At the other end of the scale, my country is about to cross the Rubicon, legislating for abortion where there is a risk to the life of the woman through suicide, even though the overwhelming medical opinion is that abortion is never an appropriate treatment for suicidal ideation. We are assured by our Government that there is no possibility that this will lead to a liberal abortion regime. I don't believe it for a moment. ( The legislation is based on a Supreme Court decision in 1992, where no psychiatric evidence was before the Court).

The conviction is welcome but I fear it gives the Pro-Choice side an out. As disgusting as an acquittal would have been, it would have shone a harsh light on the ghoulish differentiation between barbarity perpetrated within the womb and without. As to the penalty, I would rather see this monster stew in shame, resentment and contempt, living out the the remainder of his partial life behind bars than become a martyr for the immoral.

That the debate on social issues should be respectful.The difference is I really mean it.

When Bill Clinton survived the Lewinski affair, everything became possible. I have this theory that a President who is sound on "reproductive rights" will always get a pass from the MSM.

I read in Ireland that a "scientific research centre" was targeted according to Syria.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0505/390474-syria-damascus-israel/

Of course "science" covers a multitude.

Further to my comment above, I should have said "..gets pregnant or thinks she might be...".

Every time a 15 year old gets pregnant a crime has been committed. So why not let the girl plea bargain for the pill by naming the criminal? In contemporary culture this might sound extreme, but shoulder-shrugging about the defilement of underage girls is utterly irresponsible.

He was for closing it, then did nothing about it for years, now it's a top priority. He revolves as much as he evolves.

SupercalifragilisticexpialidociousEven though economists are frequently atrocious

Biology is measurable, emotion is not. SSM will normalise the abomination that is surrogacy. Children will be wilfully denied any chance of the society of at least one of their parents as a matter of course rather than accident. Selfishness is not love.

I agree with pretty much everything above, especially about the routine misuse of "tragedy" in place of "atrocity", but I'm a little concerned that ordinary, decent conservatives might fall into the trap of being put in the same category as the ultra-radical right by celebrating their exoneration.Just to be clear, I'm talking about perception here, not reality, but perception counts.

1) No political capital for either side in deaths in Iraq any more. 2)Muslim on Muslim violence generally under-reported, with Syria the obvious current example.

RCP has a link to a detailed account. Another innocent killed by the look of it.

The link between mental health and abortion is a huge issue in Ireland right now as the Government proposes to bring in legislation to give effect to the decision of our Supreme Court in the 1992 X Case that abortion should be available where there is a "real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, including the threat of suicide."

The Pro-Life side fears that the inclusion of the suicide element will lead to a liberal abortion regime. I believe the Pro-Choice side hopes for exactly the same thing.

A parliamentary committee recently heard evidence from a number of psychiatrists, not one of whom said that abortion was a treatment for suicidality.

The Government remains committed to it's plan to legislate.

 Meanwhile the Gosnell story is finally seeing the light of day here, but in a limited way.

James, I think we agree on most issues, including Sinn Fein/IRA. I dread the thought of seeing the Shinners in power in my part of the island.

Since last night two mainstream media outlets in Ireland (one of which is strongly "pro-choice") have carried news reports about Gosnell. This is a breakthrough. Up until now the story has been confined to conservatives on social media. I have been sharing news reports with like-minded friends from an early stage. There was a big move by leading conservatives on Twitter to get traction for the story throughout the week. The concern now is that the MSM will now say. "there you are, we covered it" and move on without more.