Over at Beliefnet, Steven Waldman is arguing for the abortion debate to drop its central moral question—"Does life begin at conception?"—and begin to address the fact that "Most Americans believe there are gradations of life."
Waldman cites a 2007 Third Way study which found that "69 percent of Americans believe abortion is the 'taking of a [...]

That's what Ruth Marcus claims in today's Washington Post, quoting Sarah Palin's remarks from a—what else—a pro-life fundraiser. At the dinner, Palin discussed her "choice" to have a child with Down syndrome  at the age of 44—a choice that, as Marcus points out, Palin wants to deny other women. Marcus is miffed that right-to-lifers like [...]

According to Slate's William Saletan, whose abortiony rhetorical stylings my colleagues and I have discussed at length, "Sixteen million girls are missing in China."
Holy shit, China. How did you manage to lose all these little girls?! Prepare to send out the biggest fucking Amber alert of all time!
Oh wait, this is Saletan we're talking about—the [...]

Tomorrow marks the end of the 30-day comment period on Obama's proposed scrapping of Bush's so-called "conscience rule." Bush snuck the conscience rule in at the end of his godforsaken presidency to allow all healthcare providers to deny services (or "abortions") to patients (or "women) based on their moral beliefs (or "misogyny"). Obama swiftly moved [...]

Trent Franks, an Arizona Congressman, announced his introduction of the "Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act," or "PreNDA," today. The bill would "prohibit knowingly performing, or soliciting funding for, race- or sex-selection abortions."
Franks previously introduced a different version of the bill, known as the "Susan B. Anthony Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2008," in the last session of Congress, [...]

Unborn fetuses: Your lives are in Saletan's hands.
Welcome back to "Sexist Beatdown," the weekly event wherein Sady, of New York ladyblog "Tiger Beatdown," and myself, of D.C. ladyblog "The Sexist" carry on evolved conversation on such topics as abnormal boners. This week, we discuss William Saletan, the Slate contributor obsessed with what Sady and I [...]

The District of Columbia isn't the only locality sparing with lawmakers over political license plates. If Virginia state senator Ken Cuccinnelli gets his way, Virginia drivers will soon be able to wear their anti-abortion stances on their bumpers.
Last month, Cuccinnelli supported a bill that would allow Virginia residents to buy 'Choose Life' license plates [...]

Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele told GQ interviewer Lisa DePaulo that he "absolutely" supports a woman's right to choose, before promptly apologizing for the remarks, which could not have possibly been misinterpreted or taken out of context.
Steele also told GQ, "I loved to party—still do—and have a good time." So, you know, this guy [...]

Health and Human Services published President Obama's official proposal to rescind Bush's "conscience rule" in the Federal Register today. Bush's rule expanded protections for healthcare providers who are morally opposed to performing or aiding in certain procedures—abortions, sterilizations, birth-control prescriptions, treating gays and lesbians, etc.
For the next 30 days, the public is invited to comment [...]

And yet, those who provide them never get any love.

Today is National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers.
Yes, but how? Five ways to appreciate, after the jump: