Personal Responsibilty

I received the following message from a faithful reader:

I am glad that I stumbled onto your site and I have immensely enjoyed reading your "rants." Although, frankly, I would hardly call them rants--more likely highly passionate thought pieces.

Still, I would like to challenge you to take a deeper look at the "in your face fund raising" article. Wait. Breathe. Don't go ballistic yet. I truly believe that the issue of abortion will benefit from a conversation between or among people who disagree about it. And that conversation begins when we remove inflammatory language ("anti-choice zealots" or "pro-murder/abortion activists") AND--this is a big one--we try to understand the reasons people may hold the opposing viewpoint.

For instance, in regards to the fundraising idea of PP, I am certain that it will not stop picketers from picketing. Why? It won't stop picketers because they believe that they are doing what is necessary to stop a destructive action. They believe that the life of every human being begins at conception and that abortion is the taking of a life. They liken it to the civil rights movement. Would the civil rights' activists of the sixties have stopped if a fund raising idea such as Planned Parenthood's was in place then? I doubt it. Would gay rights activistist of today--or environmental activists--stop what they are doing? I hope not. It is the same with people who oppose abortion.

On a personal note, I do not think abortion is a good thing. I think it snuffs out the life of a living being. If you have ever heard the heart beat of a 7-week old fetus or seen a sonogram of an 11 week old fetus, you would probably agree. I also think it harms women. Yet, I also realize that may people will disagree with me. I try to understand thier viewpoint and I believe that their support of abortion is based on good intentions--just as my oppostion to it is based on good intentions.

Anyway, dialogue about abortion will continue but will only be fruitful if we put away some of the harsher accusations that each side throws at each other. I am heartened that the Democratic Party has now recognized that it needs to be welcoming to Democrats who do not support the party platform on abortion. Kerry's comments after the election about including "pro-lifers" as well as Tim Roemer's candidacy for the DNC means that the conversation about abortion can take place within the ranks of the Democratic Party.

So, Hans, I hope you will join me in discussing this highly volatile issue in a more open-minded way. Thanks for listening and keep up the passionate outporings. -- Posted by Anonymous at 1/13/2005 06:46:01 AM

Thank you for you well thought out embassy (I learned that usage just this week while listening to the audiobook for The Hobbit).

Despite your inference that I was going to go ballistic I would like to inform you that, much like Jonathan Baker on the Amazing Race, my on-blog persona is different from my off. In real life my friends and family would never let me rant on as I am wont to do on my blog.

To address your suggestion. I think that all differences can be settled through communication. Healthy conversation is much better than throwing harsh words or pipe bombs. This is true in your local community, your state and across this great land of ours. In fact, the entire world would benefit from an open forum where nations could unite to discuss their issues and find their commonality (are you listening neo-cons?).

I am very concerned about making the world a safer, more loving, place. That's why Bush's foreign and domestic policies terrify me.

However, my piece was more about the marketing aspect of the fund-raising effort. Having worked in Marketing for the last ten years, and consider myself very well read on the subject, I always applaud something fresh and innovative. With their innovative campaign PP has turned lemons into a goldmine. I most certainly hope that the pickets continue. Every placard puts another dollar into pregnancy prevention programs.

With that said, I fully understand that you are trying to broaden the conversation so I will entertain this discussion for a little bit. During this discourse you will hear a certain word oft repeated. It is I. My reasoned opinion that this is a personal choice and responsibility.

I am not pro-abortion. I am not anti-abortion. I believe abortion is a necessary evil.

I don't believe that life begins at conception. You cannot tell me that a blastocyst is anything other than a parasite in the hosts abdomen. On the other hand I believe that life begins far before birth. So we are only talking a matter of months.

I am not Christian. I am not Buddhist, Hindu, Mormon or Muslim. I am barely a Jew. But I am well read and nowhere in the bible does it specifically say abortion is murder. It takes an interpretation of the scriptures to say that abortion is murder. The arguments from religious scholars are very similar and convincing IF you are a believer.

However, I am not a believer. My faith is Personal Responsibilty. For the record I am spiritual. I believe in Karma and I believe in ghosts.

I don't know about an almighty creator. But I know that formal religions are behind almost every atrocity suffered by mankind. Almost every war or genocide is the result of religious fervor. Look around you and at all the current hot spots on the planet. How many are about something other than religion? Practically none. Even those that aren't about religion, such as North Korea and Taiwan, are about faith in a system for governing society. The war on terror is certainly about religion.

Back to the topic,my reasoning behind my Pro-Choice stance is that it is not for me to judge what a woman does with her body. I have seen many promising lives forever changed by a unexpected pregnancy. It is not my role to govern a woman. My job is to control my sperm. Her job is to control her eggs. If I am unable to do that then I am responsible for the consequences. The same thing is true for my partner. Fortunately, she as a choice of what she can do with her body.

The question is, when is it no longer just the woman's body? My PERSONAL answers to that question won't make anybody happy. For normal circumstances, I lean towards 3 months. It's a nice, easy to remember, number. In the case of rape it should be six months. For severe defects it should be tied to the ability of science to determine that affliction (i.e. if it can be tested at 7 months then the abortion limit should be at 8 months.) Yes, I believe that euthanasia and assisted-suicide should be legal. Set the limits in stone and leave them alone.

I would entertain a national conversation on the issue but the anti-choice zealots, and they are zealots, won't listen to any other option than completely banning abortion. And they don't stop there. They think that birth control is akin to abortion. Now you tell me, is birth control murder? If you think so then you are completely unaware of how birth control works. I'm not going to bother with an explanation but if you don't understand that birth control prevents pregnancy than read this and then come back to the table. To the zealots anything less than a complete ban on abortion is unacceptable.

The argument zealots use is that abortion is murder. But that statement isn't based on science. It's based on religious teachings. A religion, I repeat, to which I do not subscribe.

These same zealots that prevent women from exercising responsibility won't help with medical bills, adoption or counseling. They just want the woman to bear the unwanted child. And I believe this is part and parcel of the same religious belief that women must be punished for Eve's transgression in the garden.

If people want to live their lives by the Bible, God bless them. If people don't want to live according to the Bible, Dog bless them. Much in the same way that I can't control what my sexual partner does with her eggs I see no reason why the believers should have any control over the non-believers. If you believe the Bible says you shouldn't have an abortion then don't. End of story.

You know what? I can continue but why bother. Whatever I believe and vote for will be battled by the anti-choice zealots. I understand their argument but I refuse it on every level. They refuse my arguments. We are at a deadlock that will not be solved by this blog. So I will continue to point out cool marketing gimmics and you will, I hope, continue to read this blog.