On my way to work this morning, I pulled up next to a car that had a bumper sticker on it that said, "Abortion is Murder." In my younger, angrier days, I would have given the occupants of this car the finger. I sincerely considered it this morning, until I pulled up and saw who was in the car. Inside this car were two very, very young men dressed as priests. They couldn't have possibly been old enough to be actual priests, so they were more like priest-lets . . . or priesties? Who knows.
Anyway, I started to laugh at them. The idea that these two young men, whose balls probably haven't dropped yet, had any concept what it is like to have to grapple with the decision of dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, struck me as so sharply funny. How could they possibly know the fear of wondering . . . could I be? How could they understand the fear of an 18 year old who might have to go home and explain to her loving parents that she has destroyed all of their hopes, dreams, and expectations? How could they know what it would be like to give up your education, your future, your potential, your self . . . because you made a mistake?
Why do these boys care more about an unborn bunch of cells than they care about all of the unwanted children in the world? You want to talk about murder? Shaking a six-week-old until his brains are scrambled is murder. Driving drunk with your toddler in your car and crashing it is murder. Neglecting your children to feed your drug habit is murder. Raping your 14 year old daughter is murder. Forcing a young girl to give birth to an unwanted baby is murder.
What, you say? These examples do not immediately end in the death of a child? The hell, I say. Even if the shaken baby lives, he will never live his life to the fullest. He may be permanently damaged, but even slightly damaged will forever change his ability to be a productive member of society. Even if the toddler lives, he is being raised by a drunk who cares more about her buzz than her child. Even if the neglected children survive by eating out of garbage cans and stealing from grocery stores, how does their life end? Statistics say sooner rather than later.
Even if the raped teenager survives, what kind of life doe she lead? She has learned by 14 that men are no good and will never treat her well, so why not give herself to all of them? Even if the young pregnant girl and her baby survive, what kind of life do they have? Terminal dependence on the state for housing, food, and clothes. More likely to be uneducated, poor, hungry, stunted physically and mentally. And most likely to complete the cycle started by their parents, over and over again.
So, to those two young priest-lets in the car this morning. How about this - go out and see the world, have some experiences, make some mistakes, live with the people who struggle, and care about the children who are currently living. Then see if you can tell me you think all of these children are better off because they were born. Then tell me what you think I should do with my body and my life.
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12 comments:
PH,
You are so brave to post this, seeing as you will likely get many, many attacking comments.
I, for one, totally agree with you and appreciate you tackling the topic.
Jennifer
Bravo! Very well said, PH. I whole-heartedly agree.
And kudos to Diane for putting her money where her mouth is.
Every time I hear a rabid anti-abortionist trying to force their own twisted idea of "morality" on society, I wanna ask them just exactly how many unwanted babies they've adopted. Or how many starving children they've fed every day. Or how many hours they've volunteered at battered women's shelters or rape crisis centers or NICU's.
It's possible the balls-undropped priestlings DO care about zygotes. All the Catholic seminarians I knew in college did full-time volunteer work during their novitiates at crisis pregnancy centers with women who opted to carry through the unwanted pregnancy and either put the child up for adoption or keep it.
Of course, it's also possible they're just firing off their mouths and would giggle if you said the word "uterus" because they've never even MET girls, let alone thought about women's issues seriously.
PH, I certainly compliment your bravery as well. While I agree with many of the things you've said, I also disagree with a few things, and I'll leave it at that. As an adopted person, I'm certainly glad my biological mother decided to go through with the pregnancy.
Thanks Diane. My sister conspired to murder three of my nieces and nephews.
You would think the right to abortion is the primary sacrament of a religion the way some people defend their right to chose to take the life of another human being.
The practice of abortion is no less dehumanizing than the genocide practiced by Nazis.
There is no argument that statistically, women who have abortions are more likely to suffer from depression, drug addiction and suicide. I just wonder if abortion caused the insanity, or if insanity caused the abortion.
From my family experience, the roots of the insanity were there before the abortion, the abortions just made it worse.
Diane and Cory - I am certainly not against adoption. Adoption is playing a very, very large role in my family currently.
The sad thing is that, proportionally, very few people make the positive choice of giving their child up for adoption. In addition, most people who are seeking to adopt are looking for healthy, white newborns. Very few are willing to adopt minority children with even slight health issues.
I understand people are pro life and respect those views. I will never agree with them. When an abortion is performed, it simply is not removing a "life" as we know it. It is merely a part of my body. Many disagree and that is fine with me.
I only desire that people who are so strongly pro life would also invest as much time and energy into caring for those children after they are born, throughout their lives, regardless of what and who they become.
Bottom Line: Don't have sex until you're ready for a baby!
maybe those seminarians were on the way to shop for Coach bags.
Right on Mrs. PH.
Abortion is murder, but it's allowed by law, and many people support it.
War is murder, but it's allowed by law, and many people support it.
The Death Penalty is murder, but it's allowed by law (in many states and by the Federal Government), and many people support it.
Euthanasia is murder, but it's allowed by law (in some places), and many people support it.
Self Defense Killing is murder. But it's allowed by law, and many people support it.
Bottom line, you aren't REALLY pro-life unless you oppose abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia, war, and self-defense killings.
Human life is sacred. It is a gift from God. It must be protected at all times, at all costs.
Just to be clear, I didn't mean to imply that you were against adoption. I just wanted to make the point that I was adopted, and I'm (as I'm sure my adoptive mother is) happy that she made that choice, personally, for herself and me.
Until the choice involves a child I help to conceive, I don't feel I have any right to say whether or not a woman can abort a fetus.
I believe in choice. However, I think that choice is made when you unzip your pants, not a few months later.
Although I am certainly not "rabid", to answer Pammy's question - four.
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