handing out opinions like candy

So, last week?

I wrote a couple posts about my political and religious viewpoints.

In response to a few of the comments that I received on those posts ... I have decided to issue what I consider to be my final thoughts on the matter. These very well may be my final thoughts on anything political or religious of nature. At least until something new comes along that fires me up to the point that I can't think about anything else.

Mary wrote, "I cannot for one second comprehend the people who say that life begins at conception and yet consider themselves "pro-choice." That is the saddest thing that I have ever heard. I am an ardent Catholic myself, but regardless of my faith, I realize how much of a direct contradiction that this thought process is. I think that people need to believe more in themselves and in humanity and to put their own selfishness aside. How is having a child the most horrible thing that can happen to some women? Obviously I recognize that not all women want to be mothers at all and that there are more or less better times to become a parent, but bringing new life into the world can never be a bad thing. NEVER! I can relate to you with the struggles with infertility. Five years for me and still no baby. There are so many people out there who would love and take care of that baby. But, I would think that you especially (and myself included) would want to change our world to a culture of life that believes in women and the need to allow even the most "unexpected" babies to be born. We should help and empower women and help everyone see the beauty and absolute importance of the children in their wombs. I pray that you will change your mind. I do not mean to offend you, but some of your comments truly do directly contradic the teachings of Christ. Preserve the family and work to keep one of the most established and fundamental structures of our world: that of the family and the marriage between a man and a woman. You will be in my prayers."

An anonymous commenter wrote, "... Maybe I was reading hastily, but it looks like you are against abortion but want it to remain legal. I just don't understand why you would take your friend to an abortion clinic rather than allow her to her own devices - however wrong either one may be. I[n] M[y] H[onest] O[pinion], it's the equivalent of knowing your friend wants to murder her two-year-old and the only weapon she has is a shot gun that kicks back, so even though you disagree with her decision, you hand her a more accurate pistol. Same job is done, only she doesn't have to deal with as much pain or danger to her own body. You still would have helped to kill a child."

I want to respond to both of these comments because they really struck a nerve with me regarding my "perceived" position on abortion, and I want to make my opinions perfectly clear.

Many people would strongly disagree, but I don't think abortion is strictly black and white. Although I don't have a bumper sticker on my car, if I did, it would read, "CHOOSE LIFE." It is my belief that life begins at conception. It is my belief, that destruction of that life, via abortion - or stem cell research - is wrong.

The arguments that I have heard for stem cell research declare, "It's for the greater good!" and "It's just a clump of cells in a petri dish".

The stem cell research that I am opposed to surrounds using viable human embryos. Viable, in that if they were to be placed in to a hospitable environment, they would/could grow in to a human being. Yet, to use an embryo for stem cell research, that embryo and potential human life would be destroyed. Although some might argue that so many lives could be saved or improved from the research conducted using embryos ... who is to say, except God, what unique human life exists within the human embryo that would otherwise be sacrificed in the course of research?

Think about it. I have a father that is battling Parkinson's disease and a sister that is battling breast cancer. There are potential cures for both of these diseases (which my children and I may be genetically predisposed to develop at some point in our lives) and a host of other diseases through stem cell research. Yet in my opinion, it is morally and ethically wrong to destroy the embryo that contains the blueprint for human life.

An embryo is not merely a clump of cells.

To indicate such, suggests that there is no sanctity or holiness in the cells that exist. A clump of cells is something that you dig out from beneath your fingernails. If those cells, or cells that sloughed off from someone's skin were placed in to a woman's uterus, they would NOT result in life. Within six weeks time, they would NOT split and divide and multiply into a being that has a beating heart and a rudimentary brain. Within 24 months, they would NOT be capable of scooping out the pumpkin seeds from their own jack-o-lantern.


And within 56 months they would NOT be capable of bobbing for apples.


Or changing their minds regarding what they want to be for Halloween five times in five minutes. "I'm a butterfwy!" "I'm a faiwy ballewina!" "I'm a pwincess!"

"I'm a witch!!"


"I'm a superhewo!"


Abortion is defined as: 1. The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. 2. The expulsion of a fetus from the uterus by {natural} causes before it is able to survive independently.

I am opposed to terminating life, whether in utero or not.

I have recently reduced (and almost completely eliminated) my consumption of meat for this very reason. Although Charlie reading "Fast Food Nation" and "The Omnivore's Dilemma" has also facilitated our family moving in to the realm of vegetarianism. (Not to mention, I am so offended by the Carl's Juniors commercials that degrade both women and animals, I have been on a boycott for 10 years and counting.)

If the anonymous commenter and Mary have spent any time reading my blog, they would know that it was only by the Grace of God that I carried our triplets as long as I did. My body ceased operating the way it was supposed to.

I was toxic.

My doctors made it very clear that if I attempted further incubation I would, not could, die.

So, what if I had developed HELLP Syndrome a month earlier?

What if the only choice that I had was to terminate my pregnancy, or my life would be terminated? It is still considered by definition abortion - because my children would have been delivered before they were able to survive outside of my body. And even if I had begged, "Let me die, just keep my heart pumping to give my babies a shot at life!" I suspect that my fetuses would have perished because the host was shutting down.

What then? Is it right to terminate the pregnancy to save the mother? If there was a law against abortion, a woman would have NO choice if she was faced with her own mortality in the process of creating new life. Even if it meant that both she and her fetus(es) would die.

Even if a pregnant mother is not physically at risk as I was, in the case of my aunt she was mentally at risk. And, she was prepared to exercise any means necessary to terminate her pregnancy, even if that meant compromising her own life. I find it hard to believe that someone would stand by and say, "Well then go to it, because I am going to do NOTHING to help you in your desperate state."

Really? Do you think you could do that?

Because I don't think I could.

Now, I can see the point that anonymous was trying to make with the shotgun and pistol analogy. But in my opinion, it isn't quite the same thing because with a two-year old, someone could physically intervene. They could throw themself between the child and the gun wielding mother. The child isn't entirely dependent upon the mother's body to survive. They could be scooped up and taken off to a park to blow of steam while their mother decompresses.

I think that there needs to be more regulation on abortion, such as the regulation that comes in the form of Proposition 4, on which I plan to vote "Yes." This has to do with parental notification before a girl under the age of 18 can have an abortion performed. Or rather, those women who are most at risk (i.e. my teenage aunt) for taking their lives in to their own hands when they discover that they have an unwanted pregnancy.

The repercussions of this Proposition, if it passes, truly worries me because I fear for those young women who will harm themselves out of desperation that their parents will find out. I don't believe that this Proposition will (significantly, if at all) stem the number of unwanted pregnancies or in any way prevent teenage sex. But if it was one of my daughters who found themself in a difficult situation? I would absolutely want to know.

And because this post wouldn't be complete without my concluding opinions on homosexual rights ... it's important to note that I have thought about and discussed Proposition 8 ad nauseam, both on my blog and with every neighbor within the past week that has come knocking on our door questioning the sign we have on display in our front yard. I have told everyone, particularly our Christian neighbors, that my position on this Proposition, in Biblical terms, is very simple. It is the ethics of reciprocity, better known as the Golden Rule.

"Do onto others as you would wish them to do onto you."

We are walking this earth together and people should support and love one another. If someone were to vote "No" on Prop 8, it does not mean that they condone a particular lifestyle. It simply means that they believe every person should have equal rights under our man-made laws. They certainly should not be denied civil rights based upon their religious viewpoints, race, gender, age OR sexual orientation. From what I have researched, the rights under a domestic partnership are NOT the same as those rights afforded under the union of marriage.

And moreover, what business is it of anyone what someone else's "sins" are, particularly when they do not cause ill harm to another person? Some might argue that it is an even greater sin to knowingly support (or fund via taxes) sending soldiers in to a war torn region of the world where they are faced with the dilemma of killing, or being killed.

For my sins, their sins, your sins, our sins ... let God be the judge. It's His job and I hear He's pretty good.

Now. Moving on to a different variety of sole saving matters ... my next post will be all about closets and shoe management. It is HIGH time I got back to discussing the intricacies of organization.

EDITED TO ADD: The responses to all the posts I've written on these very touchy and personnel subjects have been great. I don't feel like I - nor any of the people who have graciously shared their opinions - have been attacked for what we believe is right.

On Halloween night, Charlie and I sat down with two of our fundamental Christian neighbors and together, we worked through every Proposition in our voter ballot guide and any of the political candidates that could directly impact the future of our country. We discussed our opinions, they discussed theirs. We didn't agree on everything, but it was a great experience for all of us to hear the "other" side on certain subjects. In some cases, we adjusted our opinion(s) based upon things we'd never even considered.

So, if you leave a comment on this post, please be respectful. Otherwise, negative (attacking) criticism will disappear from the comment section faster than a Snicker's bar from my children's Halloween basket. Peace out.