by Mary Ellie

Created on: March 24, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

Are you pregnant and thinking of getting an abortion? Would $500 change your mind?

In a bill entitled SB 1567, also known as the Texas Baby Purchasing Act of 2007, Texas State Sen. Dan Patrick (R) is offering women seeking abortions $500 to put their children up for adoption. Apparently having over 520,000 children already in foster care in the year 2003 alone is a statistic we're proud of - Hey, at least they're not aborted fetuses; they're alive and unwanted and that's how the politicians like it!

As President Bush has already demonstrated in a priceless picture when passing the Partial Birth Abortion Act of 2003, middle-aged men (who will never know what it is like to carry a child inside of them for nine months) know better than women what is best for them. I mean come on, women are still in the kitchen, pregnant, and barefoot with no real logical outlook or opinion on the world and look to the men in their lives to show them the way. Because of this, these men also know how women's minds work, apparently. Ensuring that women aren't lying when placing a child up for adoption in order to get the mentioned $500, the bill states that "The department may only distribute the application forms to abortion providers."

So they have finally come up with what they see as a lucrative last resort for women stepping into an abortion clinic. At this time in the state of Texas, there is a parental consent law for those under the legal age of 18, a 24-hour waiting period before being able to get an abortion performed so you can think about the repercussions of what you've done, and lastly, there's now a few hundred dollars thrown into the mix. Politicians caring solely about an unborn fetus more than an actual person already in this world has come to a new low.

However, don't get your hopes up because this once in a lifetime opportunity is a limited time offer. There is an application form that must be filled out and you must also be a legal citizen of the United States because the government isn't buying any of those illegal babies. A woman must sign over all parental rights within 30 days after giving birth and within 60 days after her rights are terminated, the sum of money will be paid.

From my research, $500 doesn't even come close to covering a portion of what it costs to have a child. Even a 24-hour hospital birth costs between $8-10,000, the epidural costing $1200 alone. Now perhaps if it was all hospital bills paid plus $500, there would be a different outcome. In fact, $500 isn't even going to cover the cost of the amount not just a pregnant woman, but what an average person would spend on food in a nine month period. Thanks for nothing.

It has been over 300 years since the buying and selling of people has been outlawed by Sec. 25.08 but Sen. Patrick has that one covered, since the bill specifically states that "Section 25.08, Penal Code, does not apply to the grant or acceptance of money under this section."

Now what I see as the kicker in this story is that even if a woman is not in the market to rent out her uterus, Sen. Patrick's sales pitch must be presented in person to every potential adoptable baby and must also be informed of alleged medically accurate information such as (but, of course, not limited to) infertility and the increased risk of breast cancer. Because as you know, women can't make their own decisions about their bodies and middle-aged men in politics definitely know what it better for each and every one of us vagina-having folks.

So, calling all pregnant Texans - Head down to your nearest abortion provider and sell your children today!

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