Thursday, February 21, 2008

Condescending?

Abortion debate heats up

A Kansas bill proposes requiring that abortionists offer women the opportunity to view an ultrasound and hear the fetal heartbeat before proceeding with killing the fetus in question.

Julie Burkhart, chief executive officer of the abortion-rights group ProKanDo, said the current law is sufficient.

"This bill shows just one thing," she said. "A lack of trust in women to be able to make the best possible decision for themselves and their families."


Let's try that attitude on in other circumstances. How about a bill requiring that before buying a used car, the customer be offered a chance to review the vehicle's repair history:

Bob Lemon, chief executive officer of the used-car salesman group NoKanGo, said the current law is sufficient.

"This bill shows just one thing," he said. "A lack of trust in drivers to be able to make the best possible decision for themselves and their families."


How about a law requiring that prior to signing a contract for cable TV, a consumer be offered an opportunity to review what his actual bills will be during the contract period, after the expiration of the elaborately-worded Special Offer:

Bill Higherlater, chief executive officer of the cable sales group NoKanSho, said the current law is sufficient.

"This bill shows just one thing," he said. "A lack of trust in viewers to be able to make the best possible decision for themselves and their families."


Or maybe a bill that would require weight-loss clinics to offer customers the chance to review data on actual weight lost by other clients during the previous year:

Lucy Pounds, chief executive officer of the diet-aid sales group LoKanGo, said the current law is sufficient.

"This bill shows just one thing," she said. "A lack of trust in dieters to be able to make the best possible decision for themselves and their families."


If you took such a "Don't worry your pretty little head, just sign here" in any other consumer situation, you'd be recognized right away as having some agenda other than protecting the consumer. And unlike most other consumer choices, an abortion can't be returned if the customer is unhappy. This is buyer's remorse that can last a lifetime -- or even kill.

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

How can you equate abortions with buying a car? How about you show some compassion and a little consideration towards this subject.

Christina Dunigan said...

I was pointing out that the person buying a car has MORE legal protection from being scammed than a woman submitting to an abortion. Do you think that's right? That we treat abortion as a more trivial matter, less deserving of consumer protection, than buying a car or subscribing to cable TV?