Did Sarah Palin really have that baby?

My friend Karion makes some great points on how there is a shitload of weirdness in regards to the birth of Sarah Palin's most recent child, Trig, specifically in regards to the most creeptastic aspect of all of this...her going into labor in Dallas, giving a speech, and then jumping on a commercial flight to Alaska...

--Announced pregnancy in March, 2008, when she was “about seven months pregnant.” Most women don’t announce until viability and given the risks of this ‘pregnancy,’ perhaps that is prudent. Except she is a very much a pro-lifer and, given the risks of her ‘pregnancy’ and her role as governor, some contingency plans would be needed if things went sideways, medically. Yet “[e]ven close members of her staff said they only learned this week their boss was expecting.” No one could believe it. Read the article.

--Before giving a speech in Texas on April 17, 2008, while she was eight months’ pregnant, she starts having contractions and leaking amniotic fluid. Again, 44 years old, high risk pregnancy, confirmed Down’s syndrome, now seeing signs of possible premature birth. She does not summon a doctor or attempt to be examined by an OBG-YN in a city with five star, advanced medical facilities that are well-equipped to handle a potential high-risk birth. She says she telephoned her family practice doctor (not an OBG-YN, a family practice doctor specializing in child abuse who, in 2002, was recommended for a national award by the then-mayor, Sara Palin) in her small Alaskan town. Who apparently gives her the go-ahead to give a speech and fly home when she’s done.

--So she freaking gives the speech and then GETS ON A PLANE? Having contractions every hour? Doesn’t tell the airline or staff? Onflight staff do not notice any signs of labor or pregnancy? Women with uneventful pregnancies don’t travel in their last months, let alone WHEN THEY ARE IN LABOR and leaking amniotic fluid.

--Gets off plane - which, by the way, stopped in Seattle, another city with five star medical facilities, lands in Anchorage (yet more five star facilities), DRIVES 45 minutes to her small town hospital, they INDUCE labor, and baby is born six hours later. Six pounds, two ounces. Pretty normal birthweight for any baby, let alone one born a month premature, given the fact that in your last month of pregnancy, your baby is gaining half a pound a week.

And to those who may question whether or not this is something that she should be called out on because it's a "personal matter," get your heads out of your asses! Lying repeatedly to the public she's been elected to serve and then going to elaborate steps to conceal her daughter's pregnancy, whether doing so was inspired by a desire to protect her daughter, or to spare herself a politically harmful public family embarrassment, says A LOT about her character. What the hell else would she be willing to lie about and cover up to save herself embarrassment from? And as for the argument that families have done this sort of thing in the past, those times were not in the 21st century in the United States of America, those were in much less progressive times, times when an unwed pregnancy could lead a young girl to be ostracized from society or even physically harmed in some cases. And their mother's were not vying to become the backup to the world's most powerful person.

I'm sorry, but if this turns out to be true, and I sincerely hope that it isn't, then this whole thing is, to me, borderline psychotic. It's psychotic enough that I wouldn't feel comfortable electing Sarah Palin to the local school board, much less to be vice-president to a 72 year-old man with a history of health problems.

There's part of me, the real cynic in me, that deep down wonders if this isn't all some elaborate scheme cooked up by Karl Rove. You know, pluck a nice, sweet, somewhat competent mom-politician, but one with glaring flaws, and add her to the ticket knowing full well that the Democrats and the press are going to launch into a feeding frenzy over her numerous issues. Then, after she has to be removed from the ticket in disgrace, the Republicans can play the "Obama hates women" card to try to pull in more sympathy votes from Hillary's death-cult of angry vaginal stooges.

Yeah, I'm that fucking jaded. But don't put it past them for a second.

UPDATE AS OF 7PM 8/31:

If Sarah Palin gave birth at Mat-Su Regional Hospital, why aren't the birth details listed on the hospital's website like every other birth (it was born April 18th)? And why isn't the family doctor/non-OBGYN, Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, listed as a staff member? (Great find Karion!)

Now, others are beginning to talk about it...

Gawker

Times of London