All the controversy over the war in Iraq. All the lives we've lost over in the Middle East. Everyone complaining and protesting about bringing our troops home, about the soldiers who die everyday. I understand and support that argument. They are overseas for a specific reason but there are many dying unnecessarily. My question is how can Americans complain about the number of fatalities in the war when at home we are killing our own children. Since 1973 more unborn children have been killed than all American fatalities of all wars America has ever been involved in. In the United States alone, approximately 3,700 abortions are performed every day. About 46 MILLION unborn children die helplessly a year worldwide. They do not have a choice whether they live or die. This may be the very reason our 2008 presidential election is turning from bad to worse. Perhaps one of those 46 MILLION children was supposed to grow up to run in the 2008 presidential election but his/her chances were cut off before he/she had a chance to say something about it.
If doctors would only present the REAL facts to women receiving abortions, the statistics would drop drastically. The fetus's heart begins beating at day 22, only 3 weeks after it is conceived. 10.5% of abortions are performed at or after the 13th week of pregnancy.
Anyone who can, with a clean concience, support this act should be noted as a murderer.
Proverbs 31:8-9. Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, defend those who cannot defend themselves, and plead the cause of those in need.
Exodus 20:13: "You shall not murder." (one of the Ten Commandments)
Exodus 23:7: Do not put an innocent person to death, because God will not acquit the guilty.
Proverbs 6:16-17: There are seven things God hates, one of which is hands that shed innocent blood
The famous contemporary poet Marge Piercy once said 'I will control what is born of my flesh' in reference to abortion. Religious predispositions aside, the issue of abortion has always been divisive. But in a situation like this, isn't it simply safer and more ethical to allow the woman to choose? Banning abortion is tantamount to legislating who will live and who will not, something I would think contradicts the lessons of most major religions anyway. The difference between forcing a mother to have a child, even if it means her own life and allowing her to choose when she knows a child may not be provided for or healthy is that it allows for all the shades of grey that are the human experience. When you think about it, forcing something into life is much the same as forcing it into death. Neither should be under the absolute jurisdiction of the government or any religious institution. By issuing a generalized 'abortion is murder' sentiment, pro-lifers bypass the totality of human society and circumstance. Without consideration for the lives of unwilling mothers and fathers everywhere, laws like these lead to neglectful childhoods. It is the ultimate task for a thinking adult to bring life into this world and see that it succeeds. To me, it is immoral and unethical to force a woman to give life to the world of her own body that she does not feel she is prepared to care for. The government has no more business legislating life than it does death.
What is immoral is that a woman had premarital sex and therefore got pregnant, if you really want to get technical. Is it the child's fault that a man and woman do not care enough about him/her to take care of it? It is not the child's fault. So why kill it? The underlying problem here is not abortion, it is premarital sex.
Married couples have abortions, too.
So children should be thrust on couples, maybe even women who aren' part of a "couples" relationship as a punishment? Children should be treated as some kind of negative consequence instead of a tiny person who needs to be welcomed into a world of love and health and as free from want as possible?
People should have children when they need and want them, not when they happen to get pregnant. You are forcing naturally irresponsible people to raise children, who then have a fairly good likelihood of being kinda fucked up.
Pre-marital sex will happen, and in and of itself is not a bad thing. In fact it can be a pretty healthy thing. Unwanted children however will pretty much always be a bad thing. Why not take care of things before it's a person and still a fetus?
“Existentialism means that no one else can take a bath for you” - Delmore Schwartz
"Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real-estate above principles." - George Jean Nathan
Here's the thing - accidents happen. How a person decides to handle it is entirely their decision - not the governments, not the doctors, and certainly not someone who is not in the same situation. It's true there are condoms, birthcontrol, and the morning after pill - but sometimes when that fails there should be an alternative solution.
I am definitely not pro-abortion, but I am not against it. I believe it is a personal choice. Is someone belives that the life begins after 3 weeks of development, then they have the right to believe that. If another person believes that life isn't life until it's born, they have the right to believe that.
Truth isn't based on what someone believes. One person can believe the earth is the center of the universe but they are wrong. It doesn't matter what people believe. The truth isn't relevant to what someone believes. Just because they believe something doesn't mean it's true or not true.
And then the argument becomes 'how do you know what is true?' You cite the Bible, but many people don't accept the Bible as Truth, and you can't prove that it is at the current time.
So, when we talk about when life begins, there are people who believe it begins at conception. But an embryo or blastocyst cannot survive to develop into a full human being. Some believe it begins at the quickening, but again... if removed, it won't survive outside the womb. Others, like me, believe it begins when the nervous system is formed (because we declare people dead when their lower and higher brain function stops). Others believe it begins at heartbeat (because we also declare people dead when their heart stops). [though the two are usually connected, because the brain dies shortly after the heart stops]. Which one is true?
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
My question is how can Americans complain about the number of fatalities in the war when at home we are killing our own children.
No, we are not doing anything of the sort. Women's bodies are not public property that the government gets to own and control. It is none of our business what women do with their own bodies.
If doctors would only present the REAL facts to women receiving abortions, the statistics would drop drastically. The fetus's heart begins beating at day 22, only 3 weeks after it is conceived.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but many states require doctors to give women this kind of information, and it hasn't drastically reduced abortion.
Proverbs 31:8-9. Exodus 20:13: Exodus 23:7: Proverbs 6:16-17:
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution says, in part, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
I don't believe in the Bible, and I have the right to follow my own beliefs. I have the right to believe that aborting an unwanted pregnancy is perfectly moral, and the right to take care of my own body according to that belief.
It's always easy to say "what if." Yeah, what if one of those kids could change the world? We already have over 6 billion people on this earth, I'm sure one of us could change the world just as much as that child could've changed the world and many people are trying. I'm sure most people know the useless trivia information of Hitler was almost aborted. So what if he was? Would there have been a WWII? Would there have been 6 million jews killed during that war? It's better to focus on the now instead of the "what if."
Also, your reasonings for not having an abortion are those of religion. There is no way that the government can justify illegalizing abortion using religion. The bible justifies why YOU do not think abortion is right but not why EVERYBODY should think abortion is wrong.
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All the believers, they were smiling and winking at each other, I could honestly say I was scared for my life.
Unfortunately the bible isn't really clear as to when a baby is a person, the term birth kind of means beginning of life, and there are so many problems with idea of forcing a religious belief on people that it isn't worth the time it takes to go over spiritual implications. One angle that I don't see rebutted is that this planet is in an overpopulation and waste management nightmare. While it is possible that one of the aborted children could grow up to be the greatest president ever, it is also possible they could grow up to be the next Hitler, and guaranteed that they will all create more waste. It is also very important to remember how much responsibility there comes with having children, and when that responsibility is forced on mothers it is less likely that they will take on that responsibility. We have babies being left in apartments while the single mom goes off to her minimum wage job, we have Britney Spears who the courts now agree shouldn't be given responsibility for her children, and the list goes on. The all to real consequences of poor child rearing is part of the reason we lock our doors when we go to work, and lock our cars when we are only 50 foot way at restaurants and coffee shops. I wish we had a world where there was a known perfect way to raise children, but there isn't and ignoring what happens after the abortion is taken away shouldn't be done either.
Side note: with the stats above, I am curious how many of those abortions were by married couples, and how many were for medical reasons, like having the child would threaten the life of the mother if she gave birth. I doubt that the latter is a large percent, but it would be interesting to have a break down of that 3,700 every day.
Ray Andress
A tree by its self fights hard against the storm, a forest disperses the storm.
Help those around you grow and everyone comes out better.
This is not evidence. These are merely pretty quotes taken from a source that has not been proven credible and (in fact) is not accepted by any institution in the WORLD as evidence.
Nicholas Aden
Self-Promotion
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Choice Picks
You make the argument that abortion may have killed the super human, hero leader to lead us out of our current quagmire. The obvious argument, that has already been made is that in those abortions could just as easily be the next Hitler of Dahmer or whomever. I far as I can tell, this counter argument only stalemates things.
When you make the argument that you are making you are not valuing human life, but human potential for greatness. If the reason to ban abortion is to save that one mythological uber-president, who you probably wouldn't recognize anyway, then what of those other millions of lives? Most likely most of those aborted children, just like most all the un-aborted children, will amount to very little in the grand scheme of things. Many of them probably never even had the potential for greatness in their lives. Are the ordinary lives of everyday people worth nothing?
When we focus our moral views of abortion on only the exceptional sides of the equation we essentially dismiss the importance of the millions in the middle. Not to mention clinging to some kind of strange and terminally deluded idea of some singular, messianic ubermensch coming about and setting things straight.
If one wants to make an argument against abortion one must appreciate and value every human life, regardless of achievement or potential. By focusing on these outstanding individuals you imply, and I think rely, on the idea that people are not equal, and I don't think that's what you mean. I don't even think that you considered it. It's just a quick, emotional argument taught as rhetorical vocabulary in pro-life school.
“Existentialism means that no one else can take a bath for you” - Delmore Schwartz
"Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real-estate above principles." - George Jean Nathan
You can believe whatever you want. But quoting the Bible is not a logical rebuttal in a rational debate, as is quoting any other religious document. The fact is, abortions help the world we currently live in. We're way too overpopulated. A lot of these fetuses go to stem cell research, which will eventually help people. If you're so pro-life, protect the children that are already here. How many unwanted children have you adopted?
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"What's God?"
"You know when you ask for something really hard? God's the guy who ignores you."
--- From The Island.