Quote of the day III

"When Democrats lose, they're pathetic. When Republicans lose, they're bitter and mean.

...When the Republicans lose a presidential election, it's a shock to their system. When Democrats lose, it mostly just confirms their tragic view of life."

—Timothy Noah in Why Republicans Make Sore Losers

Fetal foreclosure

Slate:

If you stop paying a surrogate mother, what happens to the fetus? [...] Through in vitro fertilization, a fetus can have two mothers: a genetic one and a gestational one.

[...] the companies were supposed to pay the surrogates. Now, the Times reports, payments have stopped. In fact, the New York Times adds, "SurroGenesis told clients on March 13 via e-mail that their money was gone. Lawyers say that as much as $2 million may be missing, with some couples losing as much as $90,000."

[...] Surrogates aren't mercenaries. But they do need to be paid for their sacrifices. With every week that passes, they endure more of pregnancy's burdens. They submit to exams, tests, and other procedures. They take on serious medical risks. They forgo activities that might harm the fetus. They lose the ability to commute to and work at other jobs. They have bills to pay. At least one abandoned surrogate says she has received an eviction notice.

If you stop paying your surrogate, she needs to quit and find another job, just like any other worker. But surrogacy isn't like any other job. The only way to quit a pregnancy is to abort it.

Vorzimer says none of the surrogates are quitting. Many "will not be reimbursed for their out-of-pocket expenses lost wages or even have their medical bills paid," he reports, but "every single one of them has committed to moving forward."

The conservative crackup

Slate is hosting a dialogue. Kathleen Parker's discussion of the Palin factor is very compelling.

Before that, Douthat gets into a scuffle with Kmiec over abortion.

I find Kmiec's position more convincing, but that's unsurprising considering my notion of human personhood (I don't think embryos or early fetuses w/o brain activity are people in any meaningful sense).

The problem, of course, is how to convince the theocratic base that accepting a non-legalistic pro-life position like Kmiec's is a better approach. Impossible?