Re: Abortion clinics in Fairfax?
Posted by:
St. Michael
()
Date: June 03, 2010 10:53AM
philosoraptor Wrote:
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> St. Michael:
>
> DNA is the primary genetic material for almost all
> life. Not just humans. So the argument you make
> that DNA is what makes a foetus human is invalid.
> Until birth a human foetus is practically
> indistinguishable from a tapeworm: it gathers
> nutrients from its host, cannot survive without
> the host, etc.
Sure, but a tapeworm doesn't grow up to be an adult human being. Now, I am also considering this from the standpoint that the human being is a more important being than any other creature. I know the PETA folks would beg to differ, but that's where I stand. A human person is a human person whether they are 3 millimeters or a full grown severely handicapped adult. Hard as it may be to accept and deal with, I could no more agree to the destruction of an innocent human life in the womb as a human freshly born. By the way, don't you consider it flimsy thinking that it's okay to destroy a human in the womb that does have viability outside the womb (without medical help, of course)? Birth is a specific point in the time line of a human's journey, but it has little to do with the formation of the human being in and of itself. After all, even after birth, a baby still grows and forms. Birth is a signpost along the way and an important transition, but it does not change the DNA, it doesn't change the fact that it's still a human person. Hope I am making sense. You seem sincere to read my take on the matter.
> But this really isn't about converting you to my
> way of thought. I don't care how you feel about
> this; why do you care about how I feel?
Well, I do care because that's part of my faith. I'm engaging you in this conversation because of this. No other motive. I'm not trying to get brownie points from God. I'm not trying to pick on someone. I'm not trying to feel great about myself. I am trying to answer you in kind as I believe as a Catholic I am called to do, and if God wants something to come of it, that's God's doing. If anything, hopefully, this discussion will help us to understand each other's point of view. I could easily ignore you and move on to something else.
>
> I had an abortion at age 14, and it was the best
> decision I've ever made. I'd have a 9-year-old son
> right now if it hadn't been for that decision, and
> I guarantee that child wouldn't have known any
> kind of good life had I decided to keep it.
> Adoption isn't really a viable alternative - the
> child would have likely been severely deformed due
> to the fact I'd ingested drugs while pregnant (but
> unaware of it) that would have damaged the foetus.
> No one would have adopted that child, and it would
> have lived its life out in the system. Not a good
> life for the child.
>
> And before you get all righteous about the age at
> which this happened to me, know that I was raped.
I'm extremely sorry for your being raped. That is incredibly awful for you. I can't imagine what they may have done to you psychologically, physically, etc. Honestly, I will pray for you....not that I am high and might or whatever. Hey, we all could use some prayers!
You mentioned adoption was not viable because you were afraid the child would be deformed, right? In my mind, you are tying viability to what you thought would happen. However, as imperfect as it might be, adoption is always an alternative. It's possible that the child might not have been deformed at all...I have heard many stories where they get it wrong about the child in the womb. Plus, even if the child was deformed, doesn't it still have a right to live? Deformed people have meaningful lives. Maybe this human would have grown into an adult deformed person that is an important advocate for the handicapped? For me, I would hope to leave life and death in God's hands.
By the way, I'm a guy, but had I had a girlfriend pregnant when I was young, I cannot honestly say whether I would have stood in the way of an abortion. I thank God I never had that situation or experience. Thinking now in my 40s, I would hope I wouldn't have pushed that. I certainly would not now. But then again, I am not perfect. I sin as much as the next guy. I'm a faulty human being and could still stumble. But the difference is, I know that abortion is wrong.
>
> And then wonder why you, and your compatriots in
> the right-to-life movement, would force me, still
> a child myself, to carry the child of the man who
> had abused me in the most heinous way possible for
> almost a year, possibly damaging my health to
> boot? Why should I be punished further for a crime
> perpetrated upon my person?
Well, this is always one of the toughest situations to answer because it is so very emotional for both the mother and child. I look at it this way. It isn't me or the pro-life movement that forced you to be pregnant and give you this crisis; it was the selfish, pathetic man that raped you. From my standpoint,the child is still a child however it came about, and it did nothing wrong. Innocent bystander in a weird way. This is not a very good analogy but I liken this to someone who gets cancer. Who knows. A test of faith? Who knows. You were raped and didn't ask for it. God allowed it. Why? Maybe a really huge test of faith? I don't know. But let's say science came up with a surefire way to take away cancer if you had your mother put to death to scrounge some kind of medicine from her body. You would likely not want your mother killed so that you could live, particularly when there are alternatives like chemo, radiation, etc. to treat the situation. Likewise, you didn't ask to be pregnant and there are alternatives to destroying the human life. Hope that makes some sense to you. Also, the rapist committed serious violence to your body. The person who then gets the abortion is committing to more serious violence on the body. Why would you treat violence with more violence? That's considering the women only.
Again, I feel terrible for your situation. Did anyone seriously talk to you about adoption at the time? Did you have anyone who supported both you and the child in your womb?
> Please, don't neglect to answer. I want to hear
> (or read, as it were) your response.
Anyway, I am glad that you reached back out to me. It helps me to understand and refine my own thinking on this. Certainly not a waste of time. Also, if I have pressed any painful buttons with what I've written above, I hope that you can have peace. We learn from good and bad life experiences, right? I'm not saying you are or will be, but if you find yourself upset, you might call Project Rachel, an organization for post-abortion healing (http://arlingtondiocese.org/familylife/rachel.php): 1-888-456-HOPE or 703-841-2504. I know that you said it was the best thing that happened to you. But upon reflection, if you have doubts or an inkling that things are not right in your life because the abortion, please give these folks a call. They can do a far better job of helping you than I ever could. It doesn't matter how long ago it was.