17 posts tagged “abortion”
'Quality of life'. Brothers and sisters, can we think about that phrase for a moment? Can we think about what we are saying when we are using it? Can we, as Christians, really use that phrase?
As both a Christian and a caregiver for the elderly and those with disabilities, I'm struck with this Biblical view point- sin obstructs our decision making process. In our fallen state, we often make choices, including medical choices, for the wrong reasons- often for motives that appeal to the flesh or mere human reasoning. While patients should remain a crucial part of the decision making process regarding their medical treatment and doctors should have the freedom to discern the best care for his/her patient, both patients and doctors would be wise to remember that human reasoning does not always lead us to the right choices. Bioethics is attempting to set standards for the conduct of medicine and healthcare in an age of new knowledge and changing science. However, bioethicists are setting these standards from a fallen state of mind. Truth is subjective to them, as are ethics, dependent on such things as a person’s worldview, religion, and philosophy. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25) If this proverb has ever been relevant, it is so with bioethics. When we, as Christians, set standards for how we care for the sick and needy, we must remember that truth is not relative. The truth- the Biblical truth- about who God is and who man is plays a critical role in regard to medical decisions that affect the lives of the weak and the needy. All of those we care for in the hospital bed, teach life skills to in the group home, or 'produce' in the laboratory are deserving of dignity and respect for the sole reason that "In the image of God, made He man." (Genesis 9:6) So, while scientists can manipulate genes and clone embryos, we can never engineer the image of God out of a human being. This truth alone could set the tone for any medical ethic. However, likewise, in our attempts to manipulate genes and clone embryos to eradicate diseases and eliminate disabilities, we can never create a person who will not inherit the struggle with sin. As much as we are created in the image of God, we are also sons of Adam; therefore, there will never be a perfect person. Our only hope remains, as it always has, in Christ and Him crucified. In His work on the cross- the great exchange, the righteous for the unrighteous, the suffering for our sins so He could save us from them and bring us to God. This is incredible mercy and incredible love. Despite the uniqueness of each created person, in these two things- our common created image and our common depravity- man can be considered virtually identical to one another. Our worth could not be contingent upon any work or ability. To say that a person is too weak or does not contribute enough is laughable compared to the greatness and splendor and perfection that is in God! All men fall short of that Glory. We are all too weak and no one ‘contributes’ enough! For all of us, our worth is dependent only on who we are through the work of Christ at the cross. With new life in Christ through the cross, we are given new nature and the told to renew our minds. In both this new nature and in our renewed minds, we view suffering, ethics, and caring for the weak and the vulnerable differently. We now consider those weaker than we are, and we realize that it is a sin to not show them the same grace and mercy we were given, even if one is so weak that he or she is not even cognitively aware of it. Suffering is horrible. It is no light thing. We are better off dead and at peace with our Maker than alive on this dead earth! But in our renewed minds, we know, also, that we cannot take suffering into our own hands, as those in bioethics seem to do. We can never consider breaking God’s commandment to not murder, for instance, through abortion and euthanasia because we deem someone to be suffering too much. We cooperate with nature and conform to the way God created it. For when we attempt to manipulate nature (think of the undignified 'Ashley Treatment') and destroy that which we judge undesirable- destroy whom we judge undesirable because of the sufferings they are given- we question God’s goodness and wisdom leaving us rebuked as Job was- “Where was man when God laid the foundation of the earth?” As we painfully watch those around us suffer, doing all we can to ease their suffering, we are to suffer with those suffering. We are not to cooperate with the hopelessness that suffering brings by manipulating the death one suffering or who we assume will suffer after birth. Instead we offer them and their loved ones the hope of Christ found in His Gospel, that those who call upon His name will be saved from their sin soaked hearts, from the wrath of God, and from hell. And that those who call upon His name will be saved to new life in Christ, to a perfect and holy body in eternity, and the unimaginable joy of eternity in the presence of the Creator. Because of the unity we have with Christ (because of the great love and mercy shown to us at the cross), we, in humility, count others more significant than ourselves. We look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others. We have this mind among ourselves, which is ours in Christ Jesus Who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:1-8) And so we humble ourselves to one another, using our freedom to serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13), taking tender care of the weak (1 Thessalonians 5:14), seeking justice and encouraging the oppressed (Isaiah 1:17), and becoming disabled to the disabled (1 Corinthians 9:22) in order to share the Gospel to all people, in hopes that all people will be saved from, among other things, their fallen states of minds, having their minds aligned with Christ and His purposes for all things- including suffering and caring for those suffering.
From American Life League
Red Faced and Red Handed: Top Ten Pro-Abortion Moments of 2008
by Katie Walker
Released January 7, 2009
Washington, D.C. (7 January 2009) – 2008 was a down year for the pro-abortion movement's talking heads. As you read the quotes below, despite the seriousness of the subject - after all, we are talking about matters of life and death - it's hard not to laugh at their ridiculous attempts to justify their position.
1) NOT THAT! ANYTHING BUT THAT!
Dear leader, President-elect Barack Obama at a town-hall meeting in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in March:
“Look, I got two daughters – 9 years old and 6 years old,” he said. “I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”
Comment: President-elect Obama demonstrates his disdain for the sanctity of preborn babies by stating that children are “punishments” instead of miracles and blessings.
President-elect Barack Obama answers Pastor Rick Warren’s question “At what point does a baby get human rights?” at a Saddleback Church interview:
“Answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade.”
Comment: The future president will swear to uphold and defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights - hard to do when you can’t decide who gets rights and who doesn’t because it’s above your “pay grade.”
3) DATE-NIGHT OPTIONS: DINNER? DANCING? ABORTION?
Justin Timberlake/Jessica Biel
“Nobody should be able to say what you can do with your body,” Biel told cheering crowds at Last Chance for Change, a rally endorsing presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama. "I give Jess the right to choose where we go to eat all the time," Timberlake added.
Comment: Just when we start to have a sliver of respect for our Hollywood elite, they say something like this. Justin sees no difference between choosing where to eat or which child to kill.
4) KILLING BLACK BABIES – 'UNDERSTANDABLE, UNDERSTANDABLE'
Planned Parenthood of Idaho – A Live Action Films exposé video exposed Planned Parenthood’s deep-rooted racism. A caller posed as a potential donor and the following conversation ensued:
Actor: I want to specify that abortion to help a minority group, would that be possible?
Planned Parenthood employee: Absolutely.
Actor: Like the black community for example?
Planned Parenthood employee: Certainly.
Actor: The abortion – I can give money specifically for a black baby, that would be the purpose?
Planned Parenthood employee: Absolutely. If you wanted to designate that your gift be used to help an African-American woman in need, then we would certainly make sure that the gift was earmarked for that purpose.
Actor: Great, because I really faced trouble with affirmative action, and I don’t want my kids to be disadvantaged against black kids. I just had a baby; I want to put it in his name.
Planned Parenthood employee: Yes, absolutely.
Actor: And we don’t, you know we just think, the less black kids out there the better.
Planned Parenthood employee (laughing): Understandable, understandable.
Comment – The apple doesn’t fall far. Planned Parenthood hasn’t strayed much since the days of its racist founder Margaret Sanger, who once spoke to a Ku Klux Klan group and was a member of the American Eugenics Society.
Ca. Rep. Nancy Pelosi in a television interview with NBC’s Tom Brokaw:
Tom Brokaw: Madame speaker, when does life begin?
Rep. Pelosi: As an ardent, practicing Catholic, …I don’t think anybody can tell you when life begins.Comment: That’s like saying, “As a vegan, I would like my steak medium rare.”
6) BEING 'PRO-CURE' IS BEING PRO-LIFE! ... EVEN IF WE HAVE TO CANNIBALIZE PREBORN CHILDREN FOR IT
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm in support of Proposition 2, a bill that now allows embryonic stem cell research:
“As a Catholic, I can say to be pro-cure is to be pro-life.”
Comment: What about this statement is Catholic? Not a thing.
7) FIVE-FINGERED DISCOUNT FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD C.E.O.
PP C.E.O. Miriam Inocencio
Despite a six-digit salary drawn from Planned Parenthood’s tax- and abortion-gorged pockets, Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island CEO Miriam Inocencio must have really liked that Macy’s blouse!
Comment: Clearly her day job – helping to kill preborn babies – has affected her moral judgment. If Miriam is hurting for cash, perhaps we can redirect some of Planned Parenthood's extra Title X taxpayer funding her way?
Comedian Doug Stanhope
These are not empty words. I, Doug Stanhope, am offering you, Bristol Palin, the sum of $25,000 so that you can abort your child and move out of that draconian home. I have also set up a PayPal link so that others around the world can help increase this amount to ease the burden of starting out on your own at such an early age.
Comment: We love it when pro-abortion radicals show their true colors. Stanhope can’t fathom why a young couple would actually want their baby. Nope. Clearly, Bristol doesn’t need love and compassion – she needs $25,000!
9) MORE THAN WE CAN SAY FOR SOME POLITICIANS
South Carolina Democrat chair Carol Fowler
Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s “primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.”
Comment: South Carolinians overwhelmingly voted for the Palin ticket. That’s got to hurt, Fowler.
Comedian Bill Maher
Refers to Sarah Palin’s Down syndrome baby as “it” three times in a monologue citing why she isn’t qualified to be vice president and then ends with ::: the rest of quote deleted by me, Jus Me Again :::
Comment: What can we say, really? We’ll just let Maher condemn himself.
More mothers reject abortion to have babies with Down's syndrome
MORE babies are being born with Down's syndrome than before pre-natal screening for the disorder was introduced at the end of the 1980s, it was revealed yesterday.
Parents appear more willing to bring a Down's child into the world than they used to be, research shows.
Many are taking the decision because those affected by the syndrome are more accepted in society today and their quality of life has improved, according to a new survey.
After the widespread introduction of screening for Down's syndrome in 1989, the number of babies born with the condition in the UK fell from 717 to 594 at the start of this decade.
But since 2000, the birthrate has increased, reaching 749 in 2006, the latest year for which figures are available.
Figures from a national Down's syndrome register show that the proportion of newborn children with Down's rose by around 15 per cent between 2000 and 2006.
The Down's Syndrome Association, in conjunction with the BBC, conducted a survey of 1,000 of its members to find out why so many were choosing to have Down's children despite the availability of pre-natal screening.
The findings show that while religious or pro-life beliefs counted in about a third of cases, many parents felt that life and society had improved for people affected by Down's. Others said their decision was influenced by the fact that they knew people with Down's or other disabilities.
Carol Boys, chief executive of the Down's Syndrome Association, said: "We are all very surprised by this. It wasn't what any of us working in the field would have anticipated and it seems to show more parents are thinking more carefully before opting for pre-natal screening and termination – that being born with Down's syndrome is being seen in a different light today."When I and others had our babies, it was a very different world – those with Down's syndrome were treated very differently. Now, there is much greater inclusion and acceptance, with mainstream education having a huge role. "We think this plays a part in the decisions parents make – there's even been a baby with Down's syndrome on EastEnders."
Pandora Summerfield, director of Down's Syndrome Scotland, said: "We applaud these women who go ahead with their pregnancies. "It is very heartening to hear that women are making a positive choice because society is more accepting."
Read whole article here.
I especially appreciate that many made the decision to have their child because they knew people with Down Syndrome or other disabilities. Acquaintanceship, but especially relationship, with people with disabilities makes all the difference in how we view them and their lives. When we are in relationship with people with disabilities, we value them and their lives and come to understand the common personhood in all of us.
For so many years, those with disabilities, especially developmental disabilities have been isolated, left to their 'own kind' and to the care of 'others' in some unknown facility. What has happned as a result is the ignorance of society regarding disability and people with disabilities. It takes real relationship between people with and without disabilities for destigmazation and understanding to occur.
Unfortunately, relationship isn't happening fast enough. Technology is fast advancing and those who still hold on to beliefs that those with disabilities have a low quality of life and are a burden to society are eager to use technology to end lives.
So, go make a friend. Start here, perhaps. "e-Buddies is an e-mail pen pal program that pairs persons with an intellectual disability in a one-to-one e-mail friendship with a peer volunteer who does not have an intellectual disability."
My mother chose not to abort me. She could have, for I was born after 1973, the year abortions became legal.
Had she known that 32 years after my birth, I would have a lot of needs, that I would have struggled with obesity, identity issues, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, going to school, fighting with my sisters, and not making my bed in the morning, should she have considered abortion? Is she a hero for not? Is she a fool for not?
It's a natural instinct for a mother to protect her child from the womb on. It's sad when doctors, society, and fear keep a mother from doing what's natural. Palin did what was natural for a mother to do when she was pregnant with her son. 'Special' needs and all. It's not heroic. It's what a mother does. My mother taught me this.
No, this is not from the Onion (the satirical 'newsite').
From LifeNews.com:
Sarah Palin's Keeping Disabled Baby May Reduce Abortions Doctor Worries
A leading Canadian doctor is drawing gasps from people across the world with a comment that he worries abortions will go down because of Sarah Palin's story. The number two doctor at the national Canadian physicians group worries Palin's decision to keep her disabled baby will reduce abortions.
Palin's story of deciding to give birth to her disabled son Trig despite knowing he would be afflicted with Down syndrome, has been an encouragement to families with special needs children.
But it's bad news to André Lalonde, executive vice-president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.
"The worry is that this will have an implication for abortion issues in Canada," he told the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper Tuesday.
According to the paper, Lalonde said that, "above all else, women must be free to choose" and that positive messages like the one from Palin "could have detrimental effects on women and their families."
Still, LaLone claimed his group doesn't encourage doctors to promote abortions to parents of Down syndrome babies -- even though statistics show about 90 percent of babies diagnosed with the condition become victims of abortion.
"We offer the woman the choice. We try to be as unbiased as possible," he said. "We're coming down to a moral decision and we all know moral decisions are personal decisions."
But Krista Flint, director of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society, also talked with the Toronto paper and said families feel doctors encourage abortions by stressing the drawbacks to a baby with special needs.
"It's very dark," she said. "They hear a lot about the medical conditions that are sometimes associated with Down syndrome."
Story continued at LifeNews.com.
The Audacity of Death from the Wall Street Journal
As an Illinois state senator, Barack Obama twice opposed legislation to define as "persons" babies who survive late-term abortions... Mr. Obama said in a speech on the Illinois Senate floor that he could not accept that babies wholly emerged from their mother's wombs are "persons," and thus deserving of equal protection under the Constitution's 14th Amendment....
...Mr. Obama has compiled a 100% lifetime "pro-choice" voting record, including votes against any and all restrictions on late-term abortions and parental involvement in teenagers' abortions
To Mr. Obama, abortion, or "reproductive justice," is "one of the most fundamental rights we possess." And he promises, "the first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act," which would overturn hundreds of federal and state laws limiting abortion, including the federal ban on partial-birth abortion and bans on public funding of abortion."
Then there's Mr. Obama's...opposition to laws that protect babies born-alive during botched abortions. If partial-birth abortion is, as Democratic icon Daniel Patrick Moynihan labeled it, "too close to infanticide," then what is killing fully-birthed babies?
On the campaign trail, Mr. Obama seldom speaks about abortion and its related issues. But his few moments of candor are illuminative. When speaking extemporaneously, Mr. Obama will admit things like "I don't want [my daughters] punished with a baby." Or he'll say that voting for legislation allowing Terri Schiavo's family to take its case from state courts to federal courts in an effort to stop her euthanasia was his "biggest mistake" in the Senate. Biggest mistake?
...He recently compared his relationship with unrepentant domestic terrorist William Ayers, a member of a group responsible for bombing government buildings, to his friendship with stalwart pro-life physician and senator Tom Coburn...
...In "The Audacity of Hope," Mr. Obama denounces abortion absolutism on both ends of the ideological spectrum. That is audacious indeed considering Obama's record, which epitomizes the very radicalism and extremism he denounces.
(Thank you, Ron.)
From the Associated Press, via Yahoo news: Alaska governor balances newborn's needs, official duties
The doctor's announcement in December, when Palin was four months pregnant, presented her with a possible life- and career-changing development.
"I've never had problems with my other pregnancies, so I was shocked," said Palin, a mother of four other children.
"It took a while to open up the book that the doctor gave me about children with Down syndrome, and a while to log on to the Web site and start reading facts about the situation."
The 44-year-old governor waited a few days before telling her husband, Todd, who was out of town, so she could understand what was ahead for them.
Once her husband got the news, he told her: "We shouldn't be asking, 'Why us?' We should be saying, 'Well, why not us?'"
There was never any doubt the Palins would have the child, and on April 18 she gave birth to Trig Paxson Van Palin.
"We've both been very vocal about being pro-life," Palin said. "We understand that every innocent life has wonderful potential."
This is a big deal these days when a large majority of of those pregnent with chldren with Down syndrome choose abortion.
