The Story of A Girl - My heart and the abortion issue, Part 1

It’s a five part series, folks. I truly tried to condense it to the most crucial points, but without backing them up in detail….my claims would only be as good as Senator Obama’s. Also I will try to stay off internal political debate here, because I just want to share how God convicted my heart on this “issue” (if we can call babies an issue) For me, it has come much more than just an issue, it is something I can’t sit back and watch happen without speaking up for those that cannot speak. For God to of allowed me to see something so clearly for the first time, and then to not do anything with that blessing would be just as unjust as the so called justice I support.

I’m not trying to persuade with any rhetoric or misleading phrases here. I’ll let God do the convincing in people hearts, if He feels there is reason too. I would just like to lay my heart out on the table and pray that it makes some difference somewhere, someday.

I made up this little paragraph below, to serve as my model for person I would hope to convince (after part 5, of course)

Here comes another religious freak trying to change my opinion about my own body. Why can’t they jsut state their opinion and then move on? Why do some people feel the need to “convince” everyone that their own opinion is correct. These type people are just full of themselves and think they are above the rest of us. It’s my decision what I do with my body, not some right wing over religious nut’s! Why can’t some people just admit defeat? The people have spoken. Get over it and move on.

If I was close to your thoughts above…then please, give me a chance to explain.

It’s hard to know where to start. There is so much to cover here. First I’d like to say that my past experience does give me some insight or case for persuasion here, but I honestly feel that the best candidates to persuade anyone on this, are the women who have had an abortion and now seek to change and protect the younger generations from a similar decision, because of how it has affected them later in life. And yes, I propose that the majority of women who have had abortions do experience the post-traumatic effects 5, 10 or 20 years later in life. (I can that opinion, and will, here too)

I do have a semi-unique view though also, since I too have “been there” and faced was with the same decisions (although I even resorted to blocking out my pregnancy, to an extent, until the 7th month. Just due to the difficulty of a decision I didn’t want to face) So last year I was raped (I hate that word still, especially because I was totally healed from it after the birth of my daughter) in my apartment by a friend of my (then) roommate. It all happened so fast and during a difficult time in my life when it be hard to find one decision I seemed to make the right choice on! I kept choosing what I wanted, and had almost completely blocked out what God wanted. It’s a bad cycle for sure! I heard Him whisper at times, but the world was too loud around me to listen…so I thought! God makes you listen when He really has something to say!

He changed my life. Now I see I was this tiny tiny insignificant part in His overall plan (which I don’t attempt to fathom) and in this humble realization of how trivial my life is, I became aware of just how Awesome and Magnificent Our Father truly is! And in my insignificance, I felt more loved and treasured than I ever had before! Because this love was a given to me, with no stipulations, by the only One that really ever mattered. It was Grace that allowed me to finally see clearly and Grace that allows me to be forgiven everyday of my sins again, so I can see clearly for another day.

The first point I wanted to make, is that I guess I am “that girl or young woman” that some politicians and abortionists always refer to in their speeches. They say “we need to have empathy fro these woman in these difficult, crisis pregnancies.” However, they never seem to ask us (the ones that have been through an unexpected pregnancy or had an abortion how we feel…their opinions seem to primarily come from men and women that have never experienced it (and never ever want to). And I’m here to say that, empathy is what we should have for the woman! But real love for these women is shown through loving BOTH individuals. Why kill one life, when you can save two! And to kill a life so (literally) close to a woman (in her womb) will undoubtedly have long term affects on her. (which I will prove by the end of this piece) A few Testimonies, important in this debate:

Case Study, “Doris Kalasky” Forced to have sex with her father, Doris became pregnant. When the pregnancy was discovered, she refused to have an abortion. Her father, however, found an abortionist who would perform the abortion without her consent. She alone has had to pay the price.

Before I Had Time to Think, “Nancy Anders” It was May 19, 1973. I was pregnant from a date rape. I had tried to hide it from my parents but of course they found out. Then the pressure started. “How are you going to go to college with a baby?” “How are you going to support it?” “It is only a blob of blood. It’s not a baby yet.” Before I had time to think about what I wanted, the abortion was over.

Two Senseless Deaths: The Long Road to Recovery, by “Mrs. Julia Taylor” Mary was the victim of a date rape. When the man found out, he tried to make her have an abortion. She refused and would have nothing to do with him. After council, she gave in. Mary didn’t last the hour. After 40 minutes she was in a coma and on full life support. By the time Mary was taken to the ICU, it was too late to save her.

Trying to Survive, By Judith Evans My childhood was brutal. I was abandoned by my father when I was two-and-a-half. Then when he reappeared in my life again at the age of eight, it became worse. I survived incest, starvation, and beatings. I clung to life. It was the two abortions I had that nearly destroyed me.

Looking For Advice in All the Wrong Places, Case Study, “Colleen” - age 28. I was 18 and dating a man my parents strongly disapproved of. I realized I was pregnant when the smells from chemistry class kept making me sick. A friend convinced me to go her doctor in town. He diagnosed pregnancy immediately, saying, “Such a shame, another young one.” He told me not to worry, that “it” could be “taken care of.” He never once said anything about keeping the baby, but gave me a card from the local abortuary.

When the Doll Breaks, by Theresa Karminski Burke One night at a drunken fraternity party, Marita found herself having sex with her boyfriend. The details were quite foggy. When Marita discovered she was pregnant, she had an abortion immediately and never told a soul, except her boyfriend and her roommate. Theresa Karminski gives a professional look into the effects of abortion through the story of her roommate.

No one wins or helps anyone playing this game. I also know it is true that more pro-life advocates give more of their time and money to care for, support, and love these woman.. before and especially AFTER any birth or abortion. So Mr. Obama, I feel your “empathy” as a male for women, needs much work! No one has ever been “punished with a baby” and never will be. Perhaps it is viewed as “the worst thing imaginable” at the time to a young woman (I felt it too) but after many years have passed, this “tragedy” becomes something that could of been MUCH WORSE, if acted upon without proper time and information. I won’t get all biblical here, but Jesus himself would of been one of these children probably aborted today. At the time Mary a virgin teenager unwed was the ridicule of her family and her people. It was two teenagers with no money who gave birth to Jesus in a manger…Even if you don’t believe in God, you must admit he was a man influential like no other to generations upon generations. It was in the lowest and most humanly way possible that Jesus entered this world. I bet something like 70% of all pregnancies, planned or not, at one point scared the crap out of most men in America! But humans, are reactors….and no one knows the future.(That I hope we can agree on) To say a child would be worse off born, is an insane claim. We can go by statistics and unbiased surveys to suggest that the future is not as pleasant after an abortion.

I also want to mention before I begin, that I am in no way trying to use my past or my daughter to somehow exalt myself…the mention of that, makes my stomach turn and skin crawl! ( no one has ever said that, but I’m just covering my basis first in case) I would never use my daughter for my own gain. She is too too precious to me. Bu tr if anyone wants to think that, it will not stop me from proclaiming the truth anyways. My daughter praises God in every breath she takes and it would be a disgrace if I choose to ignore how God has changed my life through her and continue on my merry way, never standing up for the very thing God graced my life with and let me see clearly for the first time.

Ever since i was a little girl…(I’d say age 11) my two biggest fears I prayed about almost every day. One was to have to leave home and separate from my family (i was a bit of a homebody) The other big fear was something I remember hearing a lot about on T.V and grown ups were always debating. It was talked about as “impossible to fathom” and a “curse,” at least in my child eyes. I prayed ALOT for God to never ever put me in a situation where I was raped and somehow became pregnant, then had that decision to make for myself. I “told” Him I “knew” I would make the wrong choice if that happened, and I’d never forgive myself. I had nightmares about it even way back then. I think it was in large part due to this fairytale life i wanted for myself, I thought my life would be over if this event happened. I also stretched this fear to include having a special needs child. I was a 12 year old, praying for my kids to never have any disabilities, because I thought my heart was too cold to love them as much. (God basically has answered my prayers in the manner of showing me I was wrong and anything is possible when God is calling the shots. He showed me more of my own heart than i cold of ever attempted to see on my own. Now I think I can handle anything with Him by my side. And suffering for any right cause is a blessing no matter how you package or wrap it up. (not a point I know will sway many, ignore if this makes no sense to you, but dont let it hold you up from reading on…)

So I’m suggesting here that ANY woman or girl presented with the idea of an unplanned or crisis pregnancy..will freak out! It’s only natural, but by providing immediate termination of “their perceived problem” we only hurt the woman in the long run. We also discredit women in general (who I think are much stronger than this) We were made for this stuff, not men, and for a darn good reason too! we are selling ourselves short and future generations and this is a “feminist” movement doing so? It doesn’t make since! I wish I could say, ok older feminists, your time is up! Now it’s the 30 and under generation of “feminist” to take control and show some huts-pa! We saw you wimps work it, now move over ( of course in a very nice way!)

There are so many reasons to protect the innocent LIVES of these children, but because the pro-abortionists have changed the rhetoric so intentionally over the past 20 years, woman have forgotten what it is we are even fighting for here!

“Everything changes, yet everything remains the same.” A wise teacher observed.

It’s not merely a religious debate:

It once was a debate over what constitutes man life and therefore is abortion right or wrong. On this debate, pro-lifers won on religious, moral, a nd constitutional grounds. its an almost unanimous decision among people that abortion is wrong and we should try to prevent it from happening. But when abortionists were not gaining ground they took a different approach. (which I will discuss later)

Their Old Arguments Invalid

Much has changed in 25 years. Back then the central question that we argued was whether or not this was a human life. This argument has basically been answered. Yes, ultrasound and medical technology have gone a long way toward helping us. Nevertheless, an immense amount of credit goes to each of you reading this and to all of those whom you have helped to train, for we have educated a nation and taught them that this is truly a human life from conception. This question is not really in contention any longer.

The other major argument – that this is only a religious issue – still surfaces and is still thrown at us, but now with much less force. As medical developments have proven the humanity of the unborn, so parallel developments have shown this to be a human rights, a civil rights issue to more and more people.

Other arguments have fallen by the wayside. “Remember these are unwanted pregnancies who will grow to be unwanted and battered children.” That argument is essentially dead as, after 25 years, we now have, not a decrease in battered children, but an explosion of battered children and child abuse. Abortion clearly has not solved this problem.

Let’s start here with a mini- history on Aborton:

Were there laws against abortion in the early American colonies?

The colonies inherited English Common Law and largely operated under it until well into the 19th century. English Common Law forbade abortion. Abortion prior to quickening was a misdemeanor. Abortion after quickening (feeling life) was a felony. This bifid punishment, inherited from earlier ecclesiastic law, stemmed from earlier “knowledge” regarding human reproduction.

When did this change?

In the early 1800s it was discovered that human life did not begin when she “felt life,” but rather at fertilization. As a direct result of this, the British Parliament in 1869 passed the “Offenses Against the Persons Act,” eliminating the above bifid punishment and dropping the felony punishment back to fertilization. One by one, across the middle years of the 19th century, every then-present state passed its own law against abortion. By 1860, 85% of the population lived in states which had prohibited abortion with new laws. These laws, preceding and following the British example, moved the felony punishment from quickening back to conception. J. Dellapenna, The History of Abortion: Technology, Morality, and Law, University of Pittsburgh Law Review, 1979 Quay, Justifiable Abortion-Medical and Legal Foundations, Georgetown Univ., Law Review, 1960-1961

Who was punished?

Abortionists, if convicted, were sent to jail for varying lengths of time. There is no record of any having been executed.

Were women punished?

The definitive study on this gives the lie to Planned Parenthood’s ads which claimed: “If you had a miscarriage you could be prosecuted for murder.” Washington Post April 27, 1981

Studying two hundred years of legal history, the American Center for Bioethics concluded: “No evidence was found to support the proposition that women were prosecuted for undergoing or soliciting abortions. The charge that spontaneous miscarriages could result in criminal prosecution is similarly insupportable. There are no documented instances of prosecution of such women for murder or for any other species of homicide; nor is there evidence that states that had provisions enabling them to prosecute women for procuring abortions ever applied those laws. The vast majority of the courts were reluctant to implicate women, even in a secondary fashion, through complicity and conspiracy charges. Even in those rare instances where an abortionist persuaded the court to recognize the woman as his accomplice, charges were not filed against her. In short, women were not prosecuted for abortions. Abortionists were. The charges of Planned Parenthood and other “pro-choice” proponents are without factual basis. Given the American legal system’s reliance on precedent, it is unlikely that enforcement of future criminal sanctions on abortion would deviate substantially from past enforcement patterns.” Women and Abortion, Prospects of Criminal Charges Monograph, American Center for Bioethics, 422 C St., NE, Washington, DC 20002, Spring 1983

But why were so few abortionists prosecuted?

Because there were no scientifically accurate methods in those days to diagnose early pregnancy. The only absolute diagnosis of pregnancy, medically and legally binding, was for the doctor to hear the fetal heart, and that was only possible after four and five months. Prior to that, the abortionist could claim that her menstrual period was late or that she had some other malady, and that all he did was to bring on her period. It is all but impossible to convict a person of murder unless the body can be produced the corpus delicti. Since they were almost never able to obtain and examine the tissue removed from the woman’s body, in a court of law it was almost impossible to prove (a) that she had been pregnant and (b) that the actions of the abortionist had terminated the pregnancy. In practice, abortionists, therefore, were typically only prosecuted when the woman had been injured or killed. It was not until the advent of x-rays in the early 1900s (fetal bones visible at three months) and later hormone tests for pregnancy in the 1940s that pregnancy could be legally confirmed in its earlier weeks.

When did the first state legalize abortion?

In 1967 Colorado and California legalized abortion. By June, 1970, when the State of New York passed the first Abortion on Demand Law (24-week limit), it be-came the 16th state to allow abortion. Due to an extremely loose interpretation of “mental health,” California also had defacto abortion-on-demand. Alaska and Hawaii had liberal laws. Laws in the other 12 states, which included Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina and Virginia, were very restrictive, typically allowing abortion only for pregnancies due to assault rape, incest and life of the mother as well as for severe fetal handicap.

No more laws passed after that?

Between the passage of New York’s law in 1970 and the Supreme Court’s decision of January ’73, no more state legislatures voluntarily passed permissive abortion laws. Florida did because of a court order. The other states debated the issue in their legislatures, and all 33 voted against permitting abortion for any reason except to save the mother’s life. In April of ’72, New York State repealed its most permissive law. Governor Nelson Rockefeller vetoed the repeal, and the law remained in force. In the November ’72 elections, however, so many pro-abortion legislators were swept out of office that the New York General Assembly had enough votes to override the governor’s veto. Plans were made to again repeal the law when that legislature reconvened in 1973. Before it could act, however, the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision and nothing was done.

The old state laws were challenged?

Yes. Having been stopped cold in their attempts to legalize abortion in any additional states, after 1970 pro-abortion forces challenged the legality of laws in many of the other states. These challenges to the constitutionality of the laws forbidding abortion in these states met with rather consistent results. In about one-third of the states, most of which had already legalized abortion by statute, these laws were declared unconstitutional in varying degrees. Two-thirds of the federal courts in the states, however, declared existing laws to be constitutional. In general, the states on the east and west coasts were permissive, whereas the broad sweep between the Alleghenies and Rockies remained pro-life.

There were referenda?

Yes. After the pro-abortionists were stopped in the legislatures and in the courts, they tried referenda in two states, to allow abortion-on-demand until 20 weeks in the November 1972 election.

North Dakota, only 12% Catholic, voted 78% against abortion.

Michigan, an industrial state (pre-polled at 60% pro-abortion), voted 63% against abortion.

The tide had turned?

Yes. It seemed obvious that most people did not want abortion. But, on January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled and abortion was imposed from the top down. Roe vs. Wade, U.S. Supreme Court410 U.S. 113, 1973 Doe vs. Bolton, U.S. Supreme Court 410 U.S. 179, 1973

Give it some thought. A public 25th anniversary next January could rally the troops. This can be a time for rejoicing and, most emphatically, an excellent opportunity to improve our public image nationwide. ?

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When does the unborn baby’s heart begin to beat?

The heartbeat begins on the 21st day after conception. (More Details)

When does the brain begin to function?

Electrical brain waves have been recorded as early as forty days. (More Details)
How early can a baby survive outside the mother’s womb?

Currently, twenty weeks is considered the accepted minimum. However, this time will be reduced as medical technology continues to improve.
What about cases of rape and incest?

Pregnancy from rape is extremely rare. As reasons for legalizing abortion rape and incest are nothing more than emotional screens used by those profiting from abortion. But we must approach the victim of rape or incest with great compassion. The woman has been subjected to an ugly trauma, and she needs love, support and help. But she has been the victim of one violent act. Should we now ask her to be a party to a second violent act -that of abortion? Unquestionably, many would return the violence of killing an innocent baby for the violence of rape. But, before making this decision, remember that most of the trauma has already occurred. She has been raped. That trauma will live with her all her life. Furthermore, this girl did not report for help, but kept this to herself. For several weeks or months, she has thought of little else. Now, she has finally asked for help, has shared her upset, and should be in a supportive situation. more information

But what about the child with disease who will die a slow death or live his life as a burden to his family?

Do you believe the new “ethic” should be that we kill the suffering or burdensome? Some of these cases are tragic, some are also inspirational. We cannot assume the responsibility for killing an unborn child simply because the child has not yet been seen in public. The child’s place of residence does not change what abortion does - kill a human being.
What about the population boom? We can hardly feed the people of the world now!

True, the population of the world is growing, but population is not much of a problem in the United States. With a birth every 8 seconds and a death every 11 seconds, the U.S. population is growing at less than one percent per year. (www.census.gov)

Population growth or decline compares replacement of the current number of reproductive age individuals with the number of babies being born. By this measure, the United States is now in a sharp population decline.
How can a girl give up her own baby for adoption and go through life never knowing what is happening to her child?

Which is better to remember, “I gave my baby life. And because I loved him, I gave him into the arms of a loving couple” - or to remember, “I selfishly ended my baby’s life?” (More Details)