Right to Life trumps all other rights
On Sunday August 24, 2008, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) declared herself an expert on the teachings of the Catholic Church in relation to abortion. She said the church wasn’t sure about when life begins and that it was irrelevant anyway, because a woman’s right to choose (to kill her child) trumps the child’s right to life.
A regular reader and commenter on this blog, Rob in Gallup, presented some excellent counter-points to Pelosi’s statements:
“A right to choose cannot supersede a right to live. Why is it that Democrats understand this when it comes to passing stricter drunk-driving laws, but not abortion? That is, if you were to ask them which is more important, your right not to be killed by a drunk driver or someone else’s right to choose to drink and drive, what would they say? Why doesn’t that same logic hold true with abortion?”
Pelosi also asserted that abortions would be reduced if Republicans would support birth control. Again, Rob answered this:
“…the contraception argument is a tired old scapegoat. The reason for abortions is that we’ve fostered a culture in which it is both accepted and expected to have sex with whomever one pleases, whenever and under whichever circumstances one pleases. Free, open sex results in unplanned pregnancies, and abortions are the murderous, self-serving antidote that we’ve legalized.”
My field is Public Health, and this profession is on the forefront of tearing down the moral fiber of our society. The mantra goes as follows: “teens have sex, there is no point in teaching them that not having sex until they are married is an acceptable option”. They love to point to the live birth rate in teens 15-19 in 1957 as being 98 live births per 1000 population as compared to 49 live births per 1000 population (age 15-19) in the year 2000. What they fail to tell you is that the vast majority (more than 85%) of the births to teens in the 1950′s were to married teens (18 and 19 years old … people married earlier), while in 2000, births to unmarried teens rose to 79%. They also fail to point out that there are fewer live births to teens in the year 2000 data because of abortion.
In a study conducted in the year 2000 about the changes in teen sexual behavior from 1950 to 2000, I want to highlight two survey questions and the responses:
- If I had sex as a teenager, it would have been okay with my parents. 1950 – 6%; 2000 – 33%.
- Based on your beliefs while in high school, when was it acceptable to have sex?
- Within first month of dating: 8% (1950); 15% (2000)
- After the relationship became serious: 19% (1950); 76% (2000)
- Only after becoming married: 73% (1950); 9% (2000)
As Rob stated earlier, our society is increasingly becoming amoral. There is no stigma or shame associated with any behavior anymore. Consequences are now inconsequential. If a moment of passion causes concerns of an unwanted pregnancy, just take a pill and go on with your life. No big deal. No mention of murder. The ability for people to practice self-control is declining rapidly, as the greatest message that people receive is that if something feels good, it’s ok – even expected – to go ahead and do it.
The Guttmacher Institute (the liberal research arm of Planned Parenthood) reports that:
- Fifty percent of U.S. women obtaining abortions are younger than 25: Women aged 20–24 obtain 33% of all abortions, and teenagers obtain 17%.
- Women who have never married obtain 66% of all abortions
- .001% of abortions are due to rape or incest
As parents, we must present different expectations to our children. They must learn that it is God’s plan and God’s blessing for them to remain sexually pure until they are married. Being abstinent is not abnormal or impossible to do. What a special gift to walk into marriage with just one man and one woman … with no people from previous indiscretions crowding the marriage bed. If we expect teens to have sex, they will. If we offer them other expectations – higher expectations – they can and will achieve those higher goals. Even for parents who do not believe in God, they can still teach their children that being abstinent until marriage is the healthy decision … physically, and emotionally.
My thanks again to Rob for his contributions to this post.
OneMom
well onemom, thanks for your input and willingness to express your opinion, but unfortunately it is just that, your opinion and as such will not become any kind of rule for society to live with, understanding that you have a lot of support. I would be interested in a survey of couples who practised abstinence until married and the subsequent rate of success in long tern marriage; business endeavors; longevity at one work place; being a husband / wife; being an attentive parent; helping with household chores, and the myriad of factors involved with anything successful….everyone likes choices one mom, that includes you, and if a choice is made to terminate an unwanted pregnancy that could be detrimental to the child, especially, then that choice is a wise one. Share with us any scriptures that advocate keeping a pregancy that would involve making it difficult for a child to succeed because of medical deformities. Even the “holier-than-thou” pols, who are elected by the choice system, forget how they are elected and to whom they owe their job…
thanks for your time / happy Sept.1
larry g – las vegas, nv
A CULTURE OF SEXUAL ANARCHY
or
A CULTURE OF SEXUAL DISCIPLINE
I agree with the heading of your post, “Right to Life trumps all other rights.” My comments on the abortion–right to life issue have appeared previously on your blog, other blogs and over the years in letters to the editor of various newspapers and periodicals.
But your introduction of some recent comments by Rob of Gallup from a previous post on your blog that introduce a closely related subject on sexual ethics and practice is very important.
The increasing disregard for sexual abstinence or chastity in our society in recent decades has long troubled my own mind and burdened my own soul. I think an argument could be made that sexual license has become the great “god” and “goddess” of our national culture. The elevation of special rights given to abortion and homosexuality and pornography are particular indicators of the sexual perversion of our culture and nation. Beyond that, the excesses and loss of standards and shame in much of general society is further indication of an important signpost of a society, culture, nation
in decline.
Because of our natural proclivity toward passion, none of us dare to be falsely proud or self-righteous of a life of sexual abstinence, celibacy or chastity; but those who pursue a life of sexual purity should certainly desire that their ideas and example should become a standard for society to emulate, not something to be disdained and disregarded as “old fashioned” and “out of style.”
Well Larry, I doubt you’re really interested in any scriptures. and I don’t have time this afternoon to conduct a survey as you suggest. Also, I don’t think any condition that a child might be born with can be as detrimental as being murdered in their mother’s womb.
Well said, OneMom.
Excellent, as usual.
On this subject matter, as someone who has discovered the consequences of sex outside of marriage as well as an abortion, you might want to read my recent article, “I’m One Woman Who Fell for the Lie,” which shares what I went through when I chose to have an abortion. Here is the url.
http://anunlikelyperspective2.squarespace.com/my-political-perspective/2008/8/28/im-one-woman-who-fell-for-the-lie.html
Lastly, I agree with OneMom. Doing the right thing is always right.
And the life of the child should always be paramount.
Uh oh. You need to get on the bandwagon now. Palin’s 17 year old daughter is pregnant, and the McCain campaign released a press release today saying that this is a problem faced by ordinary American families everywhere. If Palin, with her strong Christian family values, can’t convince her daughter that abstinence is the way, and if, as the Republican party is now announcing, neither can most “ordinary Americans,” shouldn’t we teach about birth control? Time for a new message. Or is it only ok when it’s the child of a pro-life candidate for a major political office?
This goes nicely with what I wrote today. Reading those statistics makes me really sad.