Loading ...
Wow. How does one respond to such glee?
General, National Politics, Personal, Privacy Comments (2)
I have tried to stay out of the fray regarding the op/ed by Jennifer Richards. I really have. The story is a week old now (it’s in the 7/18 NY Times).
But, thanks to Bill at INDC Journal’s blog post on the new Planned Parenthood t-shirt today, I can’t.
I am staunchly pro-life. I have certain beliefs that I never expect to change. One of those is that a unique life begins at conception and that a person has no more right to terminate that life than they do to kill their aged great-grandparents because caring for them has become too inconvenient, too time consuming, or too expensive. At the moment that the gametes combine and become a zygote that life carries on all of the functions of life. The DNA within it is as unique as it will ever be. The only thing missing is a certain level of change.
Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in choice. But I believe that choice ends with conception. In other words, when you make the choice to have sex you have made the only choice you have a right to make. You should bear the consequences of that decision just as you would have to bear the consequences of the decision to drive drunk, just as you would have to bear the consequences of the decision to get high, just as you would have the bear the consequences of the decision of driving out into the countryside and abandoning that four day old puppy.
Is it inconvenient if you didn’t plan it? You betcha, but you should have thought of that before “having a little fun.”
Is it life-changing? Of course it is, but it’s that even if you’re planning on it.
The decision to terminate two unique lives and write an op/ed piece about it? Stupid.
And the decision to terminate an unique life and get a t-shirt declaring your pride about it? Callous.
This says something, I think, about the state of our nation. Planned Parenthood has taken something that should be a difficult and horrifying choice involving the health of the mother and child, removed all consideration for the unborn life, and then made it into t-shirt fodder.
And I think it is sickening that more consideration is given to the mother’s social life or economic potential than is given to the fact that there is a life there, no matter how small, undifferentiated, or dependent. It is still a life and Planned Parenthood completely discounts that simple, basic fact. Why? Because if it is a life, if it is living, then it is deserving of protection and they don’t want that protection to interfere with their “choice.”
The end of that road? Greater callousing of the minds of people. “It’s not life, it’s a clump of cells.” But, an amoeba is? But that amoeba is considered “alive” even though it has only one cell.
“My body, my choice.” True, but you made that choice when you chose to engage in sexual intercourse.
It’s sad, it really is, that our society has sunk so low as to have people who think that the creation of such a shirt is acceptable.
So, how to respond to it?
Perhaps we should take a page from MoveOn.org’s recent filing about Fox News Channel’s use of the term “fair and balanced.” Perhaps we should file papers with the FTC saying that their name, “Planned Parenthood” is deceptive and misleading. After all, Planned Parenthood is all about abortion, not parenting.
MickC @ July 27, 2004
I agree, I can’t believe that they would make a t-shirt like that!! That is like wearing a t-shirt that says “I killed someone”. Who was thinking when they decided on that t-shirt, was anyone thinking? I would hope that an act like this (IE the T-shirt) would change many people’s minds about supporting planned parenthood. Abortion isn’t a joke, and certainly not something you run around pasted on a t-shirt for all to see like you are proud of it. I am ashamed at planned parenthoods actions!!
As far as the term “pro-life” is concerned, no one is pro-life, though. If a person kills an animal to feed a family, they aren’t pro-life because an animal is a living thing and since when did animals become less important than humans? Besides, if we want to prevent unwanted pregnancies, promote comprehensive sex education. I understand it may be hard as a preacher to do this, but we all have to face the realities of life. In fact, in western Europe, abortion rates are much lower because they are open about sex and they don’t treat it as something people should be ashamed of. Also, they find that being open about sex doesn’t promote children to be promiscuous and actually statistics have shown people (in this case teenagers) wait longer to engage in sexual activity in Western European countries than children in the US. Also, the abortion and STI rates are much lower in Western Europe, especially in Holland. In fact, in France it’s much harder to have an abortion than in the US yet, as shown in statistics, there isn’t a want/need for an abortion because they are very open about sex and they have comprehensive sex education which allows for the knowledge of and access to contraceptives should consenting couples want to engage in sexual activity (ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies). I do understand what you’re saying, how sex is a choice. However, I also don’t believe anyone should be forced to carry a fetus to term because in a sense, that’s a form of rape by the state. I personally don’t like the idea of abortion, and I’m not against the teaching of abstinence either. I am, however, against immediately outlawing abortions and abstinence-only. I do think the act of sex involves responsible decision-making all around, but we need to teach children responsibility. I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing abortion being rid of, but we have to look at the whole situation and not just from a religious point of view. In the meantime, instead of everyone having children, how about let’s adopt children and show them love instead. Are their lives not worth anything? Do they not have potential?
As far as abortion being a joke, I think neither war nor capital punishment is a joke. War involves the killing of innocent civilians who had wanted nothing to do with the war their governments wage. Are their lives not worth anything? There have been times when the people executed by capital punishment have been proven innocent afterwards. Apparently we didn’t carefully see if their lives were worth anything.
If life begins at conception for one person and doesn’t for another, then is the latter wrong?
As far as the Planned Parenthood tshirt, I personally wouldn’t wear one but I say if you have enough confidence to wear one and you don’t care what other people think, go for it.