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Do You Believe ProLife Means AntiChoice?
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Let us clearly understand that, in a certain sense, it is no more possible to invent a new ethic than to place a new sun in the sky... — C. S. Lewis |
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Pro-choice, pro-abortion, pro-life, anti-abortion. There are a lot of names given to the two opposing factions warring over the issue of abortion. There is a lot of name-calling, too. But any group which calls itself "Pro-"something implies that their adversaries are "Anti-"something. The group which today is united under the banner called ProChoice says that they are standing up for a woman’s "right of reproductive freedom," that a woman has a "right to choose" whether or not to "terminate a pregnancy." Does this imply that those against the ProChoice ideals and against abortion are really anti-choice?Let’s examine what choices a woman has today in the United States in dealing with or avoiding an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy…
Motherhood
Perhaps the most obvious choice that a pregnant woman has is motherhood. This does not imply that it is the best choice. There are undoubtedly times when being a mother may not seem to be desirable. The victim of rape or incest understandably may not covet the idea of giving birth to and raising what some may term as the "result" of an obviously abominable act. There may be other women who may not see themselves as "fit" to be mothers because of financial, emotional, or psychological reasons. On the other hand, a woman in an unplanned pregnancy may find the maternal instinct to be strong and overwhelming. She may be surprised at how good a mother she can be. One way or another, a woman in the United States in an unplanned pregnancy may choose to be a mother and raise her child.
Adoption
One choice offered to a woman in an unplanned pregnancy is the giving up of her child for adoption. As mentioned above, there are times when a child may not be wanted by its parents. But all children are wanted by someone. The great problem in our country comes in uniting that child with new parents. There is a huge waiting list filled with couples waiting to adopt the child of a stranger. But bureaucracy, financial problems, and discriminatory policies greatly slow what ought to be a swift process. The phenomenon of the "unwanted child" is a myth.
From the mother’s standpoint, giving up the child after spending nine intimate months with it can be a desperate situation and certainly, for some women, it may be like losing a child. It seems, at times like this, the woman needs a lot of love, comfort, understanding, and hope from both her family and true friends. But whether giving up the child is easy or traumatic, it is a choice.
Abstinence
Sexual imagery surrounds us like a fog in our "advanced, civilized" society. Sex is used by the media to sell everything from gum to automobiles. So it comes as no surprise to find out that many people do not know what "abstinence" means. To abstain from sexual activity completely or at least until marriage is quite literally a joke to many people. It is true that abstaining from sex because of moral or religious beliefs can keep a person from some "important" social circles. It can also prevent a person from contracting AIDS, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, and a multitude of other sexually transmitted diseases. It goes without saying that unwanted pregnancies can be prevented by this method, as well. Abstinence is another constitutionally guaranteed right of the American woman.
Birth Control
Another legal right for Americans in preventing an unwanted pregnancy is birth control. It is well known that certain religious groups do not allow birth control, but it is, nevertheless, a legal option for both men and women.
Abortion
As a result of Roe vs Wade in 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a woman has a constitutional right to take the life of her unborn child or "terminate her pregnancy." Thus abortion is a way to deal with an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy.
Depending on the age of the fetus, there are several methods available, four of which are:
1) Suction abortion (used at about 10 weeks): This method accounts for most abortions. The fetus is sucked out of the uterus by a strong suction apparatus. The dismembered body parts are then checked to make sure all was removed.
2) D&C Abortions (used between 7 and 12 weeks): The fetus is cut into pieces from the walls of the uterus by a loop-shaped steel knife and removed.
3) D&E Abortions (used between 12 and 18 weeks): This method uses a sharp toothed pliers-like instrument to grasp parts of the body of the living fetus and tear them away, without anaesthetics. This is continued until all parts of the body and the placenta are removed. Bleeding is profuse.
4) Saline abortion (used after 16 weeks): A salt solution is injected into the fluid sac of the womb and the fetus is burned and poisoned to death. The fetus suffers for about an hour until it dies. Labor sets in within 24 hours and a dead child is delivered.
No matter the method–there are more–abortion is a legal option for women in our country, in many states up to the ninth month of pregnancy.
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Are these choices to a ProLifer?
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OPTION
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CHOICE?
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Motherhood
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Yes
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Adoption
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Yes
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Birth Control
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Yes/No*
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* some of our Roman Catholic friends don't see birth control as an option
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Abstinence
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Yes
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Abortion
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No
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Clearly a ProLifer is not "anti-choice." More accurately he or she is ProChoice/AntiAbortion. One who is ProLife recognizes that all of these choices are undoubtedly difficult choices in the event of an unintentional pregnancy. Each one may involve a great deal of sacrifice of comfort for the woman—emotionally, spiritually, and financially.
But only one choice involves the taking of an innocent Life…
ProLifers contend that this life is a Human Life. They see the fetus consuming food and oxygen, giving off wastes, responding, growing, and developing. They see its cells as having specific functions which are directed by the uniquely human chromosomes in each cell. And they see all of these traits together as characteristically and universally human. To them, the embryo and fetus are tiny but crucial links in a developmental chain which lasts from conception to adulthood, and includes infancy, childhood, and adolescence.
ProAbortion people seem to avoid the issue of the fetus being human. They tend to dwell on the supposed "right" of a woman to reproductive freedom. But if the fetus is not human, why is this never brought up? Surely ProAbortion advocates can silence ProLifers once and for all if they would just prove the fetus is not human. But if it’s not human, what is it? If it’s becoming human, what is it now? Why is a baby born premature at 5 months worth saving, but an "unwanted" child aborted at 5 months allowed to die? If the fetus is only a mass of tissue and blood, why does an executive director of the National Abortion Rights Action League say, "Nobody likes abortion. It’s a difficult choice...." If the fetus is not human, why is it a difficult choice?
And if the unborn child is human, why is it legal to kill it?
Thank you for reading this. It is our intention to help save the lives of those who have no legal choice of their own. We desire to defend those who cannot defend themselves. And we also desire to save the other victims of abortion—women. We fear that those women who allow abortions in their lives are being blinded to the Truth by denying the true nature of their child and allowing its killing. What frightens us the most is that this blinding could be a stepping stone to what many of us consider the ultimate horror, the death of the Soul. Please join us in our fight to save the lives of preborn children and possibly the souls of victimized women.
There are many choices allowed a woman, but...
WHY ABORTION?
Sword & Spirit Ministries
P.O. Box 712 • Murrieta, CA 92564
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