Dialoguing with a Rape Victim

When talking about the pro-life position it is possible that someone may approach you and tell you that they had an abortion because they became pregnant as a result of being raped.  It can be very difficult for the pro-lifer to figure out what to say after hearing something like that: after all, you don’t want to deny the humanity of the unborn, but you also don’t want to come across as cold and heartless to this woman’s tragic circumstances.  So how do you go about talking to somebody who has been raped and has had an abortion because of it while holding to the pro-life position? 

Here are a couple of ideas:

1. “Be a human being.”  That is what Life Report said in one of their videos on a similar topic.  What does this mean?  It means to actually be concerned about the woman for the rape that they went through.  When she tells you that she was raped, the first thing out of your mouth should be something along the lines of, “Oh my goodness!  I am so sorry for what you had to go through.  Are you okay?”  You should be legitimately concerned for what the woman had to endure.
2. Continue the discussion with kindness and love.  You should be doing this anyway, but you should especially make sure to do so in situations like these.  Make sure that they understand that you consider them to be a victim of a heinous crime.
3. After making sure that she knows how much you care about her situation, the conversation will usually divert back to the abortion issue at-hand.  So address to her, with continued sincerity and kindness, that while you, the pro-lifer, believe that she is a victim you also believe that the unborn child is a victim.  You will want to ask her if a woman who was raped, became pregnant, and kept the child would be wrong in killing the child when he reaches two years old and begins to look like his father (the rapist).  If she says yes then link that back to the unborn child and ask what the moral difference is, then, between the two.
4. If you are with a group of people in a pro-life movement and you know someone in the movement who was raped, then you might want to consider getting that person to talk to the woman, for they will be able to have more common ground.

And here is what not to do:

1. Don’t focus only on the unborn child.  The woman is a victim here, as well.  Thus, if you only focus on the unborn you will make her think that it is only the unborn child that you care about.  You will never reach her this way.
2. Don’t become angry at the woman, even if she lashes out at you.  It is not uncommon for pro-choicers in general but especially women who are the victims of rape and have aborted the child they conceived as a result of it to become very angry with you.  Do not take it personally.  They are the victim of a heinous crime.  Thus, their anger is understandable.

Always keep in mind the right to life that the unborn has, but don’t forget the mother, either.

Abortion Warning Labels

A couple of weeks ago I called into a Life Report Open Line Show, a show where people can call Life Report and ask them any questions in regard to abortion.  You can listen to this particular recording here (I am the second caller, in case you were interested).  But basically, I want to discuss in today’s blog post the issue that I addressed in my call.

Only a couple of days before the show, I found this online news article.  Here is a summary:

In response to new FDA regulations forcing cigarette companies to put warning labels on the packaging (they display some sort of graphic image, such as a man smoking through a hole in his throat, etc.) various pro life groups, such as Students for Life of Illinois, are petitioning the FDA to create and use similar warning labels for abortion.  The group believes that if the FDA can do this for cigarrettes then why shouldn't it do the same for abortion?  After all, there are many women, one could argue, that do not know what abortion really does to a woman and her child. 

Here is what the proposed label looks like:

According to the petition, pro-lifers are looking to have this warning label on all abortion facilities and abortion-causing drugs.

So what’s my personal opinion on this?  I have a few, actually.  Overall, I think it is a neat idea.  The intentions of these pro-lifers are certainly in the right place and I definitely support the overall idea.  However, I do not think that the FDA would ever go for this.  Furthermore, I do not completely agree with the warning label, for the label seems to suggest that if a woman gets an abortion then there is a 100% chance of the woman receiving emotional or physical harm as a result. 

It is important to always be scientifically accurate when it comes to warning labels, and science shows that not all women will be physically or mentally harmed by abortion.  There are, after all, a number of women who have gotten an abortion and do not regret it, do not develop mental disorders from it, and do not develop physical problems as a result of it.

That being said, science also clearly states that it is very possible for women to be affected mentally and physically by abortion.  The sheer amount of post-abortive women that testify to this is evident enough of that.  Thus, I would be more supportive of the label if they would change the wording from “…and cause you emotional and physical harm” to “and may cause you emotional and physical harm.”  Those from Life Report agreed with me.

So what do you all think about this abortion warning label?  Do you think that it is a good idea, or do you think that it should be scrapped?

Is Planned Parenthood Screwed?

Last week, July 7^th, Americans United for Life released a 174 page study on Planned Parenthood, documenting all of the abuses and law-breaking that it has done and pooling together a ton of information over the past few decades, including and especially within the past few years.  Go here to view the entire report.  I recommend at least skimming through it, for there are a lot of things the AUL reveals about Planned Parenthood that may shock you.

In response, Planned Parenthood released a 3 page fact check on some of the claims AUL made within the report on July 8^th.  (Unfortunately the fact check is not, by itself, available to be linked to).

In response to that, AUL released a 17 page document on July 12, serving as a point-by-point rebuttal to the fact check that Planned Parenthood made.  It contains the original charge by AUL, the exact rebuttal made by Planned Parenthood to those charges, and the rebuttal made by AUL to Planned Parenthood’s rebuttals.  As the response describes, not only was the fact check done by Planned Parenthood false in many ways, it also failed to address the most serious of the accusations made by AUL.  You may go here to read it.

The AUL’s goal for releasing such a study is to encourage Congress to investigate Planned Parenthood concerning the charges brought up and, if found officially guilty of them as a result, to deny complete federal funding to Planned Parenthood.

Also, according to the AUL blog, President and CEO of AUL, Dr. Charmaine Yoest, will be joining Rep. Renee Ellmers and Rep. Randy Hultgren for a press conference tomorrow, July 14^th, to discuss the AUL report with other members of Congress and what to do from here on out.

In the face of so much accurate evidence, it is difficult not to see some kind of investigation taking place.  Hopefully all of the members of Congress will reevaluate their stance on funding Planned Parenthood and will see the danger in continuing to fund such an organization.

What’s Going on in New Jersey? (7/12/11)

The vote that occurred yesterday among the Senate to establish whether or not the line-item vetoes that were placed on the budget would be overridden resulted in no override.  As Pro-Life News indicated, the Senate needed 27 votes to make the override and they were only able to get 24.  This means that, for the time being, no money within the budget will go towards Planned Parenthood.

Thank you to those who contacted your Senators and Assemblymen/Assemblywomen.  They received plenty of responses and it obviously paid off.

What’s Going on in New Jersey? (7/8/11)

On Monday, July 11, a Senate Voting Session is scheduled to take place.  This session will involve a voting session amongst the Senators involving some of the line-item vetoes that Gov. Christie made with the recently-passed budget.  It is unclear as of right now which items will be discussed, but it is very possible that one of them will be the $7.5 million that would have been given to Planned Parenthood. 

So please contact your Senator and Assemblymen/Assemblywomen.  If you do not feel comfortable writing your own letter than you can go here to send a pre-written letter.  Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this.

On Repeat Abortions

I remember a few months ago watching a video by Life Report.  In the video they talked about a woman who had four abortions in three years.  Many people, even pro-choicers, would consider that to be extreme, to have that many abortions in that short of a period of time.  However, I do not think that any pro-choice reasoning can truly justify the actions by this woman being too much.

After all, abortion is allowed in many areas of the world at any point because people believe that it is the woman’s right to have them.  If the woman has a right to have an abortion based on the grounds set forth in these countries then there is nothing legally that can stop a woman from having an abortion so frequently.  If it truly is the woman’s right then it doesn’t matter if a woman has only one abortion, or two abortions in twenty years, or four abortions in three years.

Such arguments against this position, for those who are pro-choice, can only end up being hypocritical.  To be sure, any amount of abortion is wrong because every single one takes the life of an innocent human being.  However, repeat abortions can only be truly seen as wrong via the pro-life position.

This may be able to serve as some common ground when discussing this with pro-choicers, though.  Some would agree that it would be wrong for people to get so many abortions in so little a period of time.  That will serve as a great headway into asking them, “Why do you oppose this if you believe that abortion is morally acceptable?”  Based on experience, such pro-choicers never have a good answer.

What’s Going on in New Jersey? (7/1/11)

There is some bad news and some good news.

The bad news is that both the Senate and the Assembly of New Jersey passed the Democratic budget a couple of days ago that would give $7.5 million to Planned Parenthood.

The good news, though, is that yesterday Governor Chris Christie signed the budget while making line-item vetoes within the budget; this means that he picked various items within the budget and vetoed them before signing it, one of the items being funding for Planned Parenthood.  Thus, Planned Parenthood’s funding is not restored as a result of this budget.

Thank you to all of those who contacted the Legislature and Gov. Christie.