Vote Pro-Life

As I was walking to the grocery store last night, I saw a yard sign that someone had up that said simply “VOTE PRO-LIFE”. Thank God for some common sense, I couldn’t agree more.

I mean the disgusting, reprehensible, unchristian, morally bankrupt practice of capitol punishment has to be put to an end. Although neither presidential candidate in this election has spoken about capitol punishment, the democrats have a longer record of opposing it than the republicans, so I assume that the owner of this yard wishes us to vote democrat.

I oppose capitol punishment as a Christian. It kind of confuses me when people say things like “I’m a Christian, so, of course, I support capitol punishment.” Must be reading a different scripture than the one that I have. The one that I have (King James Version) says that we are to forgive people who do us wrong. It says that we are not to judge one another. And it says, time and time again, that we are not to kill. And yes, I’ve heard the argument that by letting the state kill in your name absolves you of responsibility, but I don’t believe that. What Would Jesus Do? He’d oppose a state that executed, I think.

Or perhaps this person instead was referencing abortion, in which case I agree again. The rights of a woman to terminate a pregnancy in order to protect her own life must be defended at all costs. Again, it seems that this person is encouraging us to vote democrat as part of a “pro-life” platform, because the republican vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, has stated that she believes that abortion is intolerable in every case, including when the life of the mother is threatened. That strikes me as being singularly ANTI-life.

Except… while I’m on the subject of abortion, there is a group out there that opposes abortion that calls themselves “pro-life”, right? Of course, even a cursory examination of their beliefs show that they aren’t really “pro” anything… they are just “anti” a whole lot. Of course, back in the day when they presented themselves as “anti-abortion” they had a harder time gaining and keeping adherents, because the prefix “anti” is seen as negative. THAT’S BECAUSE IT IS NEGATIVE! I hate to break it to those folks, but simply changing the phrase “anti-abortion” to “pro-life” doesn’t really change the basic anti-life platform.

Most of these “pro-life” people unabashedly, unthinkingly and unswervingly support the state-sanctioned murder that we’ve come to think of as “capitol punishment”.

Several leaders of the “pro-life” movement are spending their lives behind bars for murdering employees of women’s clinics, both by shooting and by bombing the clinics. You know, the same kind of tactics that they’re currently scolding the militant Muslims for. I guess that, like so much else, if THEY do it, it’s terrorism, if WE do it, it’s okay.

And this doesn’t even take into account the QUALITY of the life that they are supposedly saving.

They’re forcing a child into a family that, for whatever reason, doesn’t want it or doesn’t feel like they can handle it. Personally, I know a woman, a friend who I helped council on this issue, who went through a very long struggle about five years ago over whether or not to have an abortion. She and her husband worked hard to create an ideal environment for a child. She worked part-time, no health benefits, and basically put all of her money into a savings account. Her husband worked for a seemingly solid company. He was making money hand over fist. He was provided full health insurance. He had an amazing retirement account. The company that he worked for was tied to Enron. When Enron went down his job disappeared, so did the health insurance and the retirement fund. Suddenly they were trying to live on her part-time income and savings account while he looked for another job. And at the same time that all of this went down, SUCCESS! She finally took pregnant.

She had the abortion. Last I heard from these folks (about two years ago), the husband had worked his way back up to a decent living, and they had replenished most of their savings. But, as much as they both want a child, they are hesitant to try again.

Or let’s say that you and your partner get pregnant, and then you find out from your doctor that you and your parents suffer some sort of genetic illness that you will, more likely than not pass on to your child. A loved one of mine with MS had her tubes tied when she was young specifically so that she would NOT be faced with the choice of either bearing a child who would develop MS or have an abortion.

And do me a favor, folks, don’t drag God into this argument, okay? I maintain again that God is a big boy and can take care of himself. Also, if he has a gripe with the people who HAVE abortions or the people who PERFORM abortions, they’ll have to answer to him, not to you. Also, the Bible doesn’t mention abortion. ANYWHERE. Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard the drivel about the slaughter of the innocents, but honest to Him, folks, I could make the same argument about the Iraq war and the tens of thousands of innocents who have died there.

And where do I stand on this issue? Well, for those interested, I’ll tell you. But do me a favor, if you’re going to read my opinion, read it all the way through. Don’t assume that you understand it after the first line or two, because I believe it’s a complicated issue with no easy answers.

Personally? I find abortion abominable. If I could wake up tomorrow morning in a world (or even an America) with no abortion, I would be a happy camper. We cannot do that by illegalizing abortion, however. My arguments with Roe Vs. Wade have to do with the fact that it doesn’t address the father’s rights AT ALL – it addresses the father as a sperm donor, nothing more.

The way to eliminate abortion is manifold, but it starts with recognizing that our kids are human beings, and human beings really start becoming sexual beings around the age of fourteen, not eighteen or twenty-one. It continues by recognizing that in order to avoid abortions, especially among teenagers, we first have to avoid pregnancy. In order to avoid pregnancy, we have to be able to teach our kids CLEARLY what pregnancy is, how it happens, and how it can be avoided.

That’s the first step.

Then we have to shore up our health care system so that it’s not tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket to bear a child, versus a couple hundred bucks to have an abortion.

Then we have to institute regulations on corporations to prevent messes like the Enron failure from affecting the common employee so deeply.

Once all of that is done, and only then, should we entertain an argument over whether or not abortion should be legal, once that is the only remaining question on the subject. Not before.

Peace.

Randal