I believe abortion is genocide, a modern-day holocaust of Biblical proportions. Slowly but surely, people are coming around to recognize the obvious truth. However, what many people have not recognized is that more than one person is hurt by abortion. It is true that an innocent life is killed before it has a chance to truly live. But what about the woman who commits the act? What about the husband who either encourages or stands by helplessly? What about the grandparents and siblings of the baby?
The fact is that abortion hurts many people, not just the baby.
For too many years, the loudest voices in the pro-life movement have been the most obnoxious. And for too many years, the Christian Church has missed out on numerous opportunities to reach out to those hurt by abortion. Instead, there has been little more than condemnation for the post-abortive woman.
That's why I am so glad to see InOurMidst.com, a new site created to help awaken the Christian Church to the fact that there are thousands upon thousands of hurting and wounded people sitting in our pews every Sunday. They sit in silence, ashamed to share the pain that cripples them emotionally. And in many churches, it is probably a good thing that they have remained silent. Too many so-called churches do little more than shun and condemn the post-abortive women.
In Our Midst awakens the Church and challenges them to treat those who have sinned the way that Jesus would! Using the example of the woman at the well, the site encourages the church to love those who have committed sin and seek to restore them to wholeness by the power of God.
It's about time!
Randall Terry and Operation Rescue have meant well in their attempts to save babies, but it is through the hearts of women who have walked through healing from abortion that the truth about this horrendous practice will come forward and finally brought to an end!
Post-Abortion Syndrome is a very real disorder that affects many post-abortive women (and men).
Sites like SafeHaven Ministries do a fine job of ministering to the needs of the post-abortive. But InOurMidst.com provides post-abortion training and materials for a Church much in need of learning compassion for those who have been hurt. For more information about reaching the post abortive, visit In Our Midst.
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Furl It!
April 6, 2005 11:22 AM
Great idea! Finally, some compassion for people who have had o make such a difficult choice, instead of religious people basically spitting on them and telling them what horrible, evil, sinful, worthless people they are for having made such a choice. However, do these people also counsel and minister to these people and help them deal with the personal reasons for having an abortion in the first place, such as being raped, or being far too poverty stricken to care for a child properly, or being abused and controlled by a husband or boyfriend to get and abortion, or basically just not being at all ready for a child because of other life circumstances that might damage a child and cause it more of living hell than if it had never been born? My question is this, and I hope that these new views from churches may help solve it - How can we stamp out abortion if we condemn everyone who makes that choice? How can we help stop abortion if we are not FIRST addressing the reasons people make the choice in the first place. Change society, change the choice. Abortion is simply a symptom of an ailing society, a society where it is sometimes more harsh to bring a child into a world where it will be beaten, unloved, and neglected than it is for that child to not be born. Fix society, and you eradicate abortion. I hope that these new churches look at these factors and really ry to HELP people rather than condemn them.
April 6, 2005 06:04 PM
What about the rapist who spreads their seed, or the woman who will die if they go full term, or the family who had an "accident" and simply can not afford to have another child? What of the teenager who was taught lies in the abstinance only programme and did not understand that intercourse is not the only way to get pregnant?
What are they to do?
Your beliefs are are just that, your beliefs, the very fact that you say your belief is the one true belief is a paradox, because what if you are wrong and the others are right? They also say theirs is the truth.
Choice is what makes us human. Death is part of that. Just as a weak cub, or frail chick will die, so must the mother be given the right to choose whether to go full term.
Anti-Abortionists tend to be all or nothing type of people. Yet many believe in the death penalty. For example your president.
Sometimes abortion is the only rational option.
The choice and the consequences of those choices are not to be trivialized with a belief system that has proven time and again to be bent to the will of man by power hungry clergy.
The choice is up to the individual. Anything less than that is a travesty of faith in the human condition and a life that can be taken away at any time by nature.
April 6, 2005 08:58 PM
The comments people make really surprise me. Especially coming from someone that like to try and seem like they're rational themselves.
Take Karl for instance.
> What about the rapist who spreads their seed,
> or the woman who will die if they go full term,
> or the family who had an "accident" and simply
> can not afford to have another child?
So you're advocating abortions based on these very rare occurances. What of the hooker that gets abortions every month as birth control? Are you OK with that? How about you explore ALL the reasons people get abortions and not just focus on your limited view?
> What of the teenager who was taught lies in the
> abstinance only programme and did not
> understand that intercourse is not the only way
> to get pregnant?
Uh. How exactly would someone get pregnant 'accidentally' without having intercourse?
> What are they to do?
Hmm... let's think here. Be responsible for their actions? Accountability?
> Your beliefs are are just that, your beliefs,
> the very fact that you say your belief is the
> one true belief is a paradox, because what if
> you are wrong and the others are right? They
> also say theirs is the truth.
Wow. Brain. About. To. Explode.
> Choice is what makes us human. Death is part of
> that. Just as a weak cub, or frail chick will
> die, so must the mother be given the right to
> choose whether to go full term.
Your logic is stupifying. You're equating the death of a weak animal to a woman making a choice to destroy their baby. Am I the only one that can see how retarded this is?
> Anti-Abortionists tend to be all or nothing
> type of people. Yet many believe in the death
> penalty. For example your president.
Yeah, because we know that killing someone that committed a crime knowing that the punishment COULD BE the death penalty is just the same as killing someone before they can even do anything wrong.
Great logic Einstein.
> Sometimes abortion is the only rational option.
I will agree that sometimes it seems that abortion is the only option, but it is never rational.
> The choice and the consequences of those
> choices are not to be trivialized with a belief
> system that has proven time and again to be
> bent to the will of man by power hungry clergy.
Luckily, you can be against abortion and not believe in any god. For example, me. I'm a very proud Pro-Life Atheist. I can argue against abortion without using any type of god.
> The choice is up to the individual.
We finally agree on something!!! That baby should have the right to decide if it wants to die or not.
Oh wait, you weren't talking about that individual.
> Anything less than that is a travesty of faith
> in the human condition and a life that can be
> taken away at any time by nature.
So now you're advocating abortion because you might die anyways from a car accident or tsunami?
I get the feeling you're just trolling. Please tell me you're just trolling. Nobody can be this ignorant.
April 6, 2005 11:17 PM
>> Nobody can be this ignorant.
Obviously they can. The mirror is over there.
>> So you're advocating abortions based on these very rare occurances.
Unfortunately, they are not rare.
>> What of the hooker that gets abortions every month as birth control?
As a rule, except for the completely desperate, they don't. They use condoms, as their business is sex, they can't risk disease. The idea that they are disease ridden retards is something that is not backed by facts. Thats why NZ decrimalized prositution, to try to remove that unfounded stigma and protect their rights.
>> Uh. How exactly would someone get pregnant 'accidentally' without having intercourse?
Oral sex, kissing then oral sex again would probably do it. After all, because they are not taught all the facts, they don't think there is anything wrong with Oral sex, and that it is 100% safe. The statistics more than back this up, it's beyond dispute that abstinance programmes do not work.
>> Hmm... let's think here. Be responsible for their actions? Accountability?
If they were provided with all the information then fine, but they are not, therefore they can not be expected to get it right all the time. Have you never made a mistake?
>> So now you're advocating abortion because you might die anyways from a car accident or tsunami?
I am advocating abortion in the following situations:
- rape
- medical risk to mother
- diagnosed sever defeats in the foetus that would impact in their ability to survive out of the womb
- extreme situations relating to what would happen to the mother if she was to carry full term e.g. would her father beat her to death if he found out
- situations where an underage person has made a mistake and there will not be a satisfactory support structure in place for her to see through the pregnancy
All of these are not "uncommon" situations. The mother has a right to choose.
April 7, 2005 12:20 AM
Absolutely right, Karl. There are exceptions to EVERY rule, no matter what faith you believe in. Abortion may not be an easy choice, but sometimes people DO feel it is their only choice. EDUCATION is the answer to the problem. Education based on FACTS and not just the morality of a belief system that can sometimes be contradictory (i.e. Christianity, Islam, etc...)If children are educated about ALL alternatives and ALL points of view (instead of JUST the narrow minded absitnence approach) regarding sexuality, they may be better informed to make the best choice, the right choice for them at the time. the idea here is PREVENTION of the situations that cause people to make the choice of abortion. Educate people better, and abortion rates will decrease - simple logic. For years, Christians preached that sex outside of marriage was wrong, wrong, wrong, sin, sin, sin - guess what? Kids rebelled and did the exact opposite because they were tired of being told their feelings were invalid and they were going to Hell if they DISOBEYED. People DO NOT like CONTROL. That is what single-minded thinking breeds - CONTROL. Give kids choices and teach them what the consequences of ther actions could be, and then you have EDUCATION. Then there will be less porblems and more understanding of people's feelings. Then we will have a better society and maybe, just maybe no NEED for abortion.
April 7, 2005 02:19 AM
>>>> Nobody can be this ignorant.
>> Obviously they can. The mirror is over there.
Huh? That's the best you could come up with?
>> Unfortunately, they are not rare.
You have a link to statistics?
>>>> What of the hooker that gets abortions every
>>>> month as birth control?
>> The idea that they are disease ridden retards
>> is something that is not backed by facts.
Where the hell did you pull that out of? Who said anything about them being 'disease ridden retards?'
Yeah. Troll.
>> Thats why NZ decrimalized prositution, to try
>> to remove that unfounded stigma and protect
>> their rights.
I'm sure they decriminalized it to make them feel better about themselves. That's why most laws get passed. :rolleyes:
>>>> Uh. How exactly would someone get
>>>> pregnant 'accidentally' without having
>>>> intercourse?
>> Oral sex, kissing then oral sex again would
>> probably do it.
You've got to be kidding.
So what you're suggesting is:
Woman services man, gets certain fluids on her lips.
Woman kisses man, passes fluids to his mouth.
Man services woman, passing fluids to woman.
This has got to be a joke. Let me guess, this also isn't a rare occurance. Please tell me you're just trolling.
>> it's beyond dispute that abstinance programmes
>> do not work.
Can you back that up with facts or are we just supposed to believe you?
>> If they were provided with all the information
>> then fine, but they are not, therefore they
>> can not be expected to get it right all the
>> time. Have you never made a mistake?
There's always a way out then. Well sir, I was never told that I could pass my semen to her egg by way of private to mouth, mouth to mouth, then mouth to private. So I'm innocent!
>> I am advocating abortion in the following
>> situations:
I'm more interested in what situations you would NOT advocate abortions. Seems that your list could almost include just about every situation you could come up with.
April 7, 2005 02:25 AM
>> Absolutely right, Karl. There are exceptions
>> to EVERY rule,
Of course he didn't list any exceptions. He said the stuff he wrote was common.
>> If children are educated about ALL
>> alternatives and ALL points of view (instead
>> of JUST the narrow minded absitnence approach)
>> regarding sexuality, they may be better
>> informed to make the best choice, the right
>> choice for them at the time.
If you have sex, even protected sex, you could get pregnant or catch diseases.
If you don't have sex you can't catch these diseases OR get pregnant.
What's the best choice at any time for a kid?
>> For years, Christians preached that sex
>> outside of marriage was wrong, wrong, wrong,
>> sin, sin, sin - guess what? Kids rebelled and
>> did the exact opposite because they were tired
>> of being told their feelings were invalid and
>> they were going to Hell if they DISOBEYED.
Uh. What are you trying to prove here? So the kids did something wrong to rebel. Does that make it right? If anyone told them they were going to hell if they disobeyed, that's another issue I'm sure.
April 7, 2005 04:15 AM
Just a quick point - the issue of rape is one exception. No, I have not known may women who have actually gotten pregnant due to rape, although that is just a matter of numbers - it is not as easy to get pregnant as many people think - it just simply requires the right timing. However, rape is much, much, much more common than most people think. I have known many women who have been raped or molested - in fact almost every girl I've been friends with or have dated have had something happen to them in the area of unwanted sexuality. It is VERY common.
By the way, it is quite interesting to see a self-proclaimed atheist who is willing to argue for pro-life. It at least proves that you don't have to believe in an invisible God to have a strong sense of morality. For that matter, even with many liberal tendencies and an agnostic belief system, I stand on high moral ground, but I just see many issues that need to be looked at from ALL perspectives. Interesting point to ponder - why are some Christians who are so radically pro-life willing to burn down abortion clinics and kill - MURDER - doctors who support and perform abortions. ABSOLUTE HYPOCRISY! And also, why do some Christians hate gays so much? Guess what, gays can NEVER have abortions in a same-sex marriage. Gays by definition never have to make that choice because they are gay. You'd think pro-lifers would be happy about that. People on both sides of the issue need to get a grip on reality and lend a little perspectivistic thinking to the equation, don't you think. Just some thoughts to ponder.
August 20, 2005 12:07 PM
Marco isn't really an atheist. He just plays one on TV. ;-)