A Plea to Understand Thee

I have too often been mocked, impugned, ignored, misunderstood, misinterpreted, and even threatened for being an outspoken advocate for unborn human beings. Oftentimes I wonder why this is so. My mind has thought through the topic of abortion in every way that I can imagine. Nights were spent trying my best to think in a mindset opposite of my own, the mindset of a "pro-choicer." I do this to refine my own beliefs, to ensure the certainty of my own thoughts, and to understand the perspective of "the other side."

However, no matter how hard I try to re-think this topic, the unshakable truth continues to insist in presenting itself to the forefront of my cortex. Then the truth repeatedly tears my heart in two. With blood trickling onto the floor, my body is called into action to defend the lives of the unborn and to assist the women and men most affected. If you do not fully understand how I feel then this post is for you.

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Simile
Imagine, if you will, that one mile down the street, in the town that you grew up, is a place of continual horror and mayhem. Imagine, too, that this place slaughters approximately 20 young children weekly. This has been something that those in your town know is occurring yet choose to do nothing about. People go to the store, go to school, go to church, and go about their daily lives without ever talking about it. It's taboo.

Could you allow the slaughter to continue without saying anything? Could you go to sleep every night knowing that countless children are being brutally slaughtered one mile down your street while you do nothing? Over time you start to forget about this topic. You do everything you can to ignore it. You start to be just like everyone else; you go about living your life as if it is not happening. Then, one day, you see photographic proof of what occurs at this place that slaughters countless children. The photos are gruesome, nasty, yet entirely reflective of the truth. It moves your brain and your heart to action!

The next day you tell your friends that you are planning on doing what you can to stop this horror. Your friends tell you "it's the parents' choice!" Your friends tell you that this topic is something that is so personal that it should not be something to do anything about. Your friends tell you, even, that "if you don't like children being killed, then don't have your own children killed!" One of your longtime friends tells you that she never wants to talk to you again because of how "heartless" you are.

Aghast, you press on. You stand in front of the building where these children are slaughtered. You peacefully plea with the parents walking to this place to not kill their own children. A security guard yells at you, he reminds you, quite forcefully, that it is the right of these parents to come here. A father comes up to you and yells at your face "how about YOU try to care for these children!? You have the choice, so let us have OURS!" You calmly respond that you really want to care for these children, especially if it saves their lives. You ask parents going into the building if you can adopt their children. Rather than the parents accept the help you offer the father yells profanities at you.

You know that trying to prevent the killing of children is extremely important. You have one more idea. You start writing articles about this topic publicly. You really have a passion to save children's lives and you start to really share it with others. Rather than receive any encouragement, you are impugned. Others say that you are a disgusting human being, against parental rights, and are bigoted. You're not too sure how anyone could think so, but they think so nonetheless.

After a while you realize that there is really not much that you can do to resolve this problem in its entirety. Not only is it happening in your own town, it is also happening all throughout the country. Just to do the little that you can do has such a large cost: you lose your friends, others threaten you, some demean you, and still more ignore you entirely. With no recourse, you know that there is no other option but to keep going. You know that there just are not enough people that wish to save these children's lives. Even if you are one the few lone people to do so, these children need someone to defend them!

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Reality
My pro-choice friend, the way you would feel in the circumstance that I have described above is often the way that I feel as an advocate for unborn human beings. People call me sexist, bigoted, hateful, mean, judgmental, amongst other things. In trying to offer the most help to women I am cussed at. Even in peacefully defending the unborn publicly I am threatened to be beaten up. In offering my help to adopt the children who were scheduled to be brutally slaughtered I get yelled at with the worst kinds of profanities. Some old friends wish to no long talk to me anymore because I defend the unborn. Many others just plain ignore me.

Please, I plead thee, understand how it is that I feel. The slaughtering of born children in the scenario that I presented may make you feel the same way that I feel about the slaughtering of unborn children. Our federal law allows the legal killing of over one million unborn children annually. Yet what can I do about it? I will continue to do what little I can in my own life to stop the bloodshed. Furthermore, I will do so with love, kindness, faith, understanding, and with as much patience as possible. May God bless you.

What do they mean by "choice"?

Today is the 39th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade United States Supreme Court decision that universally legalized elective abortion in our country. Alongside the sister case, Doe vs. Bolton, Roe vs. Wade legalized elective abortion for any reason in the first two trimesters of pregnancy and for the health of the mother in the last trimester; in the Doe vs. Bolton case, "health of the mother" was broadly defined to include mental health; finally, the term "mental health" was also broadly defined to include financial hardship or relationship difficulties. Thus, abortion was legalized on the federal level through all nine months of pregnancy for practically any reason. The unborn were effectively removed from any and all protections afforded them in the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution.

National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL, formerly ARAL-- Association to Repeal Abortion Laws) is the sponsor of an annual "Blog for Choice Day" which is held every year on the Roe vs. Wade anniversary date. However, what choice is NARAL and participating bloggers advocating for?

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CHOICE
The word itself means having the ability to choose. The word "choose" is defined as the ability "to select from a number of possibilities; pick by preference." Does this definition help us to understand which choice NARAL intends to allow? No, it does not; yet they are supposed to be blogging about it today. I will now discuss about choice.

There are certain choices that are clearly allowed in a society. A restaurant has a menu from which to choose a particular dish for a meal. A electronics store has a plethora of products from which customers are able to choose. All of these, and a plenty more like them, are choice of which practically everyone is in agreement to allow freedom to choose. Furthermore, society often will protect choices such as ability to own property, freely speak and protest peacefully, travel, amongst others.

However, there are also certain choices that are clearly NOT allowed in a society. A restaurant does not have a choice in offering contaminated foods that will make their customers sick. An electronics store has policies in place to disallow their employees from choosing to steal from store cash registers. Furthermore, society disallows choices such as prostitution, slavery, human trafficking, personal drug abuse, drunk driving, rape, amongst so many others.

Thus, the issue that NARAL and bloggers are addressing in "Blog for Choice Day" is NOT about choice in and of itself. Indeed, all people of all backgrounds believe that some choices should be allowed whilst others should not be. Rather, the topic is about what specific choices should be allowed and what specific choices should not be allowed. Indeed, it is about one choice and only one choice.

Being "pro-choice" does not specify which choice someone is in favor of allowing. One could be "pro-heroine-choice" whilst another "anti-heroine-choice" in regards to public and personal policy. Most people would most likely be "anti" in regards to the choice for heroine usage. Even more-so would one find it ridiculous and even laughable that we, as a society, should have a debate that is regarding the legalization of the "choice" of murdering another human being. Could someone "agree to disagree" regarding legalization of murder since "it's a personal decision" and one cannot "force your religion on me" and that, indeed, "it's a choice!"? Heck, "don't like murder, then don't murder anyone!"

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THE ACTUAL CHOICE
The choice of which NARAL and those blogging for "Blog for Choice Day" is clearly one thing and one thing only: abortion. Hiding behind the word "choice" helps cover up the pro-abortion movement's true motivation which is, in fact, abortion itself. It's truly disingenuous to use the word "choice" in this matter.

Since the actual choice is abortion itself, then the debate is NOT about choice but is, rather, if abortion kills a human being or not. Refer to my previous article The Right Choice as a start then go to the website for The Endowment for Human Development for in-depth, scientific, accurate, and awesome information about fetal development. To determine if abortion is a viable choice, we must look at who it affects the most: the unborn human child. Those who are pro-abortion-choice wish to skirt this conversation by omitting the word "abortion." If they are trying to hide it, don't you think that would be perfect place to start looking?

Demand that those who pro-abortion-choice start discussing what they wish to defend: abortion!

Coping More than Two Years Following an Elective Abortion

Focusing on Lazarus coping theory, I wrote a term paper discussing the need for health coping strategies for women who have had a previous abortion. As a nurse, this focuses on many nursing interventions and even has a paragraph noting appropriate nursing diagnoses. This term paper was an assignment for a nursing writing and theory class. Please read through it. If you have any thoughts or corrections, please comment!

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Introduction: Lazarus’ Theory on Coping and Relationship to Elective Abortion

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      Richard S. Lazarus is a theorist that has been at the forefront at developing research and published works regarding coping. Coping literally means the ability to deal with stress; it is defined as malleable and practical actions to resolve stress by resolving daily problems (Lazarus & Folkman 1984). Lazarus has described coping as being based in reality and able to adjust freely to lower stress levels associated with difficult events. Lazarus states that coping is different for all people and that there are many different forms of coping that result in the successful ability to deal with stress. Furthermore, stress is different for all people and for all situations; indeed, two people can experience a same event and experience related stress in different ways. Stress can be good and it can be bad. Forms of coping with these stressors are far and wide.
There are a multitude of situations that require coping. The death of a father, an upcoming wedding, and a new addition to a family are all stressful events that require the use of coping strategies. Among the situations in life that require healthy coping strategies is an elective abortion. Indeed, an elective abortion is a stressful occurrence that requires a healthy coping reaction to allow recovery and resolution (Goodwin & Ogden, 2007).
      There are many coping strategies that can be applied to the stressor of an elective abortion and that of other stressful life events. There are four key coping strategies. One is Type A and B personalities, a second is healthy coping, a third is denial or avoidance and a fourth is defensive coping.

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Coping: Type A and Type B

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      Type A coping involves heavy work towards a goal, high competitiveness, and a fixed faith system (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). This coping requires a person to make efforts to control the person’s environment because a particular event allowed no control. This attempt at control is a compensatory mechanism. It aids in the coping process but leads to an unhealthy physical and mental lifestyle. This behavior may be exhibited in what many people call “workaholics.” Working excessively hard and being an over-achiever can help someone cope with a person’s history of elective abortion by aiding the person in a sense of “fixing” problems or “making up” for possible wrong doings; for example, it may help a woman who has regretted the decision to abort to “make up” for this wrong. These actions may also serve the purpose of the person attempting to not remember the elective abortion and remain distracted.
      Type B coping is essentially the opposite of Type A. Whilst Type A is motivated by intense competitiveness, lofty goals, control of the environment, and a fixed system of faith, Type B is motivated to receive reduced work-load, wish to achieve goals in an extended time frame, feels largely unable control of the environment, and does not usually believe in a fixed set of values or beliefs (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Also, this group of people may be seen as vulnerable to being withdrawn and use this as another coping mechanism. It is easier to visualize this group as avoiding conflict to reduce their stress level. Those whom have had an abortion may use this coping mechanism to avoid situations that may remind them of their abortion (i.e. remaining stagnant keeps them away from different situations that may trigger displeasant memories).

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Coping: Denial and Avoidance

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      Another form of coping is denial or avoidance. Denial can also be described as the reluctance or lack of ability to admit or deal with spiritual or emotional hurt is termed denial (Burke & Reardon, 2002). Further, denial or avoidance is not based in reality (rather, denial denies reality). There are many different forms of denial or avoidance. Indeed, the many different forms of denial are meant to help cope with an uncomfortable experience or reality.
      Many women are at a very difficult time of their lives when they decide to have an elective abortion. It has been found to be common in women who have experienced an elective abortion to utilize avoidance and denial as coping mechanisms (Cougle, Reardon, & Coleman, 2005). With the multitude of stressors pressing on them, the reality of an elective abortion (death of the fetus) is oftentimes not realized and placed as the accomplishment of an elective abortion procedure. Many problems facing women that lead them to the decision of elective abortion does not negate the emotional reality that it produces in the short-term and, especially, long-term aftermath of the procedure. One long-term study demonstrated most post-abortion women involved used avoidance as a coping mechanism to deal with the memory of abortion (Hess 2004). The ineffective coping strategy of denial or avoidance oftentimes occurs due in large part to lack of familial support and societal acceptance (realized or perceived), deemphasizing the problem, and personal shame.
      Lazarus’ studies led him to eventually conclude that denial can have a lessened negative effect if occurring immediately after an event but are illustrative of ineffective coping in the long-term (Lazarus & Folkman 1984). The lacking desire to appropriately address, understand, and accept a problem contributes to ineffective coping. The desire to appropriately grieve can be assisted by aiding in the reversal of a woman’s thought processes of shame, misplaced guilt, perceived lack of support, and dehumanization of the fetus.
Defensive coping may manifest as being mad, using substances to numb the emotional pain, and removing oneself from societal dialogue regarding the stressor of problem. This unhealthy form of coping can be seen in those who have no extensive support system due to not having known access to healthy channels to funnel stress and, thus, healthily cope. Some studies have shown women who have had elective abortions to have an increased risk of substance abuse, mental health problems, and mood disorders (Cole, Coyle, Shuping & Rue, 2009).

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Healthy Coping

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      Healthy and appropriate coping is characterized by a person’s active participation in the process of coping. It takes recognition that there is or are problem(s) (acceptance) to cope with and a rigorous cognitive effort. The effort of coping following acceptance is different for each situation. There are many different coping mechanisms. Lazarus openly admitted that there is no one healthy coping strategy but many different ones that may lead a person health coping. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) wrote that the appropriateness of a coping strategy is illustrated by how it positively affects the person in the long term. Folkman later wrote with Moskowitz that only the coping processes that maintain an encouraging affect in response to chronic stress could possibly involve meaning to a person (2000). Thus, women who have had an abortion in their past must illicit positive coping strategies tailored to their own needs that will result in a healthy view of themselves and who they are today. However, one common healthy coping mechanism related to past elective abortion, following its acceptance, is grief.

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Focus On Long-Term Coping vs. Short-Term Coping

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      Many studies that have been published have one glaring fatal flaw. This flaw is that many of them use a very small time of follow-up (two years or less) (Trybulski 2006). In addition to this glaring flaw, many studies on the subject of women’s reaction following an abortion have had poor design, selected samples resulting in bias results, inability to control confounding, and misuse of subjects’ prior mental health (Fergusson, Horwood, & Ridder 2006). Rosanna F. Hess, a Registered Nurse (RN) and Nurse Practitioner (DNP), stated that a woman’s elective abortion resolved and held a different perspective regarding it “as the woman matured;” short-term studies will not capture and have not captured this aspect (Hess, 2004).
      Tybulski published a study that involved one to two hour detailed interviews of women immediately following an elective abortion; the study illustrated that the 16 people interviewed had reported relief (Trybulski, 2006). The term “relief” sounds like an entirely positive response. However, Lazarus states that the feeling of relief is not always a positive emotional response (Lazarus 2000); whilst the immediate response of some women is certainly relief, it does not ensure that the experience was wholly positive. Rather, it indicates that many immediate stressors have been relieved. These stressors are due to the person’s current situation and include such things as pressure from family and mate, lack of support structure, belief that birthing a child would hinder personal and financial achievement among others. Placed in the perspective that women’s view of an elective abortion changes over time, this feeling of relief may transform into other emotions that may or may not be positive. Furthermore, Hess explains that her studies have illustrated that a women’s immediate reaction to abortion can also include “guilt, a sense of loss, and anger” (Hess, 2004).
      Long-term coping is important since there are many ineffective coping skills, such as denial that was mentioned by Lazarus, that can benefit a person in the short-term but not truly resolve the stressor. This results in a stressor needing to be dealt with in the long-term; when a stressor is “put-off” using coping mechanisms such as avoidance, denial, defensive, Type A and Type B it results in increased difficulty in resolving the stressor. Using such coping mechanisms prevents the most appropriate coping mechanisms which is acceptance and grief.

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Signs of Ineffective Coping

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      Burke, a psychiatrist who started his career specializing in eating disorders, found that many women have found elective abortion to be a traumatic occurrence resulting in ineffective coping (Burke & Reardon 2002). This ineffective coping has led to the finding that elective abortion is associated with rates of mental disorder (Fergusson, Horwood, & Ridder, 2006). Recognizing the possibility of unhealthy behaviors may be exhibited in women who have had elective abortion is important. Some of these unhealthy behaviors including using passive-aggressive behaviors to gain control, keeping an elective abortion secretive, conjuring up images and fantasized situations if the women did not have the abortion, and involvement in ceremonies (Hess, 2004). Another sign of ineffective coping is the lessened ability to choose healthy relationships. Some may choose to remain in abusive relationships with the father of the aborted unborn child to help maintain the only remaining connection.

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Emotional Responses Triggered by Events

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      Avoidance and denial may exhibit by strong emotional reactions that are triggered by events that remind women of their elective abortion. Worden (2009) described succinctly that, in his experience, a negative response, such as grief, may be displayed at the due date of the pregnancy and even when infertility occurs. Furthermore, when a woman who has had abortion discovers the more human features of the fetus that was killed in the abortion procedure, it will often result in increased negative reactions (Goodwin & Ogden, 2007).

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Nursing Intervention: Discussion

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      Nurses in Labor and Delivery are often unlikely to allow assignment to care for women who have are scheduled to have an elective abortion (Marek, 2004). This indicates the extreme moral issue surrounding elective abortion that nurses have been uncomfortable with. No matter how uncomfortable a nurse is with elective abortion, it is important to remain impartial and nonjudgmental to women who have had an abortion. It is important to remember that once an elective abortion has taken place, nothing is going to reverse what happened.
      Open and non-judgmental discussion regarding difficult aspects of a person’s past that has been difficult to cope with has been proven to be successful. Nurses and all professionals in contact with those using coping mechanisms dealing with stressful situations need to be sensitive in their approach. Being non-judgmental, allowing the person to lead conversation, giving him ample time for discussion (not “over-talking”), expressing concern over the appropriate concepts at appropriate times, and not interjecting a personal opinion into the discussion all can help a person appropriately and healthily cope. Gentle guidance to help people accept the reality of what has happened is important since denial is generally an ineffective coping mechanism and a barrier to a healthy grieving process.

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Nursing Intervention: Referral

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      Nurses and other professionals, once gaining the trust of a person, can then refer them to appropriate counseling groups, organizations, and events. One such organization that provides support for women who have had elective abortions Rachel’s Vineyard. Founded in 1995 by Doctor Theresa Burke, Rachel’s Vineyard now holds over 700 weekend retreats annually to provide group counseling for women who have had elective abortions (Rachel’s Vineyard 2010).
      Referrals are important because they provide a resource for those in need. It also provides concrete evidence to post-elective abortion patients that not only is there support for them, but that there are other women who have had similar experiences and are willing to help. Hess (2004) has written that nurses need to discuss with women who have had an elective abortion regarding utilizing therapy and group counseling. Support is indeed important in healthy coping.

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Nursing Intervention: Prevention

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      Since many women have reported negative reactions in the long-term following an elective abortion, it is important to teach women and men techniques for primary prevention of pregnancy and, thus, elective abortion (Hess, 2004). If the destruction of the unborn child is desired to be avoided, it is important to teach patients one possible mechanism of action of low dose birth control; this mechanism of action is changes in the endometrial lining leading to the reduced likelihood of an embryo properly implanting resulting in embryonic death (Bayer Pharmaceuticals, 2011). Furthermore, teach patients that intra-uterine devices (IUDs) also have a similar mechanism of action. Educate patients regarding all of their birth control options such as barrier methods, natural family planning (NFP), and abstinence.
      When discussion prevention strategies with men, it is important to teach men to provide support and assistance to their mate especially when she is pregnant. It has been demonstrated that pregnant women who have been abandoned or left without support by their mate were much more likely to have an elective abortion (Kimport, Foster, & Weitz, 2011).

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Nursing Intervention: Teaching Healthy Coping Skills

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      For those patients that you encounter that have an elective abortion in their history, teach these women techniques to appropriate cope. Stress the importance with the patient of surrounding herself with supporting family and avoiding negative contacts; it has been shown that a lack of support from others results in an increased negative coping (Goodwin & Ogden, 2007). Hess (2004) also suggested suggesting to women to name, give a gender, and dictate a letter to the fetus that was aborted to solidify the importance of using the grieving process as a healthy coping mechanism.

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Appropriate NANDA Nursing Diagnoses

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      Appropriate NANDA nursing diagnoses include Anxiety, Moral Distress, Ineffective Coping, Ineffective Denial, Defensive Coping and Complicated Grieving. Anxiety is appropriate due to some research that has indicated generalized anxiety surrounding the elective abortion (Cougle, Reardon, & Coleman, 2005). Moral Distress is appropriate due to the question of a fetus’ humanity in the mind of a post-elective-abortion woman and her surrounding support systems. Ineffective coping is appropriate due to the use of unhealthy coping mechanisms such as denial, avoidance, Type A and Type B personalities, personal shame, among others. Ineffective Denial is appropriate because the higher levels of denial lead to ineffective coping. Defensive Coping is appropriate because it employs unhealthy tactics to remove negative feelings of the mind such as substance abuse (Cole, Coyle, Shuping & Rue, 2009). The last appropriate nursing diagnosis is complicated grieving; this diagnosis is specifically appropriate because it fits the portions of this topic where grieving for a fetus that is legally and socially accepted to kill without consequences is taboo.

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Conclusion

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      Richard Lazarus describes that coping is unique for all people and changes depending on the situation. However, he also described that there are general types of coping such as denial, avoidance, defensive, healthy, and Type A and Type B. When women have an elective abortion it may result in a period of relief among other emotions. As the woman matures or is separated from the experience, a clearer image of what occurred surfaces. Many of these reactions in the long-term, and sometimes short-term, are negative due to the utilization of ineffective coping strategies.
      In conclusion, it is important for nurses to teach the use of effective coping strategies, use of conception prevention and elective abortion prevention strategies, remain nonjudgmental, allow patients to lead conversation, refer women to appropriate support groups, among other interventions. To appropriately help women following an elective abortion that has happened years in the past, it is important to recognize signs of ineffective coping. Nurses have a responsibility to assist patients in properly coping with an elective abortion that has occurred in their past.

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References

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About us. (2010). Retrieved November 11, 2011, from Rachel's Vineyard website: http://www.rachelsvineyard.org/aboutus/ourstory.htm

Burke, T. K., & Reardon, D. C. (2002). Forbidden grief: The unspoken pain of abortion. Acorn Books.

Coleman, P. , Coyle, C. , Shuping, M. , & Rue, V. (2009). Induced abortion and anxiety, mood, and substance abuse disorders: Isolating the effects of abortion in the national comorbidity survey. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 43(8), 770-776.

Cougle, J. , Reardon, D. , & Coleman, P. (2005). Generalized anxiety following unintended pregnancies resolved through childbirth and abortion: A cohort study of the 1995 national survey of family growth. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 19(1), 137-142.

Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L., & Ridder, E. M. (2006). Abortion in young women and subsequent mental health. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 47(1), 16-24. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01538.x

Folkman, S. K., & Moskowitz, J. T. (2000). Positive affect and the other side of coping. American Psychologist, 55, 647–654.

Goodwin, P., & Ogden, J. (2007). Women's reflections upon their past abortions: An exploration of how and why emotional reactions change over time. Psychology & Health, 22(2), 231-248.

Hess, R. (2004). Dimensions of women's long-term postabortion experience. The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 29(3), 193-198.

Kimport, K. , Foster, K. , & Weitz, T. (2011). Social sources of women's emotional difficulty after abortion: Lessons from women's abortion narratives. Perspectives on Sexual and Reprod Health, 43(2), 103-109.

Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (n.d.). Stress, appraisal, and coping. (Original work published 1984) Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=i-ySQQuUpr8C&dq=Coping+lazarus&source=gbs_navlinks_s

Marek, M. J. (2004), Nurses' attitudes toward pregnancy termination in the labor and delivery setting. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 33: 472–479. doi: 10.1177/0884217504266912

Trybulski, J. (2006). Women and abortion: the past reaches into the present. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 54(6), 683-690.

Worden, J. W. (2009). Grief counseling and grief therapy (S. Sussman & J. Rosen, Eds., 4th ed.). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Yaz official FDA information, side effects, and uses. (2011, March). Retrieved November 11, 2011, from Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc via Drugs.com website: http://www.drugs.com/pro/yaz.html

The Protest Experience Revisited

I was sidewalk counseling outside of Planned Parenthood in Riverside with my son Adam and my wife Heather today. I was able to talk to many people today regarding the issue of abortion that this Planned Parenthood commits.

I spoke to a Satanist who believes that pro-lifers are strictly religious zealots and recited a lot of pro-choice talking points; I was able to educate him that there are many pro-life organizations and individuals that are not religious at all and that the scientific reality of human life is the reason why many people are indeed pro-life.

I met some very nice elderly women who stood by to pray the rosary. They were one of the nicest people I have ever met; they were so kind to us and our son Adam. They were very peaceful and patient.

I also elicited a response from a clinic worker about my son and how he was "planned" just like they are helping people "plan" in their clinic. I told them that my planning was remaining abstinent until marriage and that their services are not necessary. I only had a few seconds to speak since they were trying to ignore me. I should have also said that planning does not require the killing of innocent babies.

I also spoke to some women and men who were going into the clinic about fetal development, the fact that Planned Parenthood commits around 350,000 abortions yearly versus around 3,000 adoption referrals yearly. Planed Parenthood's business is one sided--it is focused on the killing of innocent children and the damaging of their mothers in the process.

On November 21, 2004 I wrote an article titled "The Protest Experience" that I have never published on this blog. It was a very good article so I wish to share it with you.

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The Protest Experience

It was in the middle of the night. I was sitting at the computer browsing the internet. The day was an ordinary day. This night was also an ordinary night. Then I found some images and movies of murdered children. Images of atrocities have called people to act to stop the atrocities o the images depict. A picture of a gruesome lynching of an African American called people to act against lynch mobs and racism. Pictures of death camps in Nazi Germany called people to act in favor of eradicating Nazism. “Most of us would neither understand nor believe the extent of the Holocaust were it not for the pictures” (Alcorn 241). That night, the pictures I saw called me to act against the mass murder of children: the atrocity called abortion.

Just a few days after I saw these images I went to the city of San Bernardino in California to attend a protest in front of an abortion clinic named “Family Planning Associates.” My parents drove me to the clinic and participated in casual discussion with other protesters and a man whose wife had gone into the clinic to have an abortion. My mother talked to this person. She told him that we were here because we believed in the life of the unborn and wanted to save lives. The person stated that even though he respected his wife’s decision, he secretly did not want his wife to have an abortion. After he told my mom this, he looked at his four year old daughter standing next to him and started to cry. It was too late for his baby to live. This person understood that his child had been killed that day.

I walked towards the protesters at the front of the abortion clinic. The group that was there was called Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust (survivors.la) and represented the youth involved in spreading the pro-life message. The first conversation I started with somebody was a discussion about the television show “The Simpsons” and how some portions of the show had illustrated the point that abortion was, at the very least, wrong. My conversation with him showed me that not all protesters were “extremists” that the media portrayed. This person was someone just like me that felt compelled enough about the lives of unborn children to do something about it.

After I finished talking to that person I walked towards the entrance to the clinic and saw a Catholic priest praying the rosary for the women and children inside the clinic. He was not there to stop anyone from entering but, instead, to pray for their safety and the lives of the unborn. After he prayed the rosary, the priest talked to the protesters and encouraged them to continue doing God’s work while remaining peaceful and loving. I was again surprised. Here I saw that pro-life protesters were not the people I was lead to believe that they were. I have seen on the news that pro-life protesters were violent and wished to force women to not have an abortion. What I saw at this protest was completely contrary to the notion that pro-life individuals very often became violent and vile.

I then saw somebody holding a large display detailed with high quality pictures and text. The pictures on the display showed the development of the unborn human child. The pictures showed pictures from the first week, fourth week, eighth week, and all the way until birth. The text was placed next to each photo and gave facts about fetal development. For example, there was a fact like that was stated by the intrauterine photographer and author of A Child is Born Lennart Nilsson, “Though the embryo now weighs only 1/30 of an ounce [at 6 ½ weeks old (when many women do not yet know they are pregnant)], it has all the internal organs of the adult in various stages of development. It already has a little mouth with lips, an early tongue and buds for 20 milk teeth. It’s sex and reproductive organs have begun to sprout.” Seeing this was, again, a great service to me. The facts that I have so often seen on the internet, stated in books, and published by doctors were being shown to those walking into the abortion clinic. These facts were not presented by force. Instead, the facts were viewed by choice.

Unfortunately, this was when I saw the reaction by those that disagreed with the pro-life position. This reaction did not appear to be rational. A person walking into the clinic yelled to “get out of [her] face;” another yelled at us from inside the clinic and called us evil people. Soon thereafter, I was holding a sign showing one of the pictures I saw on the internet of a sixth month abortion (a picture of Malachi). Numerous cars drove by and yelled profanities directed at me! A couple even drove by and flipped me off. Of the few hours that I was at the clinic that morning I was repeatedly yelled at and called evil. Am I evil because I want to save human lives?

I can only hope that people can see photos of induced abortions for themselves so that they can understand what I understand. I have been repeatedly told that I cannot show these images. People have continually stated that they do not want to look at these photos because they are very gruesome. Politicians and debaters have been attacked whenever they use these photos to prove a point. Documentaries and news stories will freely use pictures of the Holocaust to show what truly happened yet they will not use pictures of abortions to show what abortion really is. If induced abortion was not something bad then why are these pictures not allowed to be used to prove that point? Countless Americans have either not seen these pictures or have chosen to ignore them. When people attack me for showing these pictures, the photos have an effect. When people immediately look away from the photos once they see them, the photos have an effect. This effect is to show that we are killing over a million children every year in the United States. No one wants to realize this atrocity and the photos help them to realize it. Once an individual realizes than an atrocity is taking place then they will be more likely to help end the atrocity. Protesting against abortion is one way to help end this atrocity.

Going to protest once has compelled me to continue protesting. I went to Long Beach to show the pictures of abortions and hand out literature to educate the public. Again, I was yelled at. A handful of pennies were thrown out of a car traveling about 35MPH aimed to hurt me. They missed, thankfully, but their intention was aimed at hurting me because of my message. I have protested at an abortion clinic near in my city of Riverside numerous times. Each time I have been there I have been yelled at. One time I asked what an individual’s job was as he was walking out of an abortion clinic. This person walked up to me and threatened to beat me up just because I asked him that question.

There have also been moments that made everything worth while. While protesting, I have seen one person change her mind about having an abortion. While protesting, I have seen numerous people driving by looked extremely surprised by the pictures we showed allowing them to realize what truly happens. I prayed the rosary in front of a clinic and had one person change from being angry at me to being thankful to me. These things alone, amidst those yelling, threatening, and throwing things at me, have made it all worth it.

By doing this, I have been making a difference. People have seen what development an unborn child goes through. Because of my action, more people have seen what really happens by the abortion procedures. The more minds that we change the greater the chance we will have upon changing our culture into one that values human life at all stages of development. Having these values will change the amount of people having abortion and to also elect government officials that are pro-life. In 1990 there were approximately 1.6 million abortions. In 1997 there was a drop of abortions to approximately 1.3 million abortions (according to Planned Parenthood's own The Allan Guttchmacher Institute). If the pro-life message continues to spread we can continue to limit these numbers. I, personally, will not stop spreading the truth about abortion until all induced abortions end (thus, I will never stop!).

The first major step to ending abortion is by making it illegal. Abortion was illegal in most states in the United States before 1973. Many people believe that abortions done before 1973 were done as “back alley abortions” or “coat hanger abortions.” This is largely untrue. Planned Parenthood, in 1960, stated that “90% of all illegal abortions are presently done by physicians” and also said "abortion, whether therapeutic or illegal, is in the main no longer dangerous" (American Journal of Public Health, 1960--found at ClinicQuotes.com). Again, people state that 5,000 to 10,000 women died from illegal abortions but Bernard N. Nathanson, M.D., one that helped to fabricate this number in NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League), states today that “[he] knew the figures were totally false” (Aborting America 193). The truth, by looking back at the numbers, shows that that the average amount of deaths caused by illegal abortion every year was 250, with a high of 388 in 1948 (Aborting America 48). Some people state that deaths do not occur from legal abortions yet the three clinics I have protested at have had women dying at them (Edrica Goode, Chanelle Bryant, Tami Suematsu)! The courts have legalized the killing of our unborn children. We must not keep the murder of unborn children legal just to make the killing process a little safer (although this might not even be true).

We must work together in our effort to understand the issues of the day. I protest so that I can spread what I believe. If what you believe is that abortion is not the killing of innocent children then I would also like to hear from you rather than being yelled at and threatened like I was at the abortion clinics I protested at. We must gather together. We are brothers and sisters in Christ.

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Thank you for reading. Please leave a comment if you wish.

Reflection After Reading Unplanned

Abby Johnson is a former director of multiple Planned Parenthood clinics in Texas who became pro-life. After leaving her job at Planned Parenthood her story spread to the national news then published her story in the book Unplanned on January 11, 2011. My wife bought the book for us to read when it was released from a Berean Christian Store. We called Barnes and Noble and Borders but they were out-of-stock stating that the book was released at the end of December 2010. I have now read Unplanned in it's entirety. What do I think of the book in one word? Awesome.

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Important Points Learned from the Book

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There are good pro-choicers and good pro-lifers...
No matter what controversial topic may arise, there are always those who are in favor and those who are against. Also, with every topic there will always be good and bad people on both sides. Abortion is no different.

Abby Johnson helped me to understand the reasoning that she had in becoming involved in Planned Parenthood's mission. Her reasons were heartfelt and genuine. She wished to decrease the number of abortions in our country. Planned Parenthood has repeatedly stated in their talking points that this is one of their goals. Abby Johnson then explained that many people who were not in a leadership position at Planned Parenthood also believed the same. These people had good reasons to be involved at Planned Parenthood.

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...but there is only one truth.
However well intentioned the volunteers and workers at Planned Parenthood are, Abby Johnson helped me to learn, will not change that there is a right and wrong. When Mrs. Johnson experienced first-hand an ultrasound guided abortion procedure her entire perspective changed. She also recently discovered that in the face of losing business Planned Parenthood was encouraging clinics to increase their abortion numbers rather than decrease it. Planned Parenthood had no intention to decrease the number of abortions although they publicly stated that they wanted to. They have deceived and continue to deceive many people regarding their true purpose: profit no matter how many babies are killed.

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Prayer changes things
If it wasn't for the persistent, prayerful, and peaceful pro-lifers then the conversion of Abby Johnson would have never occurred. Her conversion was a miracle of answered prayers. 40 Days for Life started at Abby Johnson's Planned Parenthood in Texas and has now become an international pro-life movement. 40 Days for Life is an event that occurs twice a year that is organized by local pro-lifers to pray peacefully outside of an abortion clinic 24/7 for 40 days straight. These are the prayers that aided Abby Johnson in her journey. The power of prayer cannot and should not be underestimated.

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Peaceful witness is powerful; aggressive witness is not
Mrs. Johnson illustrated in her book that the more aggressive pro-life protesters, although well intentioned, were less effective and possibly detrimental to the pro-life cause. Those who are pro-choice often will demonize pro-lifers by stating that all pro-lifers are violent and extreme when they protest. The small percentage of more aggressive protesters (who are ONLY verbally aggressive) help validate the false claim of Planned Parenthood that all pro-life protesters are violent. Mrs. Johnson illustrated that Planned Parenthood liked to be seen as the "victim" of pro-life protesters so that they could receive more donations from supporters.

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Abortion is indeed the murder of babies
This might seem like a moot point, but it is indeed very important. Those of us who are pro-life understand that abortion is a horrendous evil yet many of us do not act accordingly to help stop it.

I am a prime example: I write a blog periodically about this topic and post links and statements on my facebook account yet I am not consistently active in the pro-life movement. I am doing everything to change this because abortion truly is a holocaust that should be opposed whenever possible. I prayed outside of a Planned Parenthood with my wife and son on Saturday and have committed myself to doing the same every single Saturday whenever possible. This is a start! All of us pro-lifers should be committed to saving as many babies from being killed and helping as many women in crisis as possible. God has called us all by name to help those who need the most help; let us act on that command!

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Forgiveness from ourselves and from God is possible
Although Abby Johnson admits many things that she regrets that she has done, she has received forgiveness from herself and from God. Dwelling on our past, especially on our past mistakes, leads many to a large amount of depression and a lack in the ability to improve our lives. Every single day is another opportunity to positively affect the world. With a damaged soul there affecting the world in a positive way is nearly impossible. We must take care of ourselves so that we can then take care of others. My job in hospice has taught me this very straightforward yet hard lesson very frequently. It is a real lesson that we all must apply to our daily lives.

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There were many points that I took away from the book Unplanned by Abby Johnson. I am very grateful that Mrs. Johnson converted to being pro-life and is now an advocate in the correct way for the unborn, mothers, and fathers. It is a blessing to see the works that she has accomplished through the grace of God. Abby Johnson is also a wonderful resource for those who work in the abortion industry but want out; she shows that it is possible to quit work that is life-destroying and then join work that is life-affirming. God bless you Abby Johnson.

Now, go buy and read your copy of Unplanned today!

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Links relevant to the blog entry
Abby Johnson: URL
Berean Book Stores: URL
40 Days for Life: URL

My Own Pro-Life Walk

The arguments are sound. The logic is perfect. The questions are answered. The opposition has no intelligent response. Yet, are you willing to live the life of a pro-lifer when the going gets tough? If you are faced with a crisis pregnancy yourself are you willing to choose life? If you are one the hard cases talked about in your arguments are you going to stand true to your convictions?

It is imperative that we human beings mean what we say. Indeed it is true; "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No'" (Matthew 5:37) What we say should be how we live unless, that is, we don't really mean what we say.

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Getting Married
I got married as a Catholic back in July of 2009. I learned growing up that abstinence was the answer to preventing unplanned pregnancy. Indeed, my wife and I remained abstinent until the day that we got married. We were as chaste as we could have been. We had a honeymoon in Hawai'i and had a great start to our marriage. We were able to *barely* afford our wedding and honeymoon with a combination of debt and the wage that I earned as a Licensed Vocational Nurse at a local hospital. The wage that I earned from my nursing job was the way that we survived.

Coming Home for the Worst
One week following a great honeymoon, I was called into the nurse manager's office at my work. My nurse manager explained to me that I have been a great employee who has worked very hard, worked well with others, been great to patients, and even have volunteered to work shifts that were not required of me. However, I was released from my position during the probationary period that day. The reasons have never been clear to me since the nurse manager stated that during the probationary period an explanation is not given. She did, however, share that it had nothing to do with patient safety. I have been a safe nurse working on the unit.

This experience left me feeling devastated. How would I pay the bills such as rent and electricity? How would I be able to continue to survive without a job? How would I be able to continue nursing school to become a Registered Nurse? How would my wife continue going to school at the local university? My car was close to the brink of breaking down and so was I.

The Week After
Pregnant. We were looking forward to our first child being conceived. Indeed, we knew that life began at conception and should be protected once the knowledge of a child's existence became evident. I was happy that my wife became pregnant. However, I was extremely worried about how we could afford both of our schooling, rent, bills, food, and now prenatal care.

Was abortion ever considered? Nope! Both of us have discussed the issue of abortion at length long before we got married. We were both ardently pro-life and very well educated about it. I even joked with my wife that this would be a "perfect example" of a pro-choicer's "hard-case" to prove that abortion is somehow necessary.

Resourcefulness
After feeling beaten down, I swept up my pride and went to the welfare office. We received some governmental assistance. I also started to receive unemployment. I landed a part-time job (about 6-24 hrs a week) getting paid minimum wage as a caregiver. My parents helped us to *barely* pay our rent and bills. I continued to go to school as did my wife. I graduated and got my Registered Nursing license months later. Seven months of barely making it and wondering what would become of us had ended once I got a job full-time as a Registered Nurse in hospice. My wife had MediCal (California form of Medicare) which paid medical expenses through pregnancy, labor, delivery, and afterbirth. There were even pro-life protesters whom we protested with who gave us free clothes, blankets, and supplies although we did not ask for anything.

The Affirmation of Life
The story of my wife, my son, and I is a testament to how an unborn child's life should be respected no matter the circumstances. Our situation was definitely not the hardest, but it did present with itself many difficulties. I hope sharing our situation will help people understand that handling a difficult time financially and situationally during pregnancy is possible without killing a single unborn child.

We named our son Adam. He is a beautiful boy whom we love very much.

Reader, if you ever need a helping hand please do not hesitate to contact me and my family.

Christopher Schmenk, Facebook Profile, Email

Dad Confronts Abortion Protesters Rebuttal

On October 23, 2010, a video was posted on YouTube that has now been viewed 716,000 times as of today. Why is it so popular? Apparently, it is popular because of a man who had an angry tirade against pro-life protesters holding signs outside of an abortion clinic.

The man stated that the pro-life protesters yelled at his wife while she was entering the facility. I have been a protester in front of abortion clinics before. I know how hard it is to get even one word heard by those who enter those clinics. The protesters know nothing regarding each person's situation other than there abortions are provided in that facility on that particular day. Thus, the most important information is quickly stated loudly to those who enter it ("please do not kill your baby," "what you have inside of you is a baby, it has a heartbeat"). Oftentimes literature is handed to these people as they enter the clinic. Usually the people who enter the clinic do not accept the literature; most clinics instruct their patients to have no interaction with pro-lifers including to not accept any literature. Other times, the literature is ripped out of their hands by clinic staff once they enter the clinic.

Furthermore, during the few protests in front of clinics that I have been to, I have been the one on the receiving end of violence and yelling. People have thrown things at me as they drive by. Numerous people yell obscenities at me as they walk or drive by. Some people who enter the clinic go into a yelling tirade. One woman who was entering the clinic yelled at those protesting "f*** you! I'm going to kill my parasite! You guys [pro-lifers] are worthless pieces of s***!" I can guarantee you that these pro-life protesters were peaceful and welcoming to those who wished to talk.

As illustrated in the following video, it was the man with the video camera that was being irate while the pro-life protesters were hardly ever given the chance to respond in a peaceful way. I will respond to the majority of the man's talking points after you watch the behavior of both the man and the pro-life protesters.

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What are you looking to accomplish here?
Simple: to prevent unborn babies from being killed at the hands of another. Would you protest a clinic that killed born children? Pro-lifers value the unborn as much as we do the born.

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We were trying to have a kid, [but our kid has "mermaid syndrome" - sirenomelia]. You're yelling at my wife, for having nothing more than having a dead baby inside of her?
An unborn human being who has sirenomelia is not dead. To the contrary, an unborn human being with that condition can very much be alive. Sirenomelia is a congenital deformity that results in their being fused legs and oftentimes a lack of a lower urinary tract and patent anus. Many cases of sirenomelia result in death shortly after birth (at times it does happen before due to chronic oligohydramnios from the lack of fetal urine production). There are rarely survivors. However, there are a few survivors of this condition. [1] To assume that an unborn child with this condition will die is to deny the very real possibility.

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Do you maybe want to ask before?
As mentioned previously, there is no time at all to be asking what each person is there at the clinic for. Women who enter the clinic get out of their car and walk into the clinic in approximately one minute. This is one of the many reasons why Crisis Pregnancy Centers exist. There are many of these in my own immediate area and they are staffed by life-affirming and well-trained volunteers.

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You have no idea what you are doing to [women who enter the clinic].
Many women put their trust into the doctors and paraprofessional people involved in the abortion industry. After all, women reason with themselves, these people have a really good education and know what they are doing. Carol Everett ran abortion clinics for a living where 35,000 abortions took place. She wrote a book titled Blood Money. In her book, Carol Everett chronicled how abortions were sold. Abortions were sold as a product; as if abortion was a product at a furniture store. "Counselors" were trained to play on the emotions of women and hide facts from them. [2,3] Thus, it would be wise for all people to seek information regarding abortion from all sides of the debate. More importantly, non-biased scientific information should be sought. Education is key.

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Because of people like you, no one wants to perform these anymore.
Unfortunately, the numbers of abortions completed in the United States continue to remain high; "In 2006, 846,181 legal induced abortions were reported to CDC from 49 reporting areas. This total presents a 3% increase from the 820,151 abortions reported for 2005 [NOTE: the actual numbers of abortion are higher since multiple states are not counted in the CDC's statistics]." [4] Why? Because there the industry is highly unregulated and the procedure is vastly legal and unimpeded by government intervention.

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There are not really many places to go anymore.
Aside from abortion clinics, approximately "367 doctors’ offices perform" abortions when asked by their private patients in the United States. [5] Altogether, "there were 1,787 abortion providers in the United States" in 2005 and "The number of abortion clinics has remained relatively constant." [5] However, there have been recent reports from pro-life sources who claim that there has been a drastic decline in abortion clinics nation-wide. One such source Operation Rescue who claims that "over two-thirds of the nation's abortion clinics have closed in the past 18 years." [6]. At best, the Alan Guttmacher institute, the research arm of the largest abortion provider in the United States, Planned Parenthood, the availability of abortion services has remained relatively stable. Thus, this man may be right that the number could be declining but there still are plenty of abortion clinics available to the public.

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[Abortion is a] time sensitive in nature.
Time sensitive in that the further a baby develops the harder his tissue and the larger his body becomes thus making abortions more difficult. The irate father is correct in this assertion.

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My wife does not want to deliver a still-born baby.
She wants a dead baby as soon as possible rather than an abnormally developed and very unhealthy baby? This is called discrimination against the disabled. It would be very rare for anyone to suggest killing a disabled born person, yet it is socially acceptable to do so to the disabled unborn? Even unborn children with Down's Syndrome and non-fatal neural tube defects such as spina bifida are discriminated against with purposeful death (abortion).

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Why don't you go help average kids? Why don't you try to stop the problem before-hand?
The woman in the video answered that she has adopted children. Indeed, adoption is the answer to helping women in crisis pregnancies. It is the ultimate sacrifice to give of oneself in the raising of another for the sake of another.

Helping children? What are these protesters doing? They are trying to save the very lives of children at their most vulnerable stage of development: in the womb! I'd say that's helping "average kids." Further, should no one help "non-average kids" such as those with disabilities? A child with sirenomelia is someone with a grave disability and needs the most help from others! That child needs a chance at life--NOT absolute death!

Stopping the problem before-hand? Regardless of the efforts of organizations like Planned Parenthood and the vast majority of public schools that push contraceptives there are still a high number of unintended pregnancies. Planned Parenthood's research arm the Guttmacher Institute admits that "for teens, abortion
rates and numbers decline due to increasing abstinence and teens
continuing unwanted pregnancies"-a clear admission that abstinence works more efficiently than contraceptives. [5] Indeed, failure of condoms and all reversible contraceptives is 19% in the first two years; further, those who are targeted most to use reversible birth control have the highest rates (higher than 19%) of failure (teens, hispanics, blacks, poor, and unmarried) [7,8,9]. Contraception does not work in preventing pregnancies. Thus, it makes sense to defend those "unwanted" or "unintended" children to survive as pro-life protesters do.

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Why do you stand out here to make people feel bad about themselves?
When a pro-life protester speaks the truth ("please do not kill your baby") they are neither making people feel good nor bad about themselves. If the truth hurts, so be it. The truth is the most important thing for all people in the world in all situations. If a woman is unsure about having an abortion due to these statements then that women should take the time and research the topic more. Abortion is not something to be taken lightly. Even those who are ardently pro-choice frown upon the perspective that abortion is similar to a tooth extraction--it is NOT. It is a lot more than that. Pro-lifers contend that it is the taking of another person's life! Scientifically, that is the most true statement a person could make.

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Lowest common denominator [in reference to the pro-lifers].
Rather than judging someone without giving them a chance to talk, why don't you engage these people in a civil and calm conversation? You may find that they are not the lowest common denominator. You may find that these protesters have a heart willing to care for a child with sirenomelia. Indeed, there are plenty of peri-natal hospice programs available for this very reason: to care for ill newborn children who are expected to die at birth or shortly thereafter. [10]

The name of the man in the video is Aaron Gouveia. His article regarding his experience surrounding this video is available through the following link: URL [11]. The following is a very thought-provoking response to the father in the video:

Matt says:
November 1, 2010 at 10:34 am

Don explains a very valid point, and I don’t think he is trying to be obtuse. “Being a parent and being pregnant are two very different things.” That may be the case ONLY if you believe that becoming a Parent only happens when a child leaves the womb, versus when the child in conceived. “A fetus cannot survive outside of the womb.”…that is true, but neither can a baby survive on its own. It’s not a viable argument.

Think of it this way...if you TRULY BELIEVED that a child is created at conception, then you would be fighting for the life of a child.

To put it in perspective, if an abortion clinic was a clinic for mothers of 0-2 month old kids to go and kill their children, would not pretty much everyone on this board be across the street screaming in outrage? Even for a child who would die or was suffering?

So the argument is really about, if an unborn child is a child, or not. This has always been the argument. Some people believe that others are misled by thinking that a child only becomes a child at some unclear point during a late term of the pregnancy, or after the child leaves the womb. Others believe some are misled thinking that a fetus younger than some point is a child.

In this case, the child’s outlook was terminal from a doctors point of view, but at that term, the child still had time to develop, and doctor’s are not always right. I could not in this case have decided not to give my child every chance.

I feel for the father and mother in this article and their situation, but I also sympathize with the protesters, as I know how they feel watching people enter the facility.

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Indeed, "[The Zygote] results from the union of an oocyte and a sperm. A zygote is the beginning of a new human being. Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm … unites with a female gamete or oocyte … to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marks the beginning of each of us as a unique individual." [12]

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[1] A Warm Place (blog), "The Little Mermaid Syndrome," written by (unknown author, can't seem to find out who). **The links are the most important in this source** URL

[2] Blood Money: Getting Rich Off Woman's Right to Choose, written by Carol Everett, 1991, 1992, published by the Heidi Group.

[3] Blood Money: A Documentary. Access a trailer to this movie containing first-hand accounts regarding the business of abortion: URL to YouTube

[4] Center for Disease Control, "CDC’s Abortion Surveillance System FAQs" accessed on November 16, 2010. URL

[5] The Alan Guttmacher Institute (research arm of Planned Parenthood, the United State's largest abortion provider), "An Overview of Abortion in the United States" - a presentation with slides. PDF

[6] Opposing Views (blog), "Number of abortion clinics continues to decline." URL

[7] Center for Disease Control (CDC), "2002 PRAMS Surveillance Report: Multistate Exhibits: Unintended Pregnancy and Contraceptive Use." URL

[8] Ranjit N, Bankole A, Darroch JE, Singh S. Contraceptive failure in the first two years of use: differences across socioeconomic subgroups. Family Planning Perspectives 2001;33(1):19–27.

[9] Fu H, Darroch JE, Haas T, Ranjit N. Contraceptive failure rates: new estimates from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. Family Planning Perspectives 1999;31(2):56–63.

[10] Perinatal Hospice and Palliative Care: A Gift of Time (website). URL

[11] Good Men Project (magazine), "Confronting Life," October 23, 2010 By Aaron Gouveia. URL

[12] The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 6th ed. 1998, pg. 2-18.

Hospice Nursing: Embracing the End of Life

Those who are pro-life espouse the mantra of protecting life from conception to natural death. Indeed, it is science that is on our side. To those who are pro-choice there is a mantra that bodily autonomy, freedom of privacy, and the rights to make decisions are more important than the right to life.

I am going to shortly describe how the end of life connects with the pro-life cause and relate it to my nursing career.

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Do those who are dying have a right to life?
Yes. Those with a terminal diagnosis have a right to live their lives in the way that they choose. Those who are dying have a right to pain relief, to be comfortable, to be at home, to be with their loved ones, and to pass on from this life in the way that is most respectful to them. We all have a right to life; indeed, we can all choose how to be treated in end-of-life care that respects our lives.

Do those who are dying have a right to die?
No. Those with a terminal diagnosis have a right to determine in what ways they will pass from this life to the next but they do not have the right to kill themselves or to obtain aide in doing so. The rights of those who are dying are exemplified by their life itself and the quality of their lives. We cannot take one without the other.

Some claim that it is torturous to deny the right to die to those that want it.
Some have this contention. Those that have terminal diagnoses often experience pain, discomfort, loneliness, ambivalence, uncertainty about the afterlife, regret about some things done during their lives, depression, and other troublesome experiences. However, actively killing the actively dying does nothing to address these issues. It ends these issues but does not deal with them.

How can those issues be dealt with?
Pain: The ability to control pain has seen many advances over the years. It is possible to control pain for practically all terminal patients. Indeed, controlling pain is a huge priority for caregivers and the dying patient. It is up to the patient to determine how much pain relief is necessary while weighing the side effects (stupor, fatigue, constipation, etc). Death as a result from pain medication is a real possibility. However, if pain management has been done properly then death caused by pain medication is not the intent but rather a side effect. For those who are dying, death is imminent. Thus, controlling pain is vital and may hasten death as a side effect. This is not tremendously common and is also not the intention of the pain management regimen and is thus not considered in the realm of euthanasia. It is being respectful of the patient's wishes to be pain free during the dying process and nothing more.

Discomfort: Those who care for the dying are able to help a patient with comfort whether they be family, friends, caregivers, nurses, or doctors. Hospice allows a patient to experience least discomfort as can be possible. Indeed it is best for those who are dying to experience their last days in their own home in the ways that they desire. These measures reduce discomfort. Other causes of discomfort such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and other problems can also be managed with medications and other therapies.

Loneliness: Those who visit the dying patient include a wide array of individuals such as nurses, pastors, and volunteers. These resources are vital to help curve the feeling of loneliness. The worst fear many people have is of dying alone. Hospice care and loving families help prevent this from happening. Indeed, visitors are vitally important for those who have a terminal diagnosis.

Ambivalence: Hospice care provides those who are dying and their families with answers regarding the process of death, dying, and the care that they will receive. It helps all of those involved to have an understanding; this helps in reducing fear, pain, discomfort, and many other unfavorable things.

Uncertainty About the Afterlife: Having a Hospice team that is willing to speak with patients regarding the life after death is very important. One does not need to share the same faith with each other to know that most people worry about what will happen to them after dying. Some may not care, many others will. This is also why chaplain services are readily available to those on Hospice. When someone has comfort with what will happen to them following their death then it can help calm and comfort.

Depression: A broad support system oftentimes helps those who are depressed. Hospice provides that to a great deal. However, this does not always help fight against depression. Clinical depression can be treated with medications while other depression can abetted a little bit at a time by a support group. Oftentimes volunteers can provide companionship that busy nurses and other workers cannot give as much as they would like. Many Hospice organizations provide volunteers and other services to help brighten the last days of patients with terminal diagnoses.

How does hospice relate to the pro-life cause?
Hospice should not provided a means to end a persons life. It is about increasing the quality of the time a person has left to live. Allow me to simply compare and contrast:

Euthanasia is a quick end to suffering; hospice deals with the problems to allow comfort and dignity.
Abortion is a quick end to an unwanted pregnancy; choosing life deals with the unwanted pregnancy to allow a newly created human being to live.

Just like there are many issues that surround end-of-life care that can be managed, there are many problems with an unwanted pregnancy that must also be managed.

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I have been a hospice nurse for seven months. It can be very stressful, but it can also be very enlightening. I have been a small part of the care to help so many patients pass away with comfort and dignity. I have such awesome coworkers who have also helped these patients in their own special way. I am so thankful to work with such a wonderful group of people who have such compassion for their patients.

Indeed, giving life is the most important aspect of hospice nursing. This is the reason why I continue to work hospice. Respect life! Give it dignity! Give it what it rightfully deserves! Embrace life from conception until natural death.

A Life Dedicated to Life

Growing up, I wanted to become a composer for video game music. When I went to college I started out as a music major intending to accomplish that goal. I became complacent. I took an Anatomy and Physiology class to fulfill a science lab requirement and loved studying it. It was a wonderful class with great students and a wonderful professor. I was enthralled at the inner workings of our bodies created by our Almighty God that it gave me a different insight into the goals of my life. I wanted to protect life. I graduated as a Registered Nurse a few years later.

Today I work as a Case Manager for hospice. I help manage the care and also personally care for patients that are in their final moments. I help them to love life in the short time that they have left to experience it. Life is a beautiful experience with its horrible and difficult times and its wonderful and fun times. As beautiful as life is, it is short. We must value every moment that God has given us to experience it.

Among the worst things in this world is taking away someone's life. Taking a person's life takes away the experiences that God intended for that person to experience. It robs a person of the great things that can be experienced. How much worse is it to take away the life of someone who has only been in life for a few short years, months, or weeks. The beginning of life is the most precious because there is so much life to live in the young.

Indeed it is my goal to allow people to make the most of their lives, even in their end times. It is also my goal to allow people to experience a life that they deserve to experience. I strive to end abortion for this very reason. It is pure evil to take this most precious gift of life away from another human being.

As a Registered Nurse it is my duty to defend the defenseless, give a voice to the voiceless, and be an advocate to those without one. It is my duty. It is my goal.

In music-- enrich lives.
In nursing-- defend lives.
In life-- love and live what God has given us.

A life dedicated to life. We all should strive to live that kind of life.

Playing the Human Being Word Game

When those who favor legal abortion talk to me, I always get a plethora of word games. Oftentimes my words are twisted or taken out of context. Other times issues that I present are ignored completely. There are other instances where the points on which I agree with another person are ignored entirely and maybe even refuted. These techniques are meant to etch away at my patience in a conversation so that when I end the conversation due to frustration the other person can claim victory.


Word Games Blur the Core Issue
I have an example of this. Is there a scientific definition of the phrase "human being?" I certainly have not found that particular phrasing in textbooks or online. Does this mean that the scientific community has not defined what is a human being or not? No, this is not true. However, to those who argue against me the opposite is true.

Those who argue against me claim that there are no scientists who agree that a human being's life begins at conceptions since one cannot find the exact phrase "human being" defined by science. Since no scientist can define what is a human being, they say, then we must use the philosophical framework to define what is considered a human being. In conclusion, they say, we must use the philosophical definition of a human being as having cognition which occurs at a particular point in human development. There are really huge reasons why this argument is flawed.

1. "Human being" is a phrase and not a word. Thus, one must combine two separate words to come to a definition. The word "human" means (in the context of this debate) a member of the species homo sapiens. Does science claim that a zygote is a member of the species homo sapiens? Yes it does. In fact, I have never heard of a current scientist claim anything else. The word "being" is defined as existing. Does a zygote exist? Only a moron would think that a zygote does not exist. Thus, "human being" (in the context of this debate) is considered any existing member of the species homo sapiens. Zygote easily fits this definition according to current scientific knowledge. Furthermore, the zygote is a living and independent member of the species homo sapiens whom exists in reality by objective scientific fact.

2. A philosophical framework can lead to many different definitions; not one definition could we all agree upon. I have heard people state what makes a developing human a "person" or "human being" is the detection of brain waves (8 weeks LMP [1][2]), when consciousness occurs (one claims that this is placed at approximately 28 weeks when thalamic afferents begin to enter in the cerebral cortex [3], another claims that consciousness doesn't occur until months or years after birth [4]), viability [5], birth [6], and other moments in a human's lifespan. Thus using philosophical, religious, and subjective reasons to define what is and what is not a human being cannot be trusted. These reasons are merely the inner workings of the human mind.

Yes, a fetus may not experience pain prior to 20 weeks gestation [7]. Yes, a fetus does not breath air until being born. Yes, a fetus does not respond to sound until around 20 weeks gestation [8]. Hmm... you know what? An infant cannot participate in sexual intercourse, believes that others can read his mind, does not understand commitment, does not have a fully developed nervous system, does not have fully functional visual capabilities, and has numerous other developmental milestones that he has not reached yet. I'm thinking all the more... all of us who are still alive have not experienced the developmental milestone of death.

"Development begins with fertilization, ..." [9] and ends with death.

To play the human being word game is to determine who will live and who will die.

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1. Epigee: Health and Fitness, "First Trimester Fetal Growth" as accessed on March 16, 2010. "8 weeks - ... Brain waves can be measured." URL LINK

2. Abort73, "Fetal Development" as accessed on March 16, 2010 and last updated on February 27, 2010. "Primitive brain waves have been recorded as early as six weeks and 2 days (gestation)." URL LINK

3. User pirbird14 on YouTube comment on video "Abortion Pictures: The Abortion Reich Lie" comment posted on March 16, 2010. "Consciousness is a function of the cerebral cortex, which does not begin to develop prior to week 26 (sic)." URL LINK

4. Elroy. "Why Abortion is Moral" as accessed on March 16, 2010. "...consciousness normally doesn't occur until months, even years, after a baby is born (sic)." URL LINK

5. Little, Margaret. Rutgers School of Law. "Abortion and the Margins of Personhood" as accessed on March 16, 2010, published sometime in 2003. "Especially when robust viability precedes full moral status, a gray zone emerges in which decisions over the life of the fetus hover between the private and the public." PDF LINK

6. Green, John. eLetters, Denver Post. "Personhood begins on your birthday" as accessed on March 16, 2010 and posted on December 17, 2007. URL LINK

7. NewsMaxx. "Reintroduced Fetal Pain Bill Garners Unlikely Supporter" as accessed on march 16, 2010 and posted on February 2, 2005. URL LINK

8. Endowment for Human Development. "Prenatal Form and Function: The Making of an Earth Suit" as accessed on March 16, 2010. "By 20 weeks it reaches adult size within the fully developed inner ear. From now on, the fetus will respond to a growing medley of sounds." URL LINK

9. T.W. Sadler, Langman's Medical Embryology, 10th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006. p. 11.

Atheism and Abortion

Is atheism compatible with legalized therapeutic abortion? Through my experience talking to and hearing stories from atheists I have concluded that atheism is very much incompatible with legalized therapeutic abortion.

The key to understanding if atheism is compatible with legalized therapeutic abortion is simple: 1) remove God from the equation and 2) put in place common human decency instilled in all humans to not kill each other.

Accomplishing the first premise of removing God from the equation is a simple task. What remains is science and law. Then a question quickly becomes clear: what do we rely on for an answer, science, law, or both?

I have found that the majority of pro-choice atheist choose to base their arguments on law almost entirely. The reason for this is obvious; the law does not recognize the person that is the unborn human being. Countering this argument is easy, though. Say that slavery in the United States of American did not end with the Civil War, does that mean that slavery would still be justified and moral if it was still legal? The answer is no. Another simple rhetorical question could be that if one day a Personhood Amendment became part of the United States Constitution that defined a person as "any human being from conception to natural death" would that magically make an unborn human being a person? The answer is no, a law cannot make something true or false; law is very much just a reflection of a person's (or a people's) view in which a society should be governed. Basing an opinion from law is similar to basing an opinion based on public opinion polls; it's absolutely useless and completely illogical.

When pro-choice atheists jump into the fray of scientific evidence to support their claims, their arguments fall flat. I have oftentimes asked simple questions to pro-choice atheists that they almost always dodge and try every trick in the book to not answer. I have been discussing abortion with an atheist online, the following is a part of that conversation:

SegaMon: Consider the statement: "Clearly God has caused more abortions than we have." Does that make elective abortion moral? Nope.

Now consider this statement: "Clearly God has caused more murders to happen than we have." Does this statement make murder moral? Nope.

Pro-Choice Atheist: Can you please have your god come out and talk to us and tell what she wants?!? That would clear up a lot of misunderstandings. Thanx.
Where is the logic of abortion being immoral?

SegaMon: Knowing what God wants can often times be internal. For specifics, the Bible has given us many things to direct us in the right way.

Killing people ourselves is wrong (ie murder is a sin). Even the majority of atheists believe in this form of morality (ie elective abortion is NOT a religious issue).

Now, can you answer the question that I asked? "Does this statement make murder moral?"

Pro-Choice Atheist: I will only answer questions that come directly from your god. You are but a misguided middle man with a tedious and banal way of thinking. As far as I can tell god hasn't caused anything, show us some proof, then I might take your ramblings more seriously. btw - Abortion cannot be murder, by the definition of murder.

SegaMon: I wasn't saying that "abortion is murder." However, if the law starts to protect the unborn just like the born, then that statement would certainly be true (it's a term of law).

My "ramblings?" Come back down to Earth, your ego is making you float away.

I don't have to "prove" God to you. Just the fact that we will NEVER fully understand the human body is enough proof of God that I need.

I was using LOGIC, something that you claim to have such a handle on. Just answer my question please.

Pro-Choice Atheist: I guess I haven't been clear enough. Your god doesn't exist and therefore your question is nonsense. You can't use logic and proof of god in the same paragraph. hehehe

SegaMon: YOU were the one talking about God, not me.

Thus, I used the same exact statement that you had and then replaced "abortion" with "murder" and asked if you could explain it.

Again, it wasn't me that brought up God, it was you!

My question was NOT about God.

Read my first post again and answer the question. If you do not answer, you have failed to follow truth and use proper logic.

If we are going to blame God for more abortions, then we should certainly blame God for more murders. God certainly kills more born people than we do from heart attacks, falls, strokes, cancer, hepatitis, HIV, TB, etc.

So please, if you fail to answer then you are conceding to defeat.

Pro-Choice Atheist: As I have said breore god does not exist (at least the christian concept) so, a nonexistent being can have no effect. No moral laws, no killing, no giving of life or death. Your question is nonsense. Change your question to something that relates directly to abortion and i will answer it.

SegaMon: [[Here I mistakenly thought that this poster was the poster of the video]] My question has EVERYTHING to do with abortion. Thus you concede to defeat.

Pro-Choice Atheist: [[Here the poster is correcting me that he is not the poster of the video]]

SegaMon: I do concede that I wrongly assumed that you made the video based upon your answers (I should have double checked).

Regardless of my mistake, my response was in regards to the video itself. My question has much merit in relation to the statements made in the video. Do you like this video? Do you agree with this video? If so then you should still answer my question.

Mistaking you for the video's creator is not as bad as not answering a simple question.

Besides does it really matter if I'm smart of not? If someone asks a very simple question, even if it's asked by a complete moron, then someone with half a brain should be able to answer it. So why do you not answer it?

Pro-Choice Atheist: I answered over and over and over and over. The question does not relate to me. How can I answer a question about god's actions if I think the whole bible is myth and metaphor ie that there is no such being? Answer your own question, i guess that's what you want to do any way?? Tell us what the point is you are trying to make.

SegaMon: You didn't answer the question: "Does the previous statement make murder moral?"

This is not a question about God. This is not a question regarding religion. This is a response to the video's statements. You didn't answer this question!

The reason why I wanted you to answer the question was to help guide you through my reasoning then hopefully you could see where I was coming from.

My point was if abortion is moral because God does it then murder must be moral because God murders too.

Pro-Choice Atheist: What if god doesn't exist? Like I've been saying over and over and over and over. Then, isn't your point meaningless? THAT'S what I've been trying to tell you.

SegaMon: My question was directly countering what was in the video (which was made by an atheist). My question was NOT about God. It was NOT about religion. How many times do I have to tell you that? I'll make my question easier for you to understand by using non-God speak:

"Clearly [mother nature] has caused more murders to happen than we have.

"Thus, does the previous statement make murder moral?"

Please answer the question. (I wonder how long this game of ping-pong will last, lol)

You said that "the question does not relate to me." Then why did you respond to my post to begin with? There must have been something that interested you in what I said. I can't stand it when people stifle conversations by not answering simple questions and ignoring the topic's core. That was what you did. If this conversation is not important to you, then maybe you shouldn't be talking to me.

Why would pro-choice atheists choose to not answer simple and direct questions? An answer that comes to mind would be that they are uncomfortable with either the facts that they know or uncomfortable with the facts that they may learn in the process of conversation. Although I am a staunch right-wing conservative eastern Catholic Christian it is amazing to find out that I am the one siding with scientific facts.

Knowing that every human being's life begins at conception is the crux of the scientific debate. The most important hypothetical question that must be asked of these pro-choice atheists is the following: if we do not side with protecting what science defines as a human being, then at what point of development do we start defending human life? Answers to this question have much variety ranging from "when brain waves that can be detected" to the extreme "when the umbilical cord is cut after birth." Then the response to whatever their answer is should become blatantly obvious; the answer is do we base decisions on the objective facts of science or on one of the numerous subjective opinions of imperfect minds? It would be a natural choice to side with undeniable scientific facts than with the imperfect opinions that our minds have determined for ourselves.

Thus, the argument is won in favor of life. Of course, the prideful pro-choice atheist will kick and scream in objection, but there is no denying their defeat. This is all done without the acknowledgement of God's existence. To deal the deafening blow to the pro-choice atheist's argument at this time is to state that it is common human decency to protect our own species from purposeful death (murder). If the person believes that there is no such thing as common human decency, then ask him if he is willing to kill a born person to prove his thesis. If this person is not willing kill then he does have common decency and is just being stubborn. However, if the person is willing to kill a born person then there is no use in talking to an insane lunatic who may one day become a murderer (I have actually met people that have said this).

Pro-lifers of all faiths, use the following information to define the beginning of human life at conception:

**Credit goes to Abort73.com for the following list of sources**

"Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm (spermatozoo developmentn) unites with a female gamete or oocyte (ovum) to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marked the beginning of each of us as a unique individual. A zygote is the beginning of a new human being (i.e., an embryo)."
Keith L. Moore, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 2003. pp. 16, 2.

"Human embryos begin development following the fusion of definitive male and female gametes during fertilization... This moment of zygote formation may be taken as the beginning or zero time point of embryonic development."
William J. Larsen, Essentials of Human Embryology. New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1998. pp. 1, 14.

"Every baby begins life within the tiny globe of the mother's egg... It is beautifully translucent and fragile and it encompasses the vital links in which life is carried from one generation to the next. Within this tiny sphere great events take place. When one of the father's sperm cells, like the ones gathered here around the egg, succeeds in penetrating the egg and becomes united with it, a new life can begin."
Geraldine Lux Flanagan, Beginning Life. New York: DK, 1996. p. 13.

"Biologically speaking, human development begins at fertilization."
The Biology of Prenatal Develpment, National Geographic, 2006. {A video documentary]

"The two cells gradually and gracefully become one. This is the moment of conception, when an individual's unique set of DNA is created, a human signature that never existed before and will never be repeated."
In the Womb, National Geographic, 2005. [A video documentary]

"Development begins with fertilization, the process by which the male gamete, the sperm, and the femal gamete, the oocyte, unite to give rise to a zygote."
T.W. Sadler, Langman's Medical Embryology, 10th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006. p. 11.

**Credit goes to Bobby Bambino of the Jill Stanek blog for the following list of sources**

"Almost all higher animals start their lives from a single cell, the fertilized ovum (zygote). ... The time of fertilization represents the starting point in the life history, or ontogeny, of the individual."
Carlson, Bruce M., Patten's Foundations of Embryology, 6th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996, p.3.

"The development of a human being begins with fertilization, a process by which two highly specialized cells, the spermatozoon from the male and the oocyte from the female, unite to give rise to a new organism, the zygote."
Langman, Jan. Medical Embryology. 3rd edition. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1975, p. 3

"Zygote. This cell, formed by the union of an ovum and a sperm (Gr. zygtos, yoked together), represents the beginning of a human being."
Moore, Keith L. and Persaud, T.V.N. Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology and Birth Defects. 4th edition. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1993, p. 1

"Although human life is a continuous process, fertilization is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed. ... The combination of 23 chromosomes present in each pronucleus results in 46 chromosomes in the zygote. Thus the diploid number is restored and the embryonic genome is formed. The embryo now exists as a genetic unity."
O'Rahilly, Ronan and Müller, Fabiola. Human Embryology and Teratology, 2nd edition. New York: Wiley-Liss, 1996, pp. 8, 29.

"...the term conception refers to the union of the male and female pronuclear elements of procreation from which a new living being develops. It is synonymous with the terms fecundation, impregnation and fertilization ... The zygote thus formed represents the beginning of a new life."
J.P. Greenhill and E.A. Freidman. Biological Principles and Modern Practice of Obstetrics. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Publishers, pages 17 and 23.

"Fertilization is a sequence of events that begins with the contact of a sperm (spermatozoon) with a secondary oocyte (ovum) and ends with the fusion of their pronuclei (the haploid nuclei of the sperm and ovum) and the mingling of their chromosomes to form a new cell. This fertilized ovum, known as a zygote, is a large diploid cell that is the beginning, or primordium, of a human being."
Moore, Keith L. Essentials of Human Embryology. Toronto: B.C. Decker Inc, 1988, p.2.

"Embryo: An organism in the earliest stage of development; in a man, from the time of conception to the end of the second month in the uterus."
Dox, Ida G. et al. The Harper Collins Illustrated Medical Dictionary. New York: Harper Perennial, 1993, p. 146.

"...every time a sperm cell and ovum unite, a new being is created which is alive and will continue to live unless its death is brought about by some specific condition."
E.L. Potter, M.D., and J.M. Craig, M.D. Pathology of the Fetus and the Infant (3rd Edition). Chicago: Year Book Medical Publishers, 1975, page vii.

"Embryo: The developing individual between the union of the germ cells and the completion of the organs which characterize its body when it becomes a separate organism.... At the moment the sperm cell of the human male meets the ovum of the female and the union results in a fertilized ovum (zygote), a new life has begun.... The term embryo covers the several stages of early development from conception to the ninth or tenth week of life."
Considine, Douglas (ed.). Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia. 5th edition. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1976, p. 943

“The chromosomes of the oocyte and sperm are…respectively enclosed within female and male pronuclei. These pronuclei fuse with each other to produce the single, diploid, 2N nucleus of the fertilized zygote. This moment of zygote formation may be taken as the beginning or zero time point of embryonic development.”
- Human Embryology. 2nd edition. 1997, p. 17

“In this text, we begin our description of the developing human with the formation and differentiation of the male and female sex cells or gametes, which will unite at fertilization to initiate the embryonic development of a new individual. … Fertilization takes place in the oviduct … resulting in the formation of a zygote containing a single diploid nucleus. Embryonic development is considered to begin at this point… This moment of zygote formation may be taken as the beginning or zero time point of embryonic development.”
Essentials of Human Embryology 1998 1-17.

“[The Zygote] results from the union of an oocyte and a sperm. A zygote is the beginning of a new human being. Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm … unites with a female gamete or oocyte … to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marks the beginning of each of us as a unique individual.”
The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 6th ed. 1998, pg. 2-18.

“Fertilization is an important landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed… Fertilization is the procession of events that begins when a spermatozoon makes contact with a secondary oocyte or its investments… The zygote … is a unicellular embryo…”
Human Embryology & Teratology 1996 pg. 5-55.