Hmmmm.
Rumors are circulating that VP nominee Palin's last child is biologically her grandchild. The evidence, if true and undoctored, raises the question -- but in the photoshop era, can photos be believed?
Far be it for me to criticize someone "not looking pregnant," since some guy tried to pick me up for a date when I was at seven months. Sitting with legs crossed, it's amazing how many people won't notice that belly. (I was so swollen at that point I had to stop wearing my wedding ring, so you can't fault him on that point.)
I'm pro-choice, and I wouldn't vote for McCain/Palin in a million years on that and many other reasons. But I will give her credit -- assuming any of this is true -- for not being a hypocrite. If one is pro-life, then that means one should support women having children under difficult situations. In this case (if true) she took the burden (emotional and financial) off her daughter so that the latter can continue with her education and life.
Of course, it would be better for all of us to avoid these cases altogether. That means supporting BIRTH CONTROL -- in high schools, for starters. Sex ed in junior high schools. Condoms everywhere, free and accessible so that my local drug store doesn't have to keep them under lock and key to stop kids for stealing them.
But even then, there will be some teenage pregnancies. They happen. Should Palin be lying about it? Should her daughter? No. But lots of other parents -- pro-life parents -- would have turned a blind eye to an abortion. Or forced an adoption, a marriage, or thrown the daughter out of the house.
Palin may have done the old-fashioned thing of taking on her grandchild as her own. Maybe that proves she is the kind of mother she claims to be.
(That still isn't enough to make her VP, in my book, but hey, credit where credit is due.)
Monday, September 1, 2008
A Loving Mother?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Dear heart, while I admire your compassion, the chance of a 16-year-old being the mother of a Down's Syndrome baby is very, very small. VERY small. Something like 1 in 2000. For a 44-year-old woman, the likelihood of conceiving a Down's baby is something like 1 in 30 to 1 in 40. (Now, the actual birthrate of Down's babies would be somewhat different, because most fetuses with Down's are aborted, but if we assume that Palin is assuredly anti-abortion, that wouldn't be a factor here.) I would typically be offended that people are going after a female politician's reproductive system rather than, say, her anti-abortion stance and iffy environmentalism, but the thought of alleging that a 44-year-old anti-abortion women didn't really give birth to a *Down's Syndrome baby* and is really covering for her teenage daughter is so hilarious to me that I can't work up the nerve.
(Apologies if that sounded patronizing. I know you're very intelligent, obviously, but this is a subject that I may have done some more reading on than you have, given that you have a kid and a d*ss*rt*t**n to occupy your time. If you have and I'm repeating facts you already know, you can call me and tell me, at which point I can get on your case for missing your deadline...)
Also, Palin just announced that her oldest daughter is five months pregnant and marrying the father, who is as yet unnamed. So that would seem to refute the rumors fairly definitively. (As would the photos I've seen that show Palin looking very pregnant a few months back, and the fact that Palin spoke to a conference of governors looking very pregnant about half a day before giving birth.)
On another note: This certainly won't make you vote for Palin, but the fee system she imposed on oil and gas production in Alaska is something that might be interesting to study for those looking for ways that populations in, say, Latin America could keep more of the proceeds from their natural resources. Palin's argument, in fact, was that Alaskans should share more in their natural resources, and that there would still be plenty left for energy companies. Some people have compared her to Hugo Chavez - I don't think that will be one of the Republican talking points! I don't think you'll like her approach to energy from an environmentalist point of view, but it has some interesting populist elements.
But have you seen the photos? There's one they claim was taken when she was seven months pregnant. There's no way. You can fake being pregnant, but you can't fake being NOT pregnant if you are.
Teenagers do, occasionally, have Down's babies. That's no more strange to my mind than Palin getting pregnant at 44 in the first place. It's unlucky, but not impossible.
Plus, any mother who took the risk that Palin took in delaying getting medical care when it became clear she was in premature labor needs her head looked at. No mother -- especially not one who had already given birth 4 times -- would do that.
Plus, a woman's most fertile time is right after she gives birth. Lots of women get pregnant with an infant in the house. The daughter could easily be pregnant a second time.
All in all -- I'm not saying it IS true, but I think there's enough evidence that it COULD be true (assuming everything presented is accurate).
But sure, we should focus on the real issue -- LYING. If she lied about this pregnancy, if she used her clout to hide her daughter's pregnancy (as is suggested), this -- together with Troopergate -- presents a very disturbing picture. She would appear to be a woman who would use her own political power to cover up her own embarrassments and enact revenge on her enemies.
That's not someone I want in the White House.
The picture I've seen in which Bristol had a rounded belly was taken in 2006. Trig Palin was born in April 2008. Unless Bristol Palin is secretly an elephant, Trig's not her kid. Not to mention the fact that Bristol Palin is currently five months pregnant, meaning that she was starting her current pregnancy just before Trig's birth.
Also, my mother gained only 12 pounds when she was pregnant with me. She looked less pregnant right before she gave birth than Sarah Palin does in this picture:
http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/31/234157/516/1017/581734
"Plus, any mother who took the risk that Palin took in delaying getting medical care when it became clear she was in premature labor needs her head looked at."
She wasn't in labor when she got on board the plane - she had to be induced after she returned to Alaska. She called her doctor and he suggested that she come back to Alaska. And, as for no pregnant woman getting on a plane in labor:
http://www.meredy.com/patsummitt/
She was married to Sevier County Bank president R.B. Summitt and they have a son, Ross Tyler, born September 21, 1990 several hours after a harrowing plane trip from Pennsylvania back to Tennessee when Summitt went into labor while recruiting Michelle Marciniak.
The story went that Pat Summitt swore her child would NOT be born outside of Tennessee. :)
I'm also going off of the assumption that, by the time you're giving birth for the fifth time, you have a pretty good idea of how your labor is going to go. But hey, I'm Childless Chick, so...
I didn't say NO woman would get on a plane in labor. :-) I said she would need her head looked at -- it would be dangerous to her and dangerous to the child. But more in a post...
Post a Comment