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Pro-Choice Rosie vs. Pro-Biblers (and the rest of them)
I know, I know, you are saying to me, “But Rosie, you can most certainly be anti-abortion without being a Bible thumping fanatic”. This is very true. But, alas, in this day and age, and in this country, the entire “Pro-Life” movement is lead by these particular fanatics. They all the while claim a woman who chooses to abort a pregnancy is somehow a murderer, but a person who murders an already existing, viable human being (such as a secretary or a doctor who works at a clinic) is just “Pro-Life”. There are plenty of women who are either on the fence as far as abortion goes or are against it, but are also horrified by the actions these fanatics take. There is no rhyme or reason behind the narrow-minded viewpoints of these people, just the distilled words of the Bible to guide them on their mission to take rights and choices away from free American women.
True Story:
I was driving down a very busy road in a very populated area with my 6 year old daughter in the backseat. I was about to pull into a White Castle for a tasty orange soda when I saw several people picketing. Now, we all know how White Castles hits you sometimes but to picket about it seemed rather extreme. So I slowed down to check them out. Unbeknownst to me there was a women’s health clinic next door. That is what these loving, Christian “Pro-Life” people were picketing. The only thing is that the picket signs were six foot tall, graphic pictures of obviously photo-shopped mutilated FULL TERM babies. These were NOT 2 week, 8 week or even 14 week old fetuses. They were chopped up babies.
I’m pretty laid back, ask anyone, so I told my child to please cover her eyes until otherwise notified and asked one of these good Christians…”Pray tell, dear sir, but does this clinic abort 9 month old babies? No? Oh, do they abort 7 month old babies? Oh, no? Well, what about 6 month olds? Ahh, I see. Then can you explain to me why, if they are staying within the governmental rules concerning abortion, are you subjecting me and the children around here to this spectacle? Murderers you say?” Get where I am going? Well, this jackass didn’t, which is why I eventually tried to run him over. Say what you want, I may be nuts but at least I took three signs out of commission.
All these words are leading up to this. - The term “Pro-Life” is not an apt description. The term “Anti-Abortion” or “Pro-Bible” is much better. Besides, I am totally Pro-Life. I LOVE life. I think you should live every day like it’s your last. Someday it will be.
Likewise, “Pro-Choice” is a dumbass term. Who doesn’t like choices? This country would never have been created if it were not for choices. So let’s stick to the facts. I am Pro-Education and Pro-Abortion. On the flip side we have the rabid bunch of fanatic Pro-Biblers (or for the more mundane - The Anti-Abortionists). Those are the two sides of the fence. Let’s just ignore the straddlers. If they can’t make up their damn minds, they don’t count anyway. This issue is too important to tread water on.
Now let’s move on.
I am going to break this down into three separate categories/aspects that all feature narrow-mindedness and ignorance and which have me ever so slightly disconcerted about the way some people approach this subject.
We have the Medical, the Religious and then the Governmental aspects.
Christian Pro-Lifers use all of these arguments, often merging religious belief and doctrine into government issues and backing it all up with a twisted portrayal of the medical aspects of abortion.
Medical Aspect
From a strictly medical point of view those who are opposed to abortion feel it is taking a life. Ok, fair enough. For the sake of argument I will base my response to this on a study done in 2003 by Finer and Henshaw which states that according to the CDC between 1997 and 2000 the abortion rate fell from approximately 1.36 to 1.31 million abortions performed per year. The study also states that 58 - 59% of all abortions occur within the first 8 weeks of pregnancy. Roughly, 88% are done within the first 12 weeks and only 1.5% occur after 20 weeks.
For this article I’m going to stick with the first 12 weeks… majority wins. In future articles I will discuss the other groups... such as why a great many number of abortions performed after the first trimester are performed for either health reasons or because the young women think if they ignore it, it will go away. But for now we stick with the 88% of women who choose to have abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
At 12 weeks, the fetus is formed. The organs are developing, the bones are hardening, and the fetus is approximately two inches long. They also start swallowing and kicking during this time. It is, after all, in a race to make it to the big picture. Becoming a baby. I will not argue with you about brain waves because although they know that brain waves start around this time, even our fearless doctors and scientists are not prepared to claim that this fetus is thinking big thoughts. Or even small thoughts. As of now, this is a small bunch of cells that have gotten together and are beginning to form into a human being. It is NOT, and should not be, afforded the rights of a human until the child is viable enough to live outside of a mother’s womb. Period. If, as a doctor, you do not feel comfortable performing abortions, by all means, do not. But with the medical knowledge we have to date, I am not willing to give a 12 week old clump of cells the same rights afforded to you and me. I have read the medical reports. I follow this… If you wish to learn more I suggest looking it up and to be educated by someone who has a medical degree. This is my opinion. I have already done the research. Bones, organs, and brain waves all slowly starting to get their act together and I am still prepared to say, without a doubt, that a 12 week old fetus is not developed enough to be anything other than a clump of cells being hosted by a woman. A clump with potentials, but a clump nonetheless.
Religious Aspect
The Catholic Church has decided to take up this cause with a vengeance. You see the bumper stickers, you see the protesters, and you see the Pope crying for the unborn children. They are not unborn children. They are terminated fetuses. What eventually could happen is not an issue that should take precedence over a woman’s rights, desires and needs. I may have eventually been a porn star, but you don’t see me suing Hugh Hefner for not publishing me. Anyhoo, back to the Catholic Church... which has NOW decided to make this stand. BUT they didn’t always. We do know that, back in the day, pagans had a very lax view on abortion and even primitive forms of birth control. Enter the good ole Catholic Church. Always on your side, ladies. Here are some things you may not be taught at catechism :
St. Augustine in the 5th century declared, along with the majority of popular opinion, that abortion was only punishable due to the fact that it was proof of sexual sin. Otherwise, if the woman was married and the husband was good to go with her decision… it was ok with the Church.
St. Thomas of Aquinas (circa 1200 something) agreed with St. Augustine and said that abortion performed early could not be akin to murder due to the fact that the fetus was not ensouled, which does NOT happen until much farther along in the pregnancy. And throughout the history of the Church his opinion was upheld and agreed upon. St. Thomas based his decision on the principal of delayed hominization which states that after several months the body is gifted with first a vegetative soul, then an animal soul, and finally, when fully formed, a rational soul. The rational soul stays with us. This has been maintained by the Church throughout its rather significant history.
Now to backtrack us a little, remember that back in the day the Church’s main objective was to divide and conquer, going into matriarchal societies and sometimes forcibly converting them not only into patriarchal societies, but into Christian patriarchal ones. They sucked them into it by saying that we are basically “just like you”. Look, our holy days are the same as yours and so forth. After they had conquered them the Catholic Church did a 180 degree turn and began teaching through fear. Women became sinners by default, from birth to death. Don’t forget that these are the same fun loving guys who would not allow a woman who died during childbirth to be buried in consecrated ground. Now, they decided that women are sinners and, to further this along, they decreed that SEX was bad. Period. If it was sex for reproduction it was still considered BAD. If it was sex for pleasure it was considered an atrocity. One for which you had to confess and pay your penance, which not only included the prayers, novenas and rosary, all the while kneeling on rocks, but also a monetary fine to the Church to go along with the tithing you were doing anyway. Remember, chastity is a virtue and all that. But they knew it was not feasible and that is ok… they still win in the long run. You feel bad, the priest got to hear a good story and come up with some sort of degradation for you and it brought in some money for the Church.
Now, we know, due to a doctrine in the Irish Cannons, that the punishment for an abortion (remember; not because it’s murder, but because it’s proof of sexual sin) was to do penance for one and a half years. The terms of penance was up to your “confessor” and could include anything from prayers to beatings to whatever punishments a man could think of in order to inspire fear and submission into women. BUT the penance for having intercourse with said woman was seven years living on bread and water and that was mandated by the Church. I guess the Church did not want to leave the confessors’ imaginations open to the poor guys.
During the 8th century it was decided that a woman who aborts the fetus is punished for up to one year. But if the killing takes place AFTER birth it is murder.
Then they flip flop back and forth. Obviously this is not a complete writing of the Church’s beliefs throughout the centuries. I’m trying to get you to look at things and read before you decide for yourself, not based on someone else’s opinions. Especially not the Church’s and their rather shady motives.
In 1869 Pope Pius XIV declared abortion to be murder for both those who perform and receive it. By all accounts Pius was a hard ass and hated Jews. Not a real swell guy.
Coincidentally, you know what else was going on in 1869? A lovely woman by the name of Jenny d”Hericourt declared at a convention that a league be formed for the purpose of supporting and furthering women’s rights in Europe and America. Coincidence? Really, ya think????
So to summarize… the Church took many centuries to come to the opinion it holds today. And so you say you are NOT a Catholic? No, if you’re a Christian, then Catholicism is the basis of your religion. Like it or not, whatever you may think. Catholicism is the founding thought of all later born again off shoots and if I have not knocked a little suspicion into your mind by showing that it’s all politics to keep the woman down, I give up.
Governmental Aspect
Now, I’ve stated that I do not support turning over the rights of women to have abortions based on medical reasons. Also, I have planted in your mind that the religious reasons against abortion are shaky at best. But here is the kicker…
If we elect people into power who are Christian and who do buy into the entire “It’s wrong because God says so” viewpoint, then IT’S STILL NOT MY PROBLEM. Because I live in a country free of religious persecution. The US, as a government, cannot punish me for my beliefs, nor are they allowed to force me to abide by a religious belief that I do not hold to be true.
If you now take medical and religious reasons off the table, how does my government have the right to tell me what I can and cannot do with a bunch of cells developing in my body? THEY DON’T.
But make no bones about it - Roe vs. Wade is going to be overturned sooner or later. The Christians have gotten their act, their money, and their power together and they are going to elect and support the man with the shiny teeth who does not want to lose their backing. The man who will dance to their pipe.
Statistics show that the number of practicing Christians is falling, yet the formation of stronger Christian groups and the power they hold is increasing. Because, after all, organized religion is more about politics than about faith, and nobody displays that better than the New Christian Far Right.
South Dakota has passed a ruling that outlaws abortions in all cases, including RAPE and INCEST. That is a harsher abortion policy than countries like Afghanistan implement into their woman oppressing society. As of RIGHT now Mississippi is also in line to outlaw it, along with eight other states. Is one of those states yours? Do you even know if your rights to your own body are on the line right now? Do you fucking care?
There are five states right now with bills on the table that would outlaw any governmental funding to any clinics offering women’s healthcare services. Do you get the absolute meaning of this? It means that the poor and lower middle class women will NOT have access to abortion or birth control in these states if these bills pass.
If, by some unfortunate twist of fate, that is one of your states and you lose your job, your health benefits and then get pregnant by rape you will be FORCED by decree of YOUR state government to carry that fetus to term and give birth to that baby, even if it’s a direct threat to your health, or God forbid, your life. Never mind your wishes. Even if you are cool with that, I am not. Maybe having your legislators not trust you to do what’s right for your body doesn’t bother you... it bothers me greatly.
I know that some women of my generation have a bad taste in their mouths about feminism – it became somehow equal to being a hippie dyke - BUT our grandmothers and mothers worked hard to get YOU to a point where you could do what you want, when you want, and how you want without a man or your government telling you whether it’s OK or not. If you say bah to such women’s issues, our rights, you are on the verge of setting us back 100 years or more. You are playing into the power play of people who don’t give one care about your rights as an independent woman.
The day that the rights of a bunch of cells takes precedence over my rights as a tax paying American is the day I will move out of this country and never look back. In the meantime, how about you support in some way the women who are supporting your rights to privacy and your rights to your own body even if you are too fucking stupid to do it yourself.
TTR
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