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Judgment? A Medical Professional Reviews Palin's Choices on Reproductive Health

Submitted by BuzzFlash on Thu, 09/11/2008 - 9:21am.

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION

Those of us who are professionals in the medical community, specifically in obstetrics, have been having a field day with the issue of Sarah Palin being in the initial stages of labor and choosing to (1) deliver an insignificant speech, (2) bypass excellent medical facilities and drive to an airport in a large American city, (3) run the obstacle course and wait time of security and check-in for a commercial flight, (4) fly for hours to another large American city with excellent medical facilities, (5) board yet another plane for a four-hour flight, (6) bypass excellent medical facilities in Alaska's largest city, (7) get in a car and drive one more additional hour (!) to deliver a PREMATURE baby in a small hospital in a small community where if there had been serious complications - always a possibility with near-term babies - the baby would have had to have been transported back to the Alaska city in which she landed just prior to her 40+ mile drive.

This issue of the prematurity (36 weeks) of the Palins' youngest child is going to go over the heads of a lot of people. It has been asked, did she endanger her baby's life?

Medical professionals who deliver babies everyday, and know the risks of delivering a baby whose gestation is less than 38 weeks without immediate medical resources available, do not believe that is the question, because it is clear that endangering the life of her child is exactly what took place.

Many of us have a different question - was Palin exercising a choice to allow her child to die? A choice she couldn't, given her religious extremism, make in a more conscious, deliberate manner? Because there was a series of conscious choices made by Sarah Palin that anyone who genuinely wanted a live, healthy baby would never make, especially when the baby was PREMATURE. And certainly a mature, experienced mother would not make those choices.

A series of choices like that are more the kind of thing we see in teenagers with behavioral and substance abuse problems, not responsible, well adjusted parents.

One of the jokes floating around the medical community right now is a flow chart of this specific decision making process, because to us it is so evident that something is terribly wrong here.

A BuzzFlash Reader
Alaska

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION

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Sarah Palin's delivery

Submitted by chrish on Sun, 09/14/2008 - 12:30am.
I'm glad I'm not the only one still mulling this issue over. Something is wrong with this storyline. I've checked with friends who are RNs, doulas, and midwives, and one who delivered her youngest a month prematurely (he spent 6 weeks in NICU and afterwards we were told he was not expected to live; he is a joyous 7-year-old pistol today) An experienced, seasoned mother would know not to fly once her water broke, so was she lying or does she have incredibly bad, selfish judgment? Is she so provincial she feared the strangeness of a big-city hospital? Why the imperative to get back to Podunk General - where, btw, there doesn't seem to be a record of the birth? http://www.matsuregional.com/nursery/nursery_name.php?start=90&step=30&count=515 Whatever it is, it's not all honest and straightforward. And we've had enough secrets and lies in the last eight years. No more. But of course we're not allowed to ask any questions about it because, double whammy, it's family and they're off limits, and asking her about her birthing would be sexist because we'd never ask a MAN about HIS birthing. How. Convenient.
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Not important or worthy enough..??

Submitted by hazmaq on Thu, 09/11/2008 - 11:36am.

Your piece might elicit such responses from some about her bravery and toughness.

But her own newspapers and constituents were shocked to learn she even was pregnant, because she didn't tell them until March - 1 month before she 'delivered'.

I would also question the issue of 'prematurity'.
That's a very large 'baby'.

But worse yet, I would question the judgment and sanity of any 'Christian woman/mother dumping her disabled newborn preemie into the laps of anyone around to jump on a campaign party wagon.

In my part of the 'liberal' country - that's called neglegence.

And sure as hell isn't the 'Motherly/womanly image the world or my own daughter should see leading our country, or even a PTA meeting.

Nationalism is not terrorism. And an adversary is not an enemy.

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Victory Schmictory - Redux

Submitted by hazmaq on Thu, 09/11/2008 - 11:18am.

With the country all giggly about two cracked figurines, helped along of course by either the raving racist rants of Dobbs and Fox or the cock fighting events put on by CNN' Cambpell Brown and Matthews and Scarborough over at MSNBC, now comes the bestest General in the whole world to tell us there will never be victory in Iraq: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7610405.stm

1. "..the situation there remained fragile..."

2. "..he did not know that he would ever use the word "victory": "This is not the sort of struggle where you take a hill, plant the flag and go home to a victory parade... it's not war with a simple slogan.""

The greatest General in McCains' world said this as he leaves the already victory-less Iraq and now heads for ...??

Afghanistan.

I hope every channel in the world is tuned to the Medal ceremony we know is coming. Good Job General Petraeus?? Mission Accomplished General Petraeus"

HE LOST IRAQ!

Nationalism is not terrorism. And an adversary is not an enemy.

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