Speaking at a “right-to-life” event in Indiana yesterday, former Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin told the crowd that she has “just for a fleeting moment” considered an abortion when she learned her youngest son, Trig,  would be born with Down’s Syndrome: “That blew me away, it rocked my world… It was a time I asked myself, was I going to walk the walk?” she said. In the end, obviously, she chose to continue the pregnancy. Trig turns one year old tomorrow.

Hmm. This is the second time that Palin has acknowledged that abortion is an issue of choice. Last summer she said she was proud of pregnant daughter Bristol’s “decision to have her baby.” Now she’s saying she considered having an abortion, but chose not to. Clearly, both she and Bristol chose what was right for them and their families, but they had a choice. Palin, of course, is a staunch supporter of revoking Roe V. Wade. If she got her way, the two options SHE considered would be whittled down to one—for the rest of us. [AOL News]

I tried to hold back posting about this again today, but then I realized most of you don’t follow Mary Rambin’s blog as avidly as I do—I also like to watch “Intervention” while eating and have been known to wear open-toed shoes in the snow, so it’s not like I’m against torturing myself. Anyway, I thought you all might like to read her apology. Or sort of apology. And we (the royal “we” that encompasses women appalled by her abortion/Botox comparison) get a shout out! Ahem…

Mary Rambin, part of the “three-headed blogging Hydra” that is Non Society (which, cheekily, made our list of the best female bloggers of 2008), is arguably the most absurd and vapid of the bunch. While her fellow “lifecasters” have moments of ingenuity, intelligence and creativity, Mary bugs me because her sole contribution to the Non Society platform are blog posts about what she’s wearing, occasional commentary about celebrity style, and thinly veiled endorsements of weight loss juice cleanses like Blueprint. But she just hit a new low. In a blog post entitled, “My Body, My Botox,” Rambin actually compares a women’s “right” to have cosmetic enhancements to the right to have an abortion. Rambin writes:

“I site Roe v. Wade because it serves as a marker of people accepting (maybe not respecting) a woman’s right to choose.  Although abortion is still an issue at the forefront, it’s notable the Supreme Court recognized women should be able to do what they feel is right for themselves. Cosmetic procedures should be viewed in the same light.  Not to mention the procedures are in no way effecting another human being, so the severity of the issue is considerably less.  But as with breast implants, time will have to pass before others view cosmetic procedures as acceptable.  I won’t say ‘the norm’ because I do think artificial enhancement should carry with it serious consideration before you undergo any sort of procedure.  Other things like manicures and pedicures, dental work, highlighting your hair, are all ‘procedures’ that are completely unnatural but we consider normal.”

The anti-choice organization, CatholicVote.org has put together this advertisement which argues against abortion using Obama as its proof that abortion is wrong. After all, IMAGINE THE POTENTIAL. If Barack Obama had been aborted, he would have never been President and…wait…defended Roe V. Wade. Uh, okay, whatever. Anyway, if Obama has been aborted, he wouldn’t have been President, and then the universe would be screwed, and the American people wouldn’t have a rock star hottie for a leader, so therefore abortion is wrong! But wait, let’s imagine the potential of other coulda-been-aborted people—Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, Spencer Pratt...the argument goes both way, peeps. [AdFreak]

Today is Blog For Choice day, when pro-choice bloggers everywhere “raise the profile of reproductive rights in the blogosphere,” while commemorating Roe V. Wade, which celebrates its 36th anniversary today.  Each year, Blog For Choice poses a question and ask the blogosphere to answer and this year’s is especially timely, given the inauguration of President Barack Obama. “What is your pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or the new Congress?” My hope is that Obama and Congress will work together to redistribute the money spent on abstinence only education the last eight years and put it towards comprehensive and compassionate sex education. Everyone, pro-choice and anti-choice, wants abortion statistics to go down and the only way to get there is by making sure everyone, particularly teenagers, understands how to protect themselves from pregnancy (and STDs). So what’s your pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or Congress? Answer in the comments! Anti-choice? Sorry! [Blog For Choice]

On Inauguration Day, Krispy Kreme is giving away free donuts to celebrate “freedom of choice.” Ruh-roh. CHOICE. Naturally, pro-life activists are flipping out over that choice of phrase and are calling the move an endorsement of abortion. Mmm, abortion donuts. Seriously can the pro-life community get worked up over something that would truly help curb abortions, like making sure everyone has easy access to birth control and is educated about safe sex? ‘Cause I’d like them to keep their paws off my body AND my breakfast, thank you.

Women, like 41-year-old mother and five time Olympic swimmer, Dara Torres, made a lot of headlines this year. However, we also made some incredible strides out of the swimming pool. In honor of all those hardworking, won’t take no for an answer kind of bad asses who made those achievements possible, here are the Top 5 Women’s Rights Wins of 2008:

1. Aborted Anti-Choice Legislation: As America enthusiastically voted in Obama, the overwhelming majority also rejected anti-abortion legislation that would have restricted women from their legal right to choose as dictated by Roe v. Wade. Way to go South Dakota, Colorado, and California!

Last night, MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow talked about one of the scariest things Bush has ever planned. After reports of sanctioned water board torture got slapped on an eight-year-long list of other horrors this week, it’s hard to imagine the Bush/Cheney administration understands the meaning of “conscience.” Yet, that appears to be their lame duck attempt to prevent a woman from having the right to choose.  According to Bush’s latest “right of conscience” federal regulation, medical professionals can refuse to provide birth control, abortions, Plan B, and IUD’s if they don’t want to, on the basis that it offends their beliefs. You know, because we patients really want a political opinion when we’re merely looking for personal health care!  While the bill is set to go into effect this week, don’t fear, women of America. According to The Wall Street Journal, Obama and his administration already have that at the top of their to “Undo To Do” list!  Now, fingers crossed they’ll also take care of “the global gag rule” which has halted funding for family planning services around the world.  [Lawyers USA/DC Dicta]

Not sure what to get one of your best girlfriends or a female in your family for a gift this holiday season? How about a gift certificate to Planned Parenthood in Indiana or Illinois, which can be redeemed for any of their women’s health services, including pap smears, birth control, STD tests, and, yes, abortions. The gift certificates can be bought in $25 increments and really would be a great gift for a woman who doesn’t have health insurance, as PP’s services are generally very affordable. Of course, it should have been expected that the religious right would go all koo-koo crazy about PP’s latest offering and when we linked to a College Candy story about this topic in yesterday’s Quickies, we didn’t understand how much larger the issue was.

So, yesterday was a historic amazing day, with the first African-American winning the Presidency of the United States. It was also a bit of letdown, as it became clear that much of America still doesn’t like the idea of gay people getting married. But there was more good news! Three anti-choice measures failed! Amendment 48 in Colorado, which would have granted fertilized eggs fill rights, was rejected by 73% of voters; Measure 11 in South Dakota, which would have banned abortion save a very vague medical exception, was defeated; and Proposition 4 in California, which would have required parental notification, also didn’t pass.

On another note, Proposition K, which would have decriminalized prostitution in San Francisco, lost by 16 percentage points. [WOW and Feministing]

While picking the next President is on everyone’s mind, what’s going on in bedrooms is on the ballot too! Many states across the country have sex-related bills all vying for votes, as Elizabeth from “Sex in the Public Square” pointed out. So, here’s what’s going down in the voting booth, after the jump…

A few weeks ago, we wrote about a story on Politico.com that reported the Obama campaign was seeking a rape victim for a campaign ad that would attack Sarah Palin’s stance on abortion. (The VP nominee is anti-choice, even in cases of rape or incest.) According to the Politico piece, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, served as a conduit between the campaign. Since running that post, we hadn’t heard any further information on whether the Obama campaign did indeed find a woman for their ad, but I just came up on the video above, via The Huffington Post. The ad features a rape victim, who became pregnant as the result of her attack, addressing Palin about her stance on abortion. This ad, however, was put out by Women Against McCain-Palin and it doesn’t have the “I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message” sound bite at the end, so it’s not affiliated with his official campaign. Regardless, the video above is extremely compelling.

During last night’s final presidential debate, in addition to stroking Joe The Plumber’s ego, John McCain used oh-so-retro air quotes to emphasize his stance on abortion and abortion legislation.

Just again, the example of the eloquence of Senator Obama. He’s [for] health for the mother. You know, that’s been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything. That’s the extreme pro-abortion position, quote, ‘health.’

All the air quotes really did was call my attention to that notion—the health of the mother—and what that really means. By the tone of McCain’s fingers, you’d think that means when the woman has a cold, she can have a late-term abortion. So I decided to find out, in general, what the “health of the mother” really entails.

Don’t forget, the Vice-Presidential debate is tonight! Get your popcorn ready! In the meantime, here’s the latest clip from Katie Couric’s interview with Sarah Palin, in which the Alaska Governor sets the record straight on her position on abortion.

The sudden pregnancy of Bristol Palin is a touchy issue that the media has their paws all over. When John McCain announced that Sarah Palin was his running mate late last week, a firestorm of Internet activity erupted as “skeletons” came crawling out of Palin’s closet. But the biggest bombshell—that 17-year-old Bristol is pregnant—has opened up a much larger debate about whether the families of political candidates are always off-limits.

I feel really bad for Bristol Palin. At 17-years-old she’s having to deal with a very adult situation—pregnancy, marriage, and the responsibility of being a first time parent. And she’s having to do it with very bright studio lights shining on her—some are critical of her and her parents, while others are cheering on her decision to keep her baby and marry the father sooner than she might have otherwise.  I cannot imagine how she’s doing it and with such serenity. While I feel badly that Bristol has to deal with these new pressures while the media discusses her every move, I do think the media has every right to do so, but only to a point. I don’t think Sarah Palin’s parenting should be questioned and I don’t think Bristol’s pre-marital sexual behavior should be judged, by anyone. But I do think the contrast between Sarah Palin’s personal life and her political ideologies is wide open for discussion, no matter what side of the fence you sit on.