically by US right-wing organisations and individuals. In the recent Dail (Parliament) debate on institutional child abuse, only one speech pointed to the disparity between our concern for those child born in the State and those un-born. The solution to this perversion of the law's function as protector of the State's citizens is not complacency. Rated.

The thing that's frustrating about both side of this argument it that they take isolated and murky cases and use them to support an argument about a serious issue.

Really, what does a woman giving birth in a jail cell have to do with what protections should be given to a late-term fetus? Nothing,

The only point is to say, Ha! Bill, you don't really care about the unborn. The rights and personhood of late-term fetuses is a complex and serious issue. Let's talk about it.

I'm glad to see you picking up the issue of women being forced to bear babies while chained. I called it torture, and was told I was exagerating.
Trying to reconcile all of the contradictions in the anti-choice's position will make you nuts. This video is damn good, and I'd love to see it get more attention.

thanks psychomama. your comment means a lot. we can't have this conversation with just symbols: we must talk about the real people affected by these laws.

malusinka, i am not taking isolated murky cases to try to say bill doesn't care about babies. i am sincerely asking... how do you protect someone who lives inside someone else? can you compel people to give up their bodily sovereignty for another person? this is a serious conversation, and i'm dismayed that you believe my point was "ha! gotcha!". that wasn't the point i was aiming for at all, and i'd very much appreciate some feedback about why you took that from what i made. the reason the woman in the jail cell matters, is because the state said they placed her there to protect her fetus, and when she had him on the floor, without doctors, and without any medical assistance, we failed her AND her baby. he got an infection because of where he was born. and what happens to these children when mom is in jail? are they well cared for?

thank you fingerlakeswanderer! i just couldn't make jokes about this. i've been pro-choice my whole life because this part of the law worries me a great deal, and many pro-life people don't seem to think about these mechanisms the law must consider to accomplish their goals. in a democracy, that's very scary.

thank you, editors for the pick! is there a reason this video isn't listed with the others on the cover? was it too off-topic?

This is strong, B. As crabby as O'Reilly is you've made him more of an underscore to larger issues.

thank you eric... i too prefer to think of him like an underscore. or maybe a hyphen... he's sort of stuck on larger issues, but most folks realize he's next to meaningless on his own.

VERY BIG SIGH.

Excellent work B, sorry I didn't see it sooner. The twisted logic in jailing the pregnant woman to protect the fetus is clearly demonstrated in your video. The fact that there is absolutely no concern for the woman in these cases is absolutely chilling. These are the results of fanatical thinking.

First, I admire your video skills! This is so powerfully and empoweringly made! And it breaks my heart, of course. I don't think this is about obscure cases at all as much how women's bodies, both obscure and mainstream, are still "subjected" to public opinion, and you make that point sadly, shudderingly well. Thanks for this and for sharing your grief with us so poignantly.

thanks kellylark and butchy!

i believe the definition of fanaticism is when you stop thinking about the impact your ideals have on real people. the only way for o'reilly to claim a sensible position, is by divorcing it from reality. and that is why "protecting a fetus" is what is discussed... not imprisoning women or murdering doctors.

thanks for watching, all of you!

Am I the only person to have read Margaret Atwood's Hand Maid's Tale. Women beware of the Right-Wing of darkness.