Truer words were never spoken. When I looked in the mirror this morning, for the first time since my wisdom teeth surgery I saw my face looking back at me! The swelling has gone down, and I'm happy to be almost 100% again. I was a bit of mess there, but being at the beach with my family for a week helped get me back on my feet.

I'm back in Chapel Hill and now have two more weekends here before I depart for San Francisco. I can't wait - but moving anxiety has begun to set in.

While I was at vacationing / recovering at the beach, someone who had read my recent blog entry on O'Connor's resignation from the SCOTUS bench complained about my characterization of "Partial Birth Abortion" as a non-existent medical procedure. I thought I would take a moment and respond to his concerns, because they are important. I first refer anyone curious to a nice, basic Q/A on various abortion issues compiled by the ACLU: click here if interested.

In particular, I would point out that one of the biggest problems with this manipulative term is that, when used in law, it is often interpreted by courts to be so broad that it outlaws a great deal of abortion procudures - a ban that extends beyond the D&X procedure that most people think of when they use the term. In fact, the term "Partial Birth Abortion" is neither medically accurate nor precise. It is vague, misleading, and can be thought to include a great deal of real medical procedures (see ACLU Q&A for more on this). This is why the Bush Administration is so interested in using this kind of language - because it's purposefully vague and misleading.

I encourage anyone fond of this term to consider using more accurate and medically sound language when talking about an issue as important to women's lives and human rights as abortion. "Partial Birth Abortion" as a term does nothing but further manipulate the national conversation on abortion. It plays on people's emotions and simply using the term aids in the Right's persistent and virulent effort to make abortion illegal in America.