I'm Episopalian, and we give things up for Lent. I actually don't give things up but instead try to "do good deeds" for 40 days straight - I carry around sandwiches in my bag and hand them out to the hungry, stuff like that.

Yes, I agree with you there. But this article is about the advertising, and there's nothing in the advertising, other than the female and male voice, that strikes me as particularly gendered. There's nothing there that would tell a little boy that he couldn't play with the cafe set, or a little girl that she couldn't…

Well, to be fair, neither of these commercials DO qualify what is for boys and what is for girls. In both commercials no one is shown playing with the toys, there is no "for boys 7 and up" type sentence at the end. Looking at either commercial, while I can tell that the cafe is made to appeal to girls, there is…

If they could see everything through the abdominal ultrasound, then there's no need for the TV. But you often can't before 12 weeks (mine was at 9 weeks too, and I needed to have a TV, as do most of the women at the clinic where I work.)

But not all early abortions can be done medically. This was the case with my abortion, which I wanted to have done medically but had to have done surgically, due to a condition that they found through a trans vaginal ultrasound. At the clinic where I'm shadowing, trans vaginal ultrasounds are standard practice for…

Good doctors / technicians allow you to insert the probe yourself, so that you feel more comfortable. It also usually makes insertion easier, because the patient doesn't tense up as much if they're inserting it at their own pace.

Just want to clarify - not implying that you're not telling the truth, just honestly curious as to what made the doctor feel comfortable in performing the procedure without an ultrasound. Were they able to see the fetus with a regular ultrasound?

I say it as someone who has had an abortion and is now in medical school. I did see your comment down-thread that yours did not require one, and I'm honestly surprised and confused about that. It's standard practice.

It's not true that there's no reason for it if you want to terminate the pregnancy. I think this is a really common misconception. They're necessary before 12 weeks to see the fetus / embryo, and seeing the position of the fetus / embryo is necessary for a safe abortion procedure.

I'm confused about whether or not people understand that you will always have to have this done if you're having an abortion before 12 weeks. The fetus is too small to see on a regular ultrasound, and the doctor needs to make sure there's nothing strange going on - ectopic pregnancy, etc., before they can perform an…

As many others have mentioned, the mountains out west do not count as "the other side of the world." That's why for your own safety you're meant to stick to the trails and not go out of bounds - because avalanches are an all too frequent occurrence.

Absolutely. A lot of people couldn't get over the idea that Bill would be there somewhere, meddling. Although maybe that has more to do with the fact that she was married to a former president than the fact that she was married to a man.

I've always been told I needed a cosigner who has pay stubs that show they can cover the rent. But perhaps if you get your student loans dispersed all at once, you could offer to just pay upfront for 6 months?

Actually, it's not true that sex-selective abortion is not occurring here with any regularity. There was a study that came out a few years ago stating that in America, among immigrant populations where sex-selective abortion is common in the home countries, sex-selective abortion is occurring.

You do realize that dressing provocatively has nothing to do with a pedophile's desire, right? Being a child does. Period.

If this sort of logic were true, all the women in the world regardless of what they were wearing would be sexually harassing teenage boys all the time. As would all apple pies, all vibrating car engines, and even all wood siding.

Yup! This is why a lot of them will eat plants and grass when they get outside. They like the greenery, so adding it to their diet is really good for them.

Chelsea gets SO much sympathy from me. Her situation doesn't seem as obviously bad, because she's got the support of her family and still has time to buy leopard print rugs and work at the tanning salon. But she seriously breaks my heart. She says over and over again that she wants to be with Adam because she…

I'm sad that she died, and I am sad that she wasn't able to get her drug use under control. That gets only my sympathy, not any disdain. Dying from drug addiction, in my opinion, is very similar to dying from cancer or any other disease. I don't feel the need to post on Facebook publicly about a death that was not a…

I think maybe you're confusing Pizza Hut with Dominos, whose owner is super Christian. I've never heard anything prejudiced about Pizza Hut.