Posted on 01/22/2008 11:58:33 AM PST by Mr. Silverback
Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
A woman—let’s call her Caroline—was 92 years old. She was dying, in agony, but Caroline’s pain was not physical. It was emotional. Caroline, you see, had been carrying a secret for more than 50 years: As a young woman, she had undergone two abortions, suffered terrible guilt all her life—and now, on her death-bed, afraid that God could not forgive her.
As her palliative-care nurse, Jean Echlin, writes, “At the end of her life she shared with me her agony over her lost babies . . . she felt that she had committed murder.”
Caroline is not alone, as Echlin writes in Perspectives 2007, a publication of the De Veber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research. Echlin also tells the story of a woman named Lydia, who was dying of cancer. Even with the use of a pain pump, which gave her steady doses of morphine, Lydia’s pain did not abate.
“I asked her if her faith or prayer could be of any comfort,” Echlin writes. “Lydia remained silent except for her moaning.” But the next day she confided the truth. “I can’t pray—God won’t listen,” Lydia said. “I killed a precious baby when I was 18 . . .” Lydia’s abortion had taken place more than 40 years ago—and she was still grieving over it.
Caroline and Lydia are but two examples of what the Institute calls an “unexpected correlation” between abortion and pain-relief care. Dying women experience unresolved guilt and psychological pain related to their abortion—guilt and pain that stand in the way of a peaceful death. Their guilt is so great, Echlin says, that it impedes the effectiveness of their pain medication. Only when the abortion issue is resolved—when someone listens to them and assures them of God’s forgiveness—is the pain medication made effective, and the women able to die peacefully.
This is dramatic testimony that abortion is not, as the abortion lobby claims, something women will “get over” in a week or two. It is evidence that we know inherently that we are made in the image of the God who gives life. When we do violence to that image—when we destroy life instead of nurturing it—it has a profound effect on our emotions, our psyche, and our souls.
Today, as we mourn the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the tens of millions of abortions that have resulted from this dreadful decision, we must recognize that there are likely many women among us who are silently suffering abortion grief decades after their babies’ lives were snuffed out. As the De Veber Institute notes, these women need our compassion, and their trauma should be recognized and acknowledged by their care providers.
As we comfort the dying, we must also help the living. We must make sure young women know the truth: that abortion takes a human life; that there are alternatives to abortion; and that there are people who will help them through a difficult, unplanned pregnancy.
And they must be told that the notion that they will simply “get over” an abortion is a bold-faced lie. The truth is that if they walk into that abortion clinic, they may still be feeling the agony over taking their baby’s life—even on their deathbed a half century later.
Your words show that you are not even self righteous boob, but a low life yourself with a vulgar tongue!
I need a shower after reading your post!
Depends on the teens, really. It ends up badly in most cases because society allows it to. If we brought back shotgun marriages and made both abortion and out-of-wedlock births socially unacceptable, the problem would resolve itself.
My own parents were 18 years old when I was born, just starting college. My mom had to drop out of school, they ate beans and rice for years. A lot of their plans had to change, but they chose to be responsible adults rather than children. I’m very grateful that my mother never considered abortion a viable option, that my father never considered ignoring his responsibilities.
Leftist man-hating feminazis will try to tell women that it’s really nice to have an abortion. That will make a few women feel good for a short time, but the inner guilt will still be there and the women will still feel it.
“Depends on the teens, really.”
True, and I get annoyed with statistics about teenage births when the teens in question are 18 and 19 and married. Obviously they are not the problem. I’m talking more about the 15 year old pregnant by her boyfriend, the 13 year old pregnant by the big man on campus.
No problem.
You’re definitely right.
I believe those who most vehemently support abortion and do everything in their power to justify it are the ones that are hurting the most.
They know it was wrong, but just can’t face up to the horror of what they’ve done,
so they spend the rest of their lives justifying it.
I know at least two women that I’ve met that fall into this category. Others have described arguments that they’ve gotten into with people they’ve met - pretty much the same story out of every one. Just like an addict or alcoholic - the stories are always the same.
Pharisees are not going to win the battle for hearts and minds in America.
Yhough=Though
Back when I was a boy, there were lots of Moms who had late babies. I was raised Catholic, lower middle class, and the average family in our neighborhood had 4-5 children. One in four or five had more, 6 or 7 children.
And within these "larger" families, there was often a child that was significantly younger than the rest of his siblings. Meaning, 4 or so kids spaced out over 6 years, and then a much younger one, maybe 10 years younger.
These were the pregnancies that happened when the woman was 42, like the story cited here! Perhaps the pregnancy was an accident. Perhaps the woman wanted one more child before waiting for her grandchildren.
But yes, as you say, there might be a thousand reasons why those women, had they lived today, might find an excuse to abort the child. But they didn't. Because life was valued back then, and children were a blessing. And this sentiment did not just rest in the bosoms of those who called themselves Christian.
Anyway, rant over ... food for thought.
It takes a lot of liberal indoctrination (in the media and in public school) to convince a teenager that abortion is not a big deal, prior to the girl having to make a decision to have one. Sure, there are the callous few who do it for fun (I heard it's all the rage in Beverly Hills) but most agonize about it, before and after.
Abortion really has ravaged families, and ravaged America. Mrs Tom H and I have three children. I am one of four siblings and I am the only one with grandchildren. All my siblings have various reasons for not being parents, but the unspoken reason is abortion. My older sister, never married, has had four abortions. My younger sister had one at 16. My mother had one (prior to Roe v Wade) before she married my father. My stepmother had one before marrying my father. My sister-in-law had one because she got pregnant in her first year of marriage and having a child at the time was "inconvenient."
So what's that tally? (1) Two missing family members who would be middle aged by now (plus their spouses and the children they would have sired). (2) Six more cousins for my children. All for the sake of the goddess of abortion, and because children are inconvenient.
The Western world is aborting itself into oblivion. Mark Steyn cites the future of Italy, where the average number of children per woman is now 1.1, the lowest in the developed world. If this continues until 2030, here's what an Italian child at that time has to look forward to:
No brothers and sisters (obvious)
No first cousins
No second cousins
No aunts and uncles, first and once removed
No great aunts and uncles
A ratio of 6:1 adults to children at every family gathering.
In short, an abortion-friendly, children-disdainful world is a sterile world, a joyless world, a selfish world, a colorless world.
I continue to find it amazing that the media still carries the fiction that pro-abortion Democrats are "family-friendly" and are doing things "for the children"; and that the media doesn't understand that the mantra "every child a wanted child" is nothing more than the first step on a slippery slope, first abortion, then infanticide.
[/rant]
The word for that is deception.
“Of the abortions reported in 1999, 26.2% of women who aborted experienced one previous abortion, 11.2% had two previous abortions, and 7.5% had three or more previous abortions.” Source credit: CDC
I have mentioned on several occasions that it’s a “mixed bag of nuts.” There will be many people of various ages, religious upbringings, races, socio-economic classes etc. Some will be pressured. Some are great people who are being led down a bad path. However, your argument is that basically all these women are victims, they are essentially not choosing this on their own free will, and they don’t know what they’re doing. Who’s ridiculous?
We live in a time where half the kids at school claim to be abused, where 1/3 of the adult population claim some form of mental illness at some point, and one thing is for sure, no one is responsible for their actions anymore.
Again, I agree that confrontation and alienation does not help your noble cause, and that the door to Gods house is always open to everyone, but pandering does not help. It’s what brought gay bishops into the Episcopal Church. It’s why a disease largely spread by homosexual, bisexual, and IV drug users can’t be called out for what it is, because after all, you don’t want to appear too radical. There too, are innocent and moral people afflicted, but what’s the trend? And even there, you have those who want to help and of course refuse to accept that not all are victims. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/msm/resources/factsheets/msm.htm
It all boils down to social decay. America, in fact all Western Industrialized societies can be lumped tohether, have largely decomposed to something unrecognizable and unimaginable if it were compared to mainstream American values and behavior just 50 years ago. Norman Rockwell is dead in more than one way. The divorce rate, abortion, STDs, social movements that demand recognition of polygamy, the rate of teenage pregnancy, the amount of children raised by a single parent, the rate of crime (murder, rape, fraud…. across the board) as measured per 100,000 citizens, etc. etc. etc., where has the long term trend been? While there are small dips here or there, the long term trend has been negative, and illicit drug use is a perfect example as well. In WWII there were actual recorded cases of suicide after rejection by the armed forces, a mans word meant something, you didn’t see Americans burning their flag, asking to have the 10 commandments removed from court-rooms, or have Presidents perjure themselves and shrug it off as if it’s meaningless with American society largely going along with this notion. Why did America not care if the Commander in Chief had an adulterous affaire, committed fraternization since she was a subordinate, and then even perjure himself under oath? Like it or not, it’s hedonism. As long as the masses are fat and warm, they are OK with nearly anything. The modern coliseum is the TV, and many espouse to be a Caligula on the internet. We have more wealth and live longer, but what we call America is more decedent than ever. Of course beginning with the massive acceleration in decay starting in the 60s, as this phenomenon has become apparent even though not defined as such what it is, new words and entire academic fields of study have arisen, ethics. That’s helped a lot./sarc
The decay is a product of too much affluence. Urban living disconnected from the realities of nature and the threats in the world around them. The family unit all but only exists in small little niches for those who don’t subscribe to the village raising their children. There is anonymity in large metropolitan areas and people behave in ways they would not dare if their family or friends saw them. The importation of millions who are Americans in passport only, they want the jobs, but don’t share the vision which existed since the creation of the Constitution has helped wash out the most basic values this nation has held dear. There is a reason why our Constitution is today referred to as a “living document,” why it was written by the so called “framers” in 1787 “CE” (Common Era). The new immigrant seeks wealth but not integration and at times even despises the host nation’s value system. Again, as often language gives us away, and there is a reason why we no longer speak of a “melting pot” and celebrate “diversity.” But that too is probably too radical.
Another indicator is actually in this thread. Look at the reasons given for why many have abortions. You’re appalled, shocked, and you of course engage in ad-homonym attacks on me. What are the reasons for these abortions? Why do many of the women state they want them? http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/psrh/full/3711005.pdf
Here’s yet another perspective. “Sanger identified the objective of her promotional activities as “unlimited sexual gratification without the burden of unwanted children.” She also identified other values of the sexual revolution that she promoted when she wrote that “Women must have the right to live ... to love ... to be lazy ... to create ... to destroy ... The marriage bed is the most degenerative influence in the social order.” Legal abortion and infanticide, two of the ultimate goals of the sexual revolution was also described by Sanger as “the most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members...” Margaret Sanger promoted the use of birth control through many publications and speaking engagements until her death in 1966, with the 1920’s as her most prolific years in the promotion of birth control and sexual liberty.” Source credit: http://www.leaderu.com/humanities/casey/ch4.html
I’m going to assume you know who Sanger was.
You confuse dignity with self-righteousness. You even describe clear and simple depictions as pompous and arrogant. Yet you fail to bring one single argument. While I actually see your cause as noble and am obviously pro-life, the lack of reason on your side and your attacks do say something. Anyone can have dignity even if poor, sick, and left to oneself. Dignity is something people usually surrender on their own free will. Pandering is indulging others in a weaknesses or questionable wish and taste to achieve ones own end. The horror of the abortion needs to be deemphasized and the angle is that all the women are victims. I got it.
“They are women who find themselves faced with a terrible situation that they never expected to be in.”
And because they want to hide the consequences of THEIR actions they choose to destroy another life, often secretly, often multiple times, despite mandatory consultation, waiting periods (In most states), support organizations, adoption, birth control etc. being readily available.
Like Mr. Silverman, your argument is completely based on the notion that –ALL- these women have no idea what they are doing, have no clue what the procedure is, have been pressured or coerced into it, that they are mindless little girls that were mislead and that all these women feel remorse later......... Yes, yes, as I have said, I understand you guys very well. They’re all victims! Guys that go to gay clubs and get HIV find themselves in situations later they never expected to be in either. But to them, that too felt very good when they were enjoying themselves. Victim, victim, victim, and of course this isn’t hedonism.
Do you see gay guy with HIV as a victim too?
You are so below contempt that I won’t even waste my time answering your questions. Obviously you are a perfect human being without sin who has never made a mistake in your life. I guess it is just the misfortune of the rest of us that we can’t match your perfection. I have no idea what made you such a vile, hateful person and honestly I don’t care. Do the rest of the human race a favor and go climb back under your rock, please.
“You are so below contempt that I won’t even waste my time answering your questions.”
You did.
These innocent girls don’t become pregnant through some immaculate conception. They aren’t forced to do the abortion. They are told what it is, and usually have a waiting period. They have access to information, they have many options available to them such as adoption, and some 26% do it more than once. Many aren’t little girls but women 21 years of age or older. Many are financially independent. This is the information I’m digging up, and it doesn’t look good for the whole “They’re all victims” argument.
Besides me being evil, vile, an idiot, and going to hell, what is your point? What argument do you have?
Have I called you two names? Have I disagreed with the position that abortion is wrong? I have even complimented one of you on several occasions. I seriously doubt you have read or understand what I have written. Maybe I’m a sort of straw-man for you; don’t know, don’t really care at this point. I tried to come in and glean some information, what I got were hysterical and emotional attacks, completely void of any argument, facts, references, or even coherent structured thought. Again I have to agree with you two; this is a waste of my time as well. You might want to think about what you write before you hit the post button. -IMHO
Let me tell you a story. Maybe this will get through.
Until she moved to the board, my wife was a volunteer at our local crisis pregnancy center. One day a man came in desperate for help. He had impregnated his girlfriend, who was diabetic. Her sisters and mother were pressuring her to abort because they were certain the pregnancy would damage her health, and he wanted information on the procedure, hoping to dissuade her.
My wife knew that her own sister had crucial information he needed, because she was a diabetic and had given birth to four healthy children with no complications at all. She told him a little about her sister's situation, and then connected him with her over the phone. By the end of the day my sister-in-law had spoken by phone to his girlfriend, who immediately decided to carry her child to term, She told her family to back off, the boyfriend married her and the child was born healthy into a loving home.
Now, how much progress would have been made if my wife had begun by saying the following:
"Well sir, I feel more I feel disgust than sympathy for you and that low-life vermin who threw her legs apart for you. Now that she's had a good time, looks like she doesn't want to deal with the consequences. But I guess I can help you two fornicating low-lifes."
Instead, without diminishing or excusing the evil that is abortion, she met his need, "took care of business" and saved a life. She didn't beat herself up later for failing to be a more forceful communicator either.
Yet you fail to bring one single argument.
I did not engage in a long argument with you because your actions required a rebuke, not a lecture or a discourse. Nor will I bother refuting the several false accusations you made against me in your rant. I will mention that you really need to pay better attention if you think that I have any illusions about how horrible abortion is or how often it's chosen by people with loose morals. I've been a prolifer since Reagan was still in office and I've maintained a prolifer ping list here on FR for at least 5 years; you are not schooling me. I'm out here on the front lines trying to save lives...what are you doing?
What I will also do is post links to two more stories. They are accounts of meetings between a guy who had no faults at all and two women who apparently had a good time in bed and didn't think much about the consequences. Notice that He doesn't call them vermin, low-lifes or sluts, nor does He excuse their evil. Maybe you should model yourself on Him instead of being pugnaciously proud of acting the opposite way:
If He didn't condemn them, why do you?
You may say all you want that you see my cause as noble, but if you keep taking this tack you are damaging it. People like you create perceptions the rest of us have to fight. At basic training I was told to lead, follow, or get out of the way. You're in the way, so pick one of the three.
Yep. Abortion has damaged the culture very badly. It has made people into disposable commodities.
I have said no such thing, nor have I said anything that implied any of that. Stop lying on me.
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