Quick thought about a common pro-choice view

I have always heard about people who believe that it would be morally sufficient to kill human beings to help alleviate the theoretical problem of world overpopulation. Through news stories I heard about China forcing their population to abort children who were their second child (oftentimes referred to as the "One Child Policy"). Very few politicians in the United States openly support this policy; however, there are many pro-choice politicians whose opinions have become known that they secretly admire this policy.

Throughout my life I have never actually met someone who told me that they would not mind killing people to abate the "problem" of a rising world population. I finally met someone with that very belief in 2003: my first year in college. I met this person while riding the city bus. On this bus, I ran into an old classmate from elementary school and, somehow, we started discussing abortion. At first he claimed that the unborn were not actually human beings. After some debate he conceded that therapeutic abortion was indeed the killing of innocent unborn human beings (and even agreed to call them "babies"). I asked him one of the questions I asked him earlier in the debate: "do you agree with legalized therapeutic abortion?" He answered "yes" with an unwavering tone. He elaborated further by saying "I don't care if abortion kills children, it is needed to decrease our world population." I was shocked to hear this coming from his mouth! He agreed that abortion was the direct and malicious killing of unborn children yet it was justifiable to him by some unproven theory that we were going to overpopulate the world!? I bid him farewell. I really did not want to see him ever again. Come to think of it, I never did.

Today I was looking over some comments to a news story about abortion protesters displaying abortion photos when I cam across this very same argument:

I'm all about choice. If a woman decides not to have a child by all means kill it. The world is over populated as it is, and it would be one less mouth to feed. (1)

Many who state this belief also understand the biologic and scientific proven fact that human life starts at conception. It cannot be denied that these people consider the theoretical problem of overpopulation to be more important than human life itself. This is also very telling of many of those who consider themselves pro-choice. Many pro-choice people will certainly agree with pro-lifers that human life starts at conception. For them, the only reason to remain pro-choice is because of the supposed benefits of killing an unwanted child: continuing an education, having extra free time, the ability to go to parties, the ability to save and use more money for themselves, saving the environment, reducing world population, or one or more of any many other asinine reasons.

The biggest difference between pro-lifers and pro-choicers? That's simple. Pro-lifers wish to defend unborn children while pro-choicers wish to destroy unborn children to their own personal gain.

I wonder if these pro-choicers would be willing to help further reduce the population by actively killing the "unfit" or "unwanted" born people in our society?

Keep in mind that I am referring to the ideological debate of those who SHOULD know better. I am NOT referring to women who have aborted yet have received little to no information regarding the facts of the unborn, offered little in the way of support in allowing the unborn child to live, and lead to believe the numerous lies that pro-choicers espouse.

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1. abc15.com (of Phoenix, Arizona), "Billboard shows aborted fetuses outside Phoenix high school: Comment from ckaye02" published on October 13, 2009. URL LINK

Clinic Violence: From Only One Side?

There have sometimes been violence associated with the abortion debate in the United States of America. However, which side commits such violence?

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Anti-Abortion Violence?

Those who protest against the legality of therapeutic abortion are often vilified as violent. "Protestors [against abortion] seem to have changed tactics, and engaged in hate letters, harassing phone calls, bomb threats, etc." says ReligiousTolerance.org (1). Back in April of 2009, the Department of Homeland Security released a document titled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment" which pointed out specifically those against abortion are possible terrorists and even assumed that "right-wing" people were racist against blacks (2). Even Sherry Colb, who shows an intelligent understanding of the topic, assumes that pro-lifers are almost always the instigators of violence as is shown by her statement: "In hearing about clinic attacks, my initial response is anger and outrage, as I suspect it is for virtually everyone who shares my view [of] abortion..." (3). Organizations that favor legalized therapeutic abortion further spread the thought that pro-lifers are violent in their numerous articles regarding this without ever mentioning any violence from those that support their view; examples of these organizations include the National Abortion Federation, and Planned Parenthood (4, 5).

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Pro-Abortion Violence?

The anti-abortion side of the debate has often answered by both refuting much of the claims of violence and/or accusing the other side of just as much or more violence committed. One such example is of Human Life International's website ProChoiceViolence.com in which they show a "documented more than 8,519 acts of violence and illegal activities by pro-abortionists" (6). Another example of a pro-life organization accusing the other side of violence is of the American Life League (ALL) in their story "Pro-Abortion Violence on Rise After Media Build Up, ALL Reports" (7). My conclusion is that violence is coming from both sides of the debate.

My experience with abortion-related violence has been quite plentiful although I have not protested often. I have only experienced violence from those opposing my pro-life viewpoint. When I protested with fellow protesters near a beach in Southern California there were people cussing in my face as they walked by and others who were throwing things at me as they drove by. When I protested at an abortion clinic in the Inland Empire, CA there were people cussing at me as they stopped at the nearest traffic light. When I had a bumper sticker that read "Abortion is Murder" I had at least one instance a month of people driving next to me and yelling profanities at me and even wishing that I was dead. When I protested at another abortion clinic in Downtown Riverside, CA there was a driver of biomedical-waste who said that he wanted to beat me up.

Most recently, I have been debating the abortion topic with a blogger named OperationCounterStrike. Through this persons profile this individual says that I am a murderer because of what I believe: "ALL right-to-lifers are murderers." (8) Furthermore, this person has called for the death of Phill Kline, Eric Rucker, and a blogger named Rick (8a, 8b). I'm sure that there are other instances of this individual encouraging violence (the same violence this person supposedly condemns).

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Violence is from Both Sides?

What is true in reality is that there are numerous examples of those from both sides of the debate committing violence. What is important in this debate? Condemn any form of violence from anyone no matter what is their belief. As an aside, it is also important to condemn the restriction of the right to peaceful free speech and assembly.

Violence in unacceptable. The way to change the hearts and minds in this country is through peaceful protest. This is the way that I have protested. Further, I encourage everyone to know the facts of the abortion debate rather than to be following strictly the emotional aspect! I also encourage everyone to share their views peacefully and fully in as many ways as possible. A national dialog about the facts of abortion is very long overdue. The truth is that the most violent thing that is happening today is the death of innocent unborn children.

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(1) Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (religioustolerance.org) as accessed on December 24, 2009. URL LINK
(2) Department of Homeland Security, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," published April 7, 2009. PDF DOWNLOAD
(3) Colb, Sherry, "Abortion Clinic Violence: Is Pro-Life Murder an Oxymoron?" published on January 9, 2008 as accessed on December 24, 2009. URL LINK
(4) National Abortion Federation, "Anti-Abortion Violence" as accessed on December 24, 2009. URL LINK
(5) Planned Parenthood, "Creating Healthy Responses to Hatred and Violence" as accessed on December 24, 2009. URL LINK
(6) Human Life International, ProChoiceViolence.com Home Page as accessed on December 24, 2009. URL LINK
(7) Walker, Katie, "Pro-Abortion Violence on Rise After Media Build Up, ALL Reports" published on July 2, 2009 as accessed on December 24, 2009. URL LINK
(8) OperationCounterStrike, Profile as accessed on December 24, 2009. URL LINK
(8a) OperationCounterStrike, "Don't investigate him; kill him" published on September 23, 2009 as accessed on December 24, 2009. URL LINK
(8b) OperationCounterStrike, "Euthanise this geezer" published on September 1, 2009 as accessed on December 24, 2009. URL LINK

Is deceit part of the pro-life mantra?

A user at RH Reality Check wrote, "...deceit is part of the pro-life [mode of operation]." (1) Are those who are against abortion purposely deceiving others? This is hard to believe. Others may contend that those who are against abortion deceive others based upon their own misconceptions. This is a fact that is a lot easier to believe; it is specifically those who are in favor of legalized therapeutic abortions that believe this slant of the opinion.

What is my own opinion on the matter? You may think that you know; actually, you do not know.

Can I write a sentence or two? Maybe I can write something like the following: deceit is part of the pro-choice mode of operation. Would I be more wrong than the user at RH Reality Check? Could it be said that those in favor of abortion purposely deceive others? This is certainly hard to believe. It may be easier to believe that those who are in favor of abortion deceive others based upon their own misconceptions. This is a fact that is a lot easier to believe.

So what is my own opinion on the matter? Those from both sides of the abortion debate inadvertently deceive other people based upon their own misconceptions!

It is hard to distinguish between the truth and lies. It is even harder to distinguish this in today's age of information. Numerous people are giving information in one way and then another person is giving information in another way. It is all given in a certain slant. The information on this blog is, of course, swayed a little by my own bias.

What do I suggest? Be skeptical whenever anyone ever tries to "prove" something to you! Do your own research! Find out the facts in as objective a way that you can! Then, apply your deepest morals and theology to those facts once those facts have been determined.

What facts have I determined to be true? The core of these facts are as follows:

1. Human life begins at conception (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)

Wow... that's a lot of core facts!!! So, where exactly is all of the deception that both sides can commit? I did mention about applying morals to the facts, right? What are the morals? They are as follows:

1. No one should purposely kill a human being (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)

Shazaam! That's a lot of deep morals and theology! And, is it in this deeply held moral and theological standard where much of the deceit comes from? No, it does not come from here. It is easy now to see where all of this deceit comes from. The deceit comes from the muddy battle grounds when arguing the validity of fact and the importance of morality.

My suggestion to both those for and against legalized abortion? Be true to what is true. Don't worry about what others think. Don't be concerned that others feel that you are "deceptive." Also, don't be concerned that others are being "deceptive," rather, look through what people say to determine reality. Do what is right.

Thus, is deceit part of the pro-life or pro-choice mantra? Who really knows? Who really cares? It is wrong if someone is deceitful but that is their own prerogative. It doesn't matter. Find the truth, wherever it may be, and follow it. All that is really required is that you not participate in deceit; follow the truth and you have the ability to change history.

"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind." (1 Peter 2:1)

1. The "Pro-Life" Movement's Hot Rhetoric and All-Out Lies as found on RH Reality Check accessed on July 3, 2009.

2. "The resulting single cell [from fertilization] is now referred to as the zygote." Klossner, N and Hatfield, Nancy. Introductory Maternity and Pediatric Nursing. Page 107. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2006.

3. "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." Sadler, Langman, and Leland. Langman's Medical Embryology. Page 37. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2006.

4. "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.

5. "Although life is a continuous process, fertilization (which, incidentally, is not a 'moment') is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new genetically distinct human organism is formed when the chromosomes of the male and female pronuclei blend in the oocyte." Ronan O'Rahilly and Fabiola Müller, Human Embryology and Teratology, 3rd edition. New York: Wiley-Liss, 2001. p. 8.

6. "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.

7. "Thou shall not murder." The Holy Bible. The Old Testament. Exodus 20:13.

8. "The deliberate murder of a innocent person is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human being." Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Inc, 1997. pp. 602-603

9. "From the earliest times, Hindu tradition and scriptures condemn the practice, except when the mother's life is in danger." Hinduism's Online Lexicon URL LINK **Must input "abortion" in search box. 2006 Himalayan Academy. Accessed on June 3, 2009.

10. "Abortion for any purpose other than saving the life of the mother is not permitted." Jacob Neusner, Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period, p.226. June 1999.

11. "Buddhism believes in rebirth and teaches that individual human life begins at conception. The new being, bearing the karmic identity of a recently deceased individual, is therefore as entitled to the same moral respect as an adult human being." Damien Keown, Science and Theology News, April 2004. As retrieved from BBC - Religion and Ethics, "Buddhism and Abortion." URL LINK