Category Abortion

“Family Guy” and Abortion

Ed

If you don’t already read Jill Stanek’s blog, make sure you click here to read an interesting post regarding an episode of the animated series Family Guy about abortion that FOX-TV as decided not to air.

She has some interesting quotes by pro-abortion folks including the following. From jezebel.com:

Surely the episode will fit right into the other hilarious takes on women that Family Guy is so fond of, like, say, rape jokes, or shooting prostitutes as a form of “community service,” or punching them in the face as they cry, “I don’t understand! What did I do wrong?” You know, really hilarious stuff.

And from RHrealitycheck.org [regarding the episode not being aired]:

I’d hope the episode would be an opening salvo for more comics, artists and others to talk about this reality in women’s lives that, like all realities, has to contain fodder for humor.

Jill’s concludes by saying:

The interesting phenomenon is that the longer legalized abortion is with us, the more unfunny and tabooed it becomes. This indicates an increasing unease by everyone – even liberal Hollywood – with abortion. Ultrasounds show abortion kills children. Post-abortion mothers say abortion leaves deep scars. And how many silent post-abortive fathers – including writers, producers, and directors – know that to be true as well.

Maybe it’s just me, but…shouldn’t we wonder what has happened to our world when people who are pro-abortion, and purportedly advocates for all women, rather than decrying the callousness of shows that find humor in rape and shooting prostitutes,  actually want another assault against women (in this case abortion) to be the subject of crude and obscene jokes?

Not the Kind of Health Care Reform that We Need

Ed

The current legislation being considered by Congress is of grave concern for pro-life folks.  In a nutshell, there are provisions in the legislation that would require federal funds (your tax dollars) to be used fund abortions. It can also be used to force medical professionals to perform abortions even if they morally object to abortion, thus circumventing the conscience clauses currently in effect to protect them.

Another end result of this legislation is the requirement for equal access to abortions for everyone. That could mean, for example, that even if a community doesn’t want an abortion clinic in its neighborhood, they may be forced to accept one because per this legislation everyone is entitled to have access to an abortion if they so choose; and that right to access could trump the rights, and override the objections of, the people living in the neighborhood.

Let’s not forget about the other life issues impacted by the type of health care reform currently being proposed. A rating system is being considered to determine who should be eligible for certain medical treatments. This would create a so-called “quality of life” index – – if you don’t rate high enough, you won’t get the treatment you need.  This is already happening in other countries with nationalized health care systems – it’s called “rationing.” Is this what you want for your future?

Here are some links to help illumine the facts. When you’re done reading these sites, go to the National Right to Life link at the end to send a message to your congressional representatives urging them to oppose the health care reform legislation. You can also participate in a webcast on Thursday evening, July 23 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time with several pro-life leaders (Father Frank Pavone, Dr. James Dobson, Congressman Chris Smith, Congressman Joe Pitts, and many others) by clicking here to register.

Information Links:

Click here for a collection of National Right to Life press releases and articles.

Click here for the Heritage Foundation’s analysis of the health care reform legislation.

Click here for the Family Research Council’s analysis about what is included in the legislation.

Click here for an op-ed piece from the Wall Street Journal about President Obama’s plans for health care reform. This article is from December 20, 2008 and was a harbinger of what is being discussed now and what will be coming down the road soon.

And since we should look at the other side once in a while, click here for an article by Peter Singer calling for rationed health care which appeared on-line on July 15, 2009 and was published in the July 19, 2009 issue of the New York Time Magazine. By the way, Peter Singer is a professor at Princeton University who supports and promotes abortion-on-demand, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

Action Links:

Click here for the National Right to Life page to send message to your congressional representatives (scroll to the bottom).

Click here to register for a webcast by pro-life leaders discussing aspects of the current health care reform legislation we should be concerned with.

The Hand of Hope — Ten Years Later

Ed 3 Comments
The Hand of Hope

The Hand of Hope (c) Michael Clancy

I recently met Michael Clancy at the National Right to Life Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I could not believe that it’s been 10 years since the famous photo (at right) taken by Michael was first published.

Michael was a freelance photojournalist who was documenting an in utero operation on a baby with spina bifida.  Suddenly, the baby (later named Samuel) reached out of the womb to grab the surgeon’s finger.  Samuel was only 21 weeks old at that time.

Fox News recently published an article about Samuel and what he’s doing now, including winning first place in swimming competitions.

In the article, Michael says that he was pro-choice before the assignment that led to the photograph.  But because of what he witnessed during this surgery, he became pro-life.  Now he is a full-time motivational speaker for pro-life groups.  Click here to go to his website to read the story and see his speaking schedule.

Maybe it’s just me, but…I think we should never forget that the baby in the womb is exactly that–a baby!  Regardless of how the pro-choice folks try to denigrate the life in the womb by calling him a “glob of cells,” “mass of tissue,” or the “product of conception,” we must always return to the one undeniable fact that the life in the womb is a human life that is worthy of our love and protection. With compassion and hope, let’s show mothers (and fathers) struggling with life and death choices understand that there are alternatives to abortion when told that the baby they are carrying is “less than perfect.”

The Murder of George Tiller

Ed

There was sad news over the weekend and it bodes ill for committed pro-life folks who want to honor and protect human life.  George Tiller was murdered yesterday morning. For those who don’t know, George Tiller was an abortionist who had no qualms performing abortions at any time during a pregnancy, including late-term abortions.

However, the pro-life community grieves that a vigilante would take matters into his own hands and fatally assault Tiller. Murder is never a right response to a situation, regardless of the victim and the motive. A good commentary is found on the WORLD Magazine website. Unfettered violence against those who perform violence is never the answer. Instead, prayers for those who would harm one of God’s children and peaceful discussion and education would go much further to end the scourge on our land known as legalized abortion-on-demand.

My prayer for Tiller is: “May God have mercy on his soul.”

On another note, even though the police have stated that they believe the murderer acted on his own volition, there are those in the pro-abortion camp who will not hesitate to brand all pro-life individuals as radicals who go around shooting people who don’t agree with them. Unfortunately, this is in concert with how the Department of Homeland Security has previously depicted the pro-life community. Rather than coming together to condemn the actions of a misguided individual, some want to use this sad event to vilify opponents of abortion-on-demand.

Both sides need to see that violence only begets violence. Unfortunately, as long as the violence of legalized abortion-on-demand exists in this nation, we will also live with the possibility that individuals will wrongly resort to violence in an errorneous attempt to stop violence.

Addendum: LCMS Life Ministries issued a statement on the murder, click here to read it.

The China Model

Ed 2 Comments

It would seem that other countries are following the China model for abortions: don’t like the gender of the baby, go ahead and end its life.  Click here to read this short article about Sweden and how its National Board of Health and Welfare recently decided that abortions based on the gender of the baby are NOT illegal.  In fact, the board noted that any request for an abortion up to the 18th week of pregnancy cannot be refused, no matter what the reason for the abortion.  This article reminds us of the importance of the conscience protection regulations currently in place in protecting American medical practitioners from being forced to do anything contrary to their beliefs and values. See Freedom 2 Care’s website to write President Obama and Congress to keep in place regulations that protect our medical professionals.

For me, the disturbing undercurrent of all the talk is this: what kind of world do we live in when “the right to choose” [insert: gender-based abortions, infanticide, or eugenics] is so revered that it is not only allowed, but encouraged by governments? Isn’t it bad enough that China has coerced abortions and many are performed due to the gender of the baby, but now other nations want to follow that model as well? In fact, nations around the world that outlaw abortions are being targeted by pro-abortion organizations to relax their laws – recent examples include the Dominican Republic and East Timor.

When will the people of this nation and of other nations stand up and speak for the most vulnerable of our societies? When will we clearly state that the “right to choose an abortion” really means the “right to kill another human being”? And when will we finally understand what Martin Luther wrote in the Large Catechism about the 5th Commandment–You shall not commit murder:

…under this commandment not only he is guilty who does evil to his neighbor, but he also who can do him good, prevent, resist evil, defend and save him, so that no bodily harm or hurt happen to him, and yet does not do it. …[I]f you see any one innocently sentenced to death or in like distress, and do not save him, although you know ways and means to do so, you have killed him. (LC, Part I, 189-190)

It is not enough to just say “I’m personally opposed to abortion, but it should be legal for those who want the “right to choose”.  We need to speak for those who are innocently sentenced to death (1.2 million every year in America, 41.6 million every year worldwide) and protect all human life, no matter the size, degree of development, or location of that human life.