Obama, Abortion, and Mexico City
To me, abortion is a sad choice in many ways. Choosing whether or not to give a baby life when you do not think you are able to give him or her the life they deserve could never be a desirable experience. That being said, I choose to not sit on the pro-life or pro-choice side. I can honestly say that in my life abortion would not be an option. But I know that the banning of abortion would cause an uprising in home abortions and deaths or injuries of mothers who would try to get under the table abortions from unqualified people passing themselves as doctors. I definitely do not want to see that. I would like to see easier adoption options and more counseling and support for mothers who are faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Abortion should not be a substitute for birth control. However, like a local pastor who I recently saw on a Christian interview program, I do not think that not having abortions could be a solvent to our economic crisis. The thought is insane. In any case it would burden a system that needs more requirements and fights harder for justice to see its dependents turned around. Affordable childcare, better transportation systems, job placement, etc. There are ways to have a welfare system that does help care for our brothers and sisters and not enslave people to its pattern.
That being said, the one issue I have never been able to fully agree with President Obama on is his abortion stance. I simply cannot think of a world either way. My unrest leaves me unable to take a definitive stance. But, when I heard the Mexico City decision I was thoroughly confused. First of all, Mexico City’s population needs our help in more ways than one. Its overpopulation makes it a dangerous place to live not only for its crime but for its massive air pollution. Second of all, I did not understand why Obama would want to take a stand on international abortion. However, this article at Blogging Faith helped my understanding. Whether you agree with me, Obama, or choose a conservative stance I hope that you might find this article helpful as well. Our media rarely does a thorough job of relating multi-tiered news stories. Here it is.
Popularity: 1% [?]
to quote a mutual friend of ours, God holds us accountable for what we know.
so the money doesn’t go directly toward an abortion procedure. so what.
these clinics and other NGOs will counsel women on family planning. now abortion is added to the mix of acceptable alternatives when faced with a pregnancy.
question – do you really think people go to “family planning” clinics to make plans before they become pregnant? i’m doubtful. i think they go there to find out what their alternatives are when they have an unwanted pregnancy. they will hear about abortion and might be encouraged to have one.
i dont have a problem paying taxes. i believe that we must in order for this country to function. but i consider it robbery when the government assigns a portion of their tax revenue (of which a portion comes from ME) and funds people who encourage women to murder children.
what about personal responsibility? the root of this issue is that people can’t keep it in their pants and they aren’t willing to deal with the consequences. if we didn’t live in an entitlement driven society maybe it would be different. there’s always a way out and someone else will always pay for it – that’s what children are taught in our schools every day. why not have unprotected sex when you’re 14? you can go get that baby sucked out of you and someone else pays. awesome, dude.
i think Christ is in the business of saving unwanted, worthless lives like my own. i think he calls us to do the same. it’s hideous that we even characterize any children as being “unwanted” but it’s the truth – it’s a product of our sinful nature. Christ calls us to be different. to stand up for what’s right. to step outside this world.
what’s the solution? i don’t know. i’m not that smart. but i can say with certainty that characterizing a beautiful baby’s life as “unwanted” or “disposable” isn’t the answer. compassion and love is where the solution must start, and abortion is completely opposite of that idea.
sorry for the long rant..
adam
ps – know that i believe strongly that making abortion illegal won’t solve everything overnight. there’s a lot more to it, including making adoption more accessible as you mentioned.
I totally understand where you are coming from, but let me say that I do not think that we can assume these clinics will encourage everyone that walks in to have an abortion. Furthermore, in Hispanic culture family planning (birth control and knowing about sex) is vitally needed. And working with an almost 90% Hispanic culture I do not think they play off an entitlement culture.
If we want to talk about taz money going to a legal activity that should be illegal, we should not exclude the amount the U.S. has put into arms dealing and killing innocent civilians in war. These people have already breathed a breath.
I am NOT trying to tear you down, in fact I greatly respect you, but I do feel I am being responsible for what I know, because I think we have to work backwards.
From my students to my friends I think a lot more goes into this and I wish that no unborn child would have to suffer this but compassion must be shown for the women that have to deal with this as well. They are not in the mindset of murdering. They do not fit neatly into a box, nor do their stories. Hence, my inability to condemn either side.
Sorry if this makes me seem whimsical or liberal. And I do not think that anyone that says they don’t know what the answer is is trying to categorize a child’s life as “disposable” or “unwanted.” I wish it were that easy, but I promise you that is not what my good friend was thinking as she left that office.
First, you must realize that this doctrine extends to the entire world, not just Mexico. I’ve lived in Mexico City and I understand. My wife has lived in Africa and has seen many of the same issues at play there. It’s global, and Obama is going to fund this “family planning” everywhere in the world.
We’re talking about a couple of separate issues and they’re getting mashed up into one mess of a discussion. Let’s separate things.
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Should US taxpayer dollars be used to support NGOs and clinics in that encourage/support/offer abortion as a remedy to being inconveniently pregnant?
I think not. Let’s take the moral argument away for a minute and talk about Eugenics. It seems very Nazi-esque for us to meddle in whether or not children in other countries are born. Scary stuff. Back to morality, what does that say about us as a nation? It’s ok, kill your kid. We really don’t care. Heck, I can’t even take my pet out back and put it down in the name of convenience. It’s mind boggling to me that the life of a tree or an animal is worth more than that of a baby.
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Tax money for arms and war…
Different subject altogether. Believe me, even as a conservative, I’m with you, but let’s not change the subject. That’s another post
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The adults (sometimes teenagers and children) involved in this…
I have plenty of compassion for them. But there’s also this idea called personal responsibility. It’s something I believe in. I can’t make a bad financial choice and go rob someone to make up for it. I can’t hurt someone else to cover my mistakes. I doubt you’d argue that I should be able to. Why can these people do exactly that? They might not be in the “murder” mindset, rather the “convenience” mindset. They think “uhoh, my life is going to suck if i have this kid. i don’t want my life to suck so i better have an abortion”. How unbelievably self centered. How incredibly sad. How sad that you and I let that child die.
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I don’t disagree for a second that this issue doesn’t fit neatly in a box. It’s big and messy and horrible. Know that I don’t suppose to have the secular answer. In a secular world there might not be an answer. Christ is THE answer, but until every person on the planet believes and acts it out we won’t conquer the issue. Conventional means won’t cut it.
So I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know what it isn’t. Spilling the blood of innocent children is NOT the answer. Why not start thinning out the population of starving countries so that the strong can live? Because it’s wrong.
And you aren’t the only one who has friends who have been through that. I’ve seen it up close and personal as well and it’s not a pretty picture. Compassion for the moms involved doesn’t absolve of the responsibility for the life of that child. Making abortion illegal isn’t the solution, but it is a step in the right direction. The sooner people understand that there are consequences for their actions the sooner this issue becomes history. We become guiltier when we sit back and let the death continue while we “work backwards”. We should put a big dent in the practice of abortion and try to fix the root cause simultaneously.
Adam
ps – i have nothing but respect and love for you and i appreciate the discussion!
I am definitively with you on most points. However I tend to think of the world without lines. So I think that as people we do have a responsibility. No, not necessarily as the U.S., but as humans.
I think my work backwards stance is coming from the place that I don’t ever see a forced behavioral modification as the answer. I only think we need the counseling and support first because I do not think people will understand personal responsibility from being hit in the face with it. I mean, there are mothers who leave their babies to die after they are born. Not to mention I would hate to see the medical underground at work.
You are right, there are no answers. And it is very messy. And Christ IS the answer. But it is one of those situations where there is no right way out, because illegalizing abortions would not stop the abortions, nor would it teach mothers personal responsibility.
I am sure it means many outside of the box solutions, which I think we should and can do. There is not even room or time for me to list all of the ideas I have. I am sure you have the same kind of thing going on upstairs.
Thank you for your input and passion. I never ever thought I would be this girl. I have just been in too many low situations and seen too much. Perhaps that is cynical or shows a faith lapse that I should work on, but I am being honest with where I am. And even though I can say that now I would never abort, I can think of one situation in which I might have. I just don’t know. Thank God I did not have to face that.
well regardless of our disasgreement i think we’re both trying to come from the same place – loving people and wanting to see something evil end and people’s lives bettered.
i would challenge you on one thing before i bow out.
i think we need to attack all symptoms of the systematic problem in order to solve it. yes, counsel people. yes, support the mothers. yes, make adoption easier. yes, educate people. along with that i believe we need to fight the other wrongs that exist – the physical act of abortion being one. the only way to directly fight it is to make it inaccessible.
Christ calls us to walk a narrow path no matter how ugly or tough it gets. i strongly believe that fighting the issue on all fronts, including making abortion inaccessible, is a narrow path that does get ugly and tough. we’re called to stand up for those children’s lives that are thrown away.
i think the war analogy you mentioned earlier comes into play at this point in our conversation. i imagine that you are deeply saddened by the loss of innocent life in war. i am too. i don’t believe that “you have to break a few eggs to fill the basket”. i think wars can be won without us inflicting civilian casualties.
why is abortion any different? why are we NOT ok with innocent lives being lost in a war yet we’re ok with lives being lost in our fight against this issue? we fight it on one hand yet argue that it’s a necessary evil when fighting against the systemic problem of which abortion is a symptom.
anyway, we’ll both be praying for the same things. i know we’ll both be praying for the mothers and the children. we’ll be praying that there’s an end to this. how we personally feel about the method of achieving this is beside the point when we ask for God’s help.
adam
ps – im jealous about stomp. i’ve always wanted to see it!