6 posts tagged “abortion”
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
I’ve been pondering this verse for a while. What does it mean to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly in an election year? I think it means that we need to be careful and discerning when making the important choice of how to vote.
ABORTION
Some would say that abortion is the single issue that determines a person’s vote this year. I think abortion is wrong and I could not and would not ever abort a child, should that even become an option. Personally I would not even abort my child to save my own life. I would just have to trust that God knows what He is doing when He chooses who lives and dies. But those are my personal beliefs and values. I would not and could not impose them on a nation!
I have five main issues with the abortion debate. I believe the Democratic party is too beholden to the portion of the party that wants to keep abortion legal for any woman, for any reason, at any point in her pregnancy. Each party could stand to shake its more radical elements in this debate.
I find it disingenuous that the Republican Party speaks strongly against abortion and yet did nothing about it at the point when they controlled both houses and the white house for six years. I am also surprised that the party that wants less government intervention really wants to intrude on the sex lives of Americans. These are incongruous thoughts in my opinion.
It is never enough to be against something if you ignore the reasons the problem exists. The abortion rate fell under the Clinton Administration because of a proactive approach to the reasons women wind up in crisis pregnancies. And I’m impressed by Hillary Clinton’s suggestion that the right number of abortions in this country is ZERO. I respect her plan to cut the abortion rate through sex education, money for family planning and requiring health insurers to cover contraceptives. (http://www.slate.com/id/2112712/)
Finally, the debate on abortion should not go without a conversation on adoption. Adoption in this country is difficult, over-legislated and obscenely expensive. John McCain is the only candidate I’ve heard speak compellingly on the issue of making adoption easier and less expensive.
If I were voting on this sensitive issue alone, my vote would go to Hillary Clinton. Too bad that's not an option.
An acquaintance of mine posted a note on Facebook that was a clarion call to his friends to “do something now” as “Obama is 7% ahead in the polls.” He happens to be a worship leader among my more charismatic Christian friends and I own a number of CD’s where he performs and they’re quite good. The note he posted sited his concerns that an Obama administration that would be “pro-abortion, pro gay marriage, pro teaching little school children that the gay lifestyle is a positive lifestyle, is pro-gay couple adoption, opposes domestic offshore drilling for gas and oil, and he is against giving vouchers for parents to choose the schools they wants their children to attend!”
So after quite a few posts by individuals who agreed with the person who posted the note, I posted a one paragraph response which read: “McCain actually said that he didn’t think that Roe vs. Wade needed overturning. Look it up. He’s changed his mind in recent years, but his earlier apathy on this subject is a concern. I vote pro life, but I take into account life AFTER the womb when I vote. The war in Iraq is a pro-life issue which has cost us a tremendous loss of American and Iraqi life – lives that meant something to God at least. Bringing Torture, Extraordinary Rendition and Gitmo onto our national conscience is a MORAL issue, in my opinion one of our National “blind spots” in need of repentance. The death penalty is a life issue, because IF life is sacred, then there will be no acceptations. Katrina was a tremendous opportunity for our nation to value human life, but it was a failure of astronomical proportions. God commands that we care for the widows, orphans and give to the poor. Yet one party seeks to help the poor and the other wants to ‘reduce the size of government’ and leave out any help the poor might get. Even though the scripture says that giving to the poor is lending to God. Many people are giving to the political campaigns to protect their personal wealth while ignoring the poor. This is selfishness. The sudden increase in poverty is a moral issue, a life and death issue when you realize that poverty = no medical treatment. You can vote on the single issue of abortion if you like, but I hope you take into account life after the womb. You may find yourself changing your vote. God alone has the authority to choose the moment a human life ends, God alone. We ARE our brother’s keeper! Do your homework about ALL the life and death issues in this election season. Pray and ask God if being “pro-life” should end at the womb. And then vote.”
Now this got interesting when other people added their two cents. A theme developed which I find absolutely baffling.
One person wrote: “I, for one, believe that fighting terror and other nobel causes are vital for this country - for God also says that if we do not stand with Israel, we will be cursed. He'll bless those who bless Israel, and He'll curse those who curse her. All too often, Christians try to decide what is fair and what is unfair, what is righteous and what is not. If I remember correctly, OUR righteousness is as filthy rags. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts - His ways higher than our ways.”
“Vote as the Lord instructs you, not as your own wisdom leads you - there is a way that seems right in a man's eyes, but in the end it leads to destruction.”
Ok, is it just me or is this individual suggesting that we should NOT apply our own wisdom to the issues in this election or make an effort at doing the right thing? Are we unable to tell the difference between the good and evil? Is it suddenly a Christian value to NOT use the intellectual capacity God has given us?
Another person writes: “WE ALL NEED TO BE REALLY LISTENING TO THE VOICE OF GOD ,AND WHO HE HAS TOLD US TO VOTE FOR. THE ONE HE HAS CHOSEN ,AND IT'S MCCAIN ,AND GOVENOR PALIN. SHE HAS BEEN CALLED FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS. AND WE NEED TO BE PRAYING FOR EVERYTHING. I'M VOTTING FOR MCCAIN THE FIRST TIME I SAW OBAMA EVERYTHING IN ME KNEW HE WAS NOT THE ONE. I CAN NOT VOTE FOR AMAN WHO IS MUSLIM,AND TRYING TO PLAY LIKE HE IS A CHRISTIAN,AND SUPPORT TERRIOST GROUP,AND IS FOR ABORTION. NOPE CAN'T VOTE FOR AMAN WHO SAID I WILL SIDE WITH THE MUSLIM,AND U WHO LIVE IN ENGLAND WITH YOU'RE RESPONSE THAT'S WHY WE ARE FREE IN AMERICA WE CAN TALK DISCUSS,AND ARGUE IN LOVING MANNER ABOUT WHO WE CAN PUICK YOU DON'T GET THAT FREE CHOICE BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU BEEN BROUGHT UP IN ALL YOU'RE LIFE. I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU. JESUS GIRL”
Apparently this individual is an example of someone who isn’t applying earthly wisdom to their voting choices, given the reiteration of ideas already proven to be falsehoods. I don’t even understand the last part of what they were trying to say about England. And I’m not sure about that part about arguing in a loving manner when the individual is writing in all caps – which is widely considered to be a breach of etiquette.
Another person writes: “And if anyone thinks Sarah Palin is not ready to lead...Thank God she will have to depend upon God and not her own knowledge and earthly wisdom. Thank God He still raises up Esthers and Josiahs and can turn nations back to Him.”
I understand the reference to “lean not on your own understanding” which is an allusion to a specific scripture verse. But how is it reasonable to vote for someone whose lack of “earthly wisdom” is celebrated by a voter as being more desirable in a (Christian) leader? God used Esther to influence a king and she was a young beautiful woman who was made Queen. And Josiah was a child leader of the people Israel in the Bible, and he was surrounded by good advisors.
I’m baffled that anyone would quote verses from the Bible supporting the idea that we should NOT apply wisdom to our vote, or require it from the leader we decide to vote for. I’m astounded that any person of faith would suggest that we should NOT attempt to discern the difference between good and evil and apply that assessment to our vote. I’m absolutely flabbergasted that this idea came up in three out of four responses to the posted item on the posted note on Facebook! When people decide to give over their God given capacity to think and reason, then God only knows what we’ll end up.
The whole thing reminds me of a song: (If I can get the vox system to play the video!)
All of my life I’ve hung out with church people. I’ve grown up going to church and I’ve gone to excellent private Christian schools. I know many religious people. And a couple months ago I got to thinking about Christians who get really mean over issues like homosexuality, abortion, Israel and other political issues. I’ve known some individuals within the congregations I’ve attended over the years who would spout some of the extremist Republican right party line along with the homophobia stuff and the fierce love of Israel even when Israel oppresses her own people. And I’ve just kind of looked at them like they watched too much TV, or listened to too much FOX news, James Dobson, Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh. They didn’t get their news from real sources and their heads were filled with the recycled thoughts from other men. And they are all freaked out over how “catching” homosexuality is from adults to children. They’re concerned about the unborn and want to reverse Roe vs. Wade and will vote on that issue alone. And they believe that God is for Israel and that anyone who is against Israel is siding with evil, no matter what kind of unjust behavior Israel engages in. It wasn’t that long ago that I silently hoped that churches across America were filled with good people with good intentions who would certainly not ever treat other individuals in such a mean spirited way. That the vocal few who wanted to stand in the face of a homosexual man and scream “REPENT!” were mercifully few. Or maybe there were just a few who were activists that made the rest look bad. That’s what I keep trying to hope. That churches all across this country are inhabited by good people who would NEVER be that rude in person or in comments on a blog or in a letter. I want desperately to believe that MOST Christians just wouldn’t be that cruel.
But I don’t know anymore. I’ve a feel for what Shush has been through with her writing on homosexuality. And a friend of mine is involved with the Mennonite Central Committee project for peace with Iran, and he’s getting bucketfuls of crap tossed his way because of people’s religious notions about any country that is against Israel. Would someone please tell me that there aren’t that many mean Christians? Would someone please tell me that these people who write these kinds of letters and post these kinds of comments on blogs are just a wild few? Or has all of Christianity gone to standing on stumps in the park screaming at picnicking families on a beautiful fall day?
I’m a Christian… uh… no… What I mean is, I try to follow Jesus and His teachings and I love Him in whatever ways I can figure out to. I’m being saved from myself and I’m no less a sinner than I was the night I asked Him to forgive me for the first time. I am rude a lot of the time. And I pass out weird looks when someone strikes me as rather annoying. And since I’m short on patience, and generally annoyed by humans, I do that more than I should. So really I’m not one to speak to this issue. But I would NEVER dish the kind of crap that people like Ray Boltz and Clay Aiken are getting from Christians right now. I find it extremely offensive. I would NEVER protest at an Abortion clinic or get into the face of a young woman and tell her she’s just killed her baby. Lord have MERCY! I find the very thought absolutely horrendous! And I would think it completely reasonable to suggest that Israel is in the wrong some of the time – a notion which would scandalize some folks in the church who read perhaps two verses of the Bible to the exclusion of all else. I’m frustrated and angry, but not at homosexuals, people who have had abortions or people who appose Israel… I’m angry with the bitter, cruel, gile of the Christian persuasion who believe that the truth is a weapon for clobbering people and miss the SPIRIT of the character of God. God help us all.
Sarah Palin has declared that she is against abortion. Bravo! Most people are, including me. (Personally, I’m concerned about the kind of situation surrounding a woman that would be bad enough to make her turn to this drastic choice.) But Sarah Palin wants to make abortion illegal, even in the case of rape or incest. And she has declared that she would not support an abortion for her own daughter even if she had been raped. No legal abortions, ever. This is a position that is on the extreme end of the debate surrounding abortion, and according to a 2006 CBS News Poll, about 12% of the American people agree with her position.
Last I heard 12% of the American people didn’t get to determine what the other 88% do or don’t do. This is not a dictatorship.
On the other hand, how about a few words from our fearless leader:
"You don't get everything you want. A dictatorship would be a lot easier." George W. Bush - Governing Magazine, July, 1998
"If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier; just so long as I'm the dictator." George W. Bush - Washington D.C. December 18, 2000
"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it." George W. Bush - Business Week, July 30, 2001
I am not one of those people who vote on one issue alone, but this afternoon I gave some thought and research to the subject of abortion. If I were to vote according to this one issue, where would my vote go? Where do the candidates stand on the issues when it comes to the issue of protecting the life of the unborn?
Predictably, Republicans McCain, Romney and Huckabee believe that Roe V Wade should be overturned. Obama clearly states that the government should not make abortion choices for women; the mother and her community are best suited to make those difficult decisions. And Clinton supports making abortion safe, legal and rare.
These are complex issues. I agree with Obama that the government should not be in the business of telling birth families what choice is right for them since the government can not foretell the situation a woman finds herself in. I agree with McCain that the government should not be providing funding for abortion services. I agree with Huckabee that parents should be notified when an underage girl chooses to abort her baby. And finally, I agree with McCain, Romney and Huckabee that the Partial Birth Abortion Ban should be supported. And I'm impressed by Clinton's long record of successful proactive work to reduce and prevent unwanted pregnancies through education.
I would like to see more women chose adoption over abortion and I believe that adoption should be part of the abortion debate. It's not just a question of whether or not to have an abortion - it's a question of what is best for the child. I think the government should support both the birth parents and the adoptive family in the choice to adopt. Given the rates of infertility in this country, having a proactive approach to adoption is simply good politics and very much an addition to the “right to life” debate.
I am glad that Clinton has supported making the adoption credit increase permanent and has also worked to increase adoptions from foster care. McCain, who has an adopted daughter, has also voted to make the adoption credit increase permanent. Romney is in favor of making the adoption credit increase permanent, and is working to raise awareness about embryonic adoption, or snowflake babies. In a world where every little bit counts, these are fantastic!
I think Clinton has taken the edge off of her full tilt pro-abortion stance through her record on proactive measures to reduce the number of babies potentially aborted through education as well as her record on increasing adoption from foster care. Her actions and her words agree, she wants abortion "safe, legal and rare."
Huckabee is the candidate of the religious right, and is “actively and aggressively pro-life” but a full tilt anti-abortion stance is incomplete without proactive measures to reduce unwanted pregnancies in the first place. Saying “don’t have sex” just doesn’t work. What is missing in his campaign material is his full support for the adoption option so a child can find his or her forever family. It is not enough to tell a country that there will be no more abortions and then do nothing about the alternatives to abortion.
Various candidates make a number of mistakes in my opinion. I understand Obama’s nuanced views on abortion but I believe his mistake is the omission of adoption from his plan. And Clinton and Huckabee overshoot the issue with Clinton’s plan to make Roe V Wade into federal law and Huckabee’s plan for a right to life amendment to the constitution.
After weighing the pros and cons of abortion politics in the current race - I think McCain or Romney have the most moderate and well reasoned stance on this issue. And if I were to vote on this issue alone, either of these men would have my vote. Which is interesting because that is not what I would have said before I did the research.
Have you done your research?
I started here:
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.abortion.html
And also visited:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=4891
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/family/
http://obama.senate.gov/issues/
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/95b18512-d5b6-456e-90a2-12028d71df58.htm
http://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/Romney_Agenda_10.26.07
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue_id=11
What do I want? This simple question was in a friend’s blog. (http://sueyoung.vox.com/library/post/what-do-you-want-1.html) It was her question from the Lord, repeated to a degree that she took notice. I read it and tried to ignore it for a while. Didn’t work. So now I’m simply probing what I want, (a lot of stuff!!) which leads to asking what I’m praying for, if anything. And if I want something, but have not been or do not pray for it – well then, why? So in the process of writing this, I realized that there are actually a pretty long list of things I want, and some are pretty complicated actually. But perhaps the list of things I want isn’t as interesting as whether or not I actually pray that these things will change, or put some human effort into the cause. So I’ll be posting a series of blog posts over the coming days about what I want, and what I’m praying for, or if I’m not praying for these things, then why? I’m going to start with an easy one.
Politics. Yeah, deep breath for that one. Brace yourself.
Ok, don't.
Look at my picture - I'm pretty harmless looking, right?
:)
What do I want? To be a part of a political movement that is simply pro-life, even after the womb. Across the board, post-womb pro-life.
I’m not even pro-life in the traditional sense, though I think abortion is pretty much just plain sick. But if we’re going to call this one thing a moral horror then let’s not be complete hypocrites about it.
War is a pro life issue. To think that we can sow violence and reap peace is to be completely ignorant of history and humanity to a colossal degree. Injustice breeds more terrorism – didn’t we see this with the way WW1 ended? The injustices that were created in the ending of that war, the poverty and humiliation gave birth to one of the worst terrorists this earth has seen. And things have not changed.
Sow injustice – reap terror. It’s a simple law of the garden, whatever you put in the earth will reproduce after its own kind. Sow torture, rendition and Gitmo and expect to reap PEACE? Come on! Every gardener knows better than that! This is a pro life issue with serious ramifications for Americans
around the world! Can’t we learn from someone besides the bad guys? How about Ghandi! Nelson Mandela! Desmond Tutu! Dr Martin Luther King! We’ve got people who have heroically and humbly shown us a better way. Let’s pay attention! Please! Argh!
The death penalty is a pro life issue (well, duh!) If killing an unborn child is a crime against humanity, how about an adult? And what about when one race is overwhelmingly represented on death row because of the inadequate work of public defenders, poor detective work, poverty and
the absolute indifference of the media? It is interesting that other developed countries look at America and shake their heads that we still kill people in our retributive and punitive justice system that is based on vengeance. Vengeance belongs to God, as does the choice of when a human life begins and ends.
KATRINA is a pro life issue! I mean get real people!
What the insurance industry has been able to get away with in post Katrina America is a freakin CRIME! This isn’t some developing country! We should be spending as much on this situation as we are on Afghanistan and Iraq! These are OUR OWN people! Tour the area now, two -almost three years later and you’ll see whole neighborhoods that are still nothing but empty dirt and debris.
Where is the moral outrage of the populace and the strength and indignation of the government and the commentary of the media? Out to freakin lunch! It’s such a nice lunch to – light casual gourmet organic fare with a glass of chardonnay… *BARF!* Out of sight, out of mind. What a shame, in the land of the free, the home of the brave. One of the richest countries in the world. What a freakin shame!
We should be standing up to Israel and telling them that oppressing the people within their own borders is just plain stupid, and why don’t we just give the Palestinians a postage stamp to call their own and quit being such jerks about it?! To think that GOD would condone this kind of behavior based on some Old Testament theological twist is a completely moronic concept! If Israel is the Promised Land that is God’s favorite patch of dirt, then how could we condone the existence of such injustice – especially in His Land – IN HIS NAME? It’s time to read more than three verses of that Bible text and start to underline the word “JUSTICE” every now and then. It might even change our politics! *gasp!* Well, it could happen.
Oh wait, I didn’t mean to get side tracked onto foreign affairs… Back to our own soil. Uh yeah, our soil! Apparently our approach to the hole in the ozone is to build a pile of trash big enough to plug it up manually. We consume an incredible amount of pre-packed individual serving food, not to mention single use plastic bottles, newsprint and my favorite earth horror: Walmart bags. When my hubby and I worked in an area hit (bullseye!) by Katrina we saw Walmart bags completely blanketing the neighborhood close to where the Walmart had been. Wrapped around freaking everything. Oh, it was eerie!
Reduce, reuse, recycle! But it’s more than that, we need to be protecting our national park treasures and paying attention to some of the horrible mining and logging that’s being done in different out of the way places in this country. And drilling for oil in pristine wilderness? WTH? Is nothing sacred? And emissions are important, air land and water emissions – run off into our waterways is a concern. And then there are the international agreements we’ve broken – because we are the biggest brat in the sand box. Really, if we don’t get a handle on what we are doing to the environment, then we will literally be leaving our children not just an inconvenience and a mess to clean up – we will be leaving them a life and death situation. It is unconscionable that this is not part of the political debate among people of faith. The environment is fast becoming a serious pro-life issue!
And then there are the children, who go without heath care in this country because three things are stacked against them – poverty, lack of health insurance and a morally corrupt government whose votes are bought and sold on the open market. No child should be left behind in this country by not having access to needed preventative medicine, health care and/or health insurance. Families brought to the complete financial brink by the expenses of an illness of a child should be helped by the government of and by the (reasonable) people. To ignore the crisis while the medical, insurance and pharmaceutical industries continue to show profits in the stratosphere while millions of poor children go untreated, denied reasonable treatment in the face of illness is immoral and shameful. Health care for poor Americans is definitively a pro–life issue.
Don’t get me started on all the moral superiority that seems to go hand in hand with the
“pro-life” agenda while being blind to all the ways our government causes and allows death and destruction. What do I want? I want BUSH to have a change of HEART! But maybe it's a bit late for all that - we are in up to our nose hairs. I want to have my voice heard in the upcoming political elections that being pro-life in this country needs to include LIFE AFTER THE WOMB! That one little dangerous insane thing is WHAT I WANT!
That's all.
Yeah,
That's all.
:)
