Response the the Argument: It is possible to be morally pro-life and politically pro-choice at the same time.

This post is a response the following article by Annie Reneau, entitled, "It Is Possible to be Morally Pro-Life and Politically Pro-Choice at the Same Time: Click Here.

1. The author starts with the premise that the belief that life begins at conception is a religious belief, not scientific fact. This is patently false. Here is an article outlining how life at conception is established scientific fact: https://naapc.org/why-life-begins-at-conception/

2. She then argues that one should be able to abort a child if that child has a disability, which she does not specify, but merely says that the child would have a "short, pain-filled life." If the parents love their child, as she claims, but the child's life is truly going to be short, why kill it--in a painful abortion--early? Do we do this for already-born children? If your one-year-old is diagnosed with spina bifida or cerebral palsy, should we then legalize chopping her to bits? And what moral right does one person have to determine the life value of another person? If I see you going through a terrible depression, should I then have the right to end your life to "spare you from pain and suffering?" Certainly not. Killing innocent human life is never justifiable for such reasons.

3. She says that women experiencing miscarriages or stillbirths are harmed because they are "forced to carry dead babies inside them" because of abortion restrictions. Again, a patently false statement. These kinds of medical procedures were happening prior to Roe v. Wade, they happen now (and are not called abortions, btw), and they will continue to happen after Roe V Wade is overturned.

4. She argues that the government "should not serve as judge and jury to a woman's decisions." Taking this argument to its logical conclusion would mean anarchy in its severest sense. Because morality itself is about our ideas of how human beings should behave in a fair and equal manner, ALL laws are based on morality. So if no one has the right to legislate the behavior of another person based on moral principles, then rape and murder and incest and theft and selling drugs and sex-trafficking and slavery and every other evil deed imaginable should be legal. Essentially, she is saying, "even if abortion is murder, it should be legal." Why?

5. Her last argument claims that making abortion illegal doesn't prevent abortions from happening and keeping it legal doesn't mean more abortions. Again, this is just another lie. Abortion has NOT been steadily declining since Roe v. Wade. Since then we have killed over 50 million babies, and this number is low because many chemical abortions are not counted and several states, such as California, are non-reporting.

6. She says that making abortion illegal will just push it underground and make it more dangerous. By that logic, all murder should be legal. Rape should be legal. Selling drugs and sex-trafficking should be legal. But these things are illegal--regardless of the fact that they keep happening--simply because they are blatant human rights violations. Abortion should be illegal because it is murder, not because making it illegal will make it stop. And murderers should not be able to practice murder "safely"!

So, is it possible to be morally pro-life but politically pro-choice at the same time? Only if you are in a state of logical contradiction or are simply ignorant about what abortion is, what abortion laws are about, and what it means to be "pro-life." If you say, "Abortion is murder, but it should be legal," then you are not pro-life, you are pro-abortion. Just admit it.

"Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." Romans 1:32

Being a Woman in America Fact Sheet

Marginalization and Subordination of Women

·         The vast majority of Christian churches in America claim a patriarchal or complementarian attitude regarding women, simultaneously insisting that women are “equal” in value to men, but that God has given them separate “roles.” Due to this “separate but equal” paradigm, women are consistently denied equal leadership roles, equal pay, equal educational opportunities, equal access to promotions, equal voice, and equal respect in regards to decision making within the church, home, and workplace. When women express dissatisfaction with this system, they are often silenced, rejected, further limited, and even accused of sinfulness (especially of having a “rebellious, Jezebel spirit.”) This kind of gas-lighting is spiritual abuse. Hereby, the Gospel meant to free is used as a further means of bondage.

•  Women are paid less than men and, therefore, receive less social security once their jobs end.

“In 2016, women working full time in the United States typically were paid just 80 percent of what men were paid, a gap of 20 percent.” (https://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/)

•   Women are more likely to live in poverty than men.

“In 2016, 13 percent of American women ages 18–64 were living below the federal poverty level, compared with 10 percent of men. For ages 65 and older 11 percent of women and 8 percent of men were living in poverty” (https://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/)

•  Women are more likely to be left to raise children alone. (https://singlemotherguide.com/single-mother-statistics/)

“42 percent of mothers with children under the age of 18 are their families’ primary or sole breadwinners.” (https://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/)

• Women are more likely than men to be judged regarding their looks and what they wear.

(https://www.recruiter.com/i/in-2018-professional-women-are-still-judged-by-their-appearances/ & https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=119952&page=1

Psychological Ramifications

• Women are more twice as likely as men to experience depression. (https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/women-twice-likely-men-have-depression-survey-finds-n847556)

Objectification of Women

• Most pornography features women as sexual objects, not people.

"Men spend $10 billion on pornography a year. 11,000 new pornographic films are made every year. And in those films, women are not people. In pornography, women are three holes and two hands" (Jensen, Robert. "A Cruel Edge: The Painful Truth About Today's Pornography--and What Men Can Do About It." Retrieved April 24, 2014 from: http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~rjensen/freelance/pornography&cruelty.htm)

"57% of pastors, 64A% of youth pastors in U.S. struggle with porn addiction." (https://www.christiantoday.com/article/57-percent-of-pastors-and-64-of-youth-pastors-in-u-s-struggle-with-porn-addiction-survey-shows/78178.htm)

• Popular media regularly portray women as sexual objects, which influences cultural attitudes toward women.

“Implicit messages such as those found in the Twilight series appear elsewhere, too. A newspaper story might describe a crime in a titillating manner or encourage readers to blame the victim. A novel might suggest it is noble for a woman to allow an abusive partner back in her life. A popular song might devalue or objectify women, or a movie might portray domestic violence as a ‘lover’s quarrel’ leading into a romantic interlude,” (Clark, Cat. “Intimate Partner Violence.” The American Feminist, Fall/Winter 2011, pp. 12-17.)

“Young women who have read EL James’s erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey are more likely to display sexist attitudes, according to new research.” https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/10/fifty-shades-of-grey-readers-show-higher-levels-of-sexism-study-finds

Crime

•          Women are more likely to be sexually abused as children.

“Child sexual abuse is not rare. Retrospective research indicates that as many as 1 out of 4 girls and 1 out of 6 boys will experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 18. However, because child sexual abuse is by its very nature secretive, many of these cases are never reported” (“Child Sexual Abuse Fact Sheet, 2009.” The National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Retrieved April 24, 2014 http://nctsn.org/nctsn_assets/pdfs/caring/ChildSexualAbuseFactSheet.pdf)

•          The cultural identity of womanhood and the female lived experience is indivisibly connected with being raped.

“Cultural representation of glamorized degradation has created a situation among the young in which boys rape and girls get raped as a normal course of events” (Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth. William Morrow & Co.: New York, 1991. 167.)

Approximately 90% of rape victims are women (“Get The Facts.” Rape Crisis Center. Retrieved April 24, 2014 from: http://www.rccmsc.org/resources/get-the-facts.aspx.)

Women who have been raped experience a great deal of rape-related fear; however, even women who have never experienced sexual assault nevertheless report high levels rape-related fear.

(https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01591487.1989.11005984?journalCode=rjfs18)

•          Females are far more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence.

“In 2007, intimate partner violence resulted in 2,340 deaths; 70% of the victims were women” (Clark, Cat. “Intimate Partner Violence.” The American Feminist, Fall/Winter 2011, pp. 12-17.)

“Females (76%) experienced more domestic violence than males (24%).” (Morgan, Rachel E. and Truman, Jennifer L. “Nonfatal Domestic Violence, 2003-2012.” Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved April 24, 2014 from:http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4984)

•   Women are regularly held accountable for the actions of their attackers/abusers.

Women are more likely than men to think victims should take responsibility for their assault, and women ages 18-24 are, of all female groups, most likely to believe the victim is responsible. (The Havens. Wake Up To Rape Research: Summary Report. 2010: 5.)

•          Though women commit fewer crimes than men, they are more likely to be victims of violent crime than men, especially domestic violence and sexual assault.

“In 2012, 73.8 percent of all arrestees were males. Males accounted for 80.1 percent of persons arrested for violent crimes and for 62.6 percent of persons arrested for property crimes. Males comprised 88.7 percent of persons arrested for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter in 2012. Of the total number of persons arrested for drug abuse violations, 79.7 percent were males.” According to this same study, the only crime where women accounted for a greater number of offenses was “prostitution and commercialized vice,” the majority of which could, arguably, simply be cases of victim blame—cases of women and girls who have been or are being sex-trafficked. Additionally, 99.1% of rapes and 92.2% of sex offenses are committed by males. 2012 FBI Criminal Justice Report. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/tables/42tabledatadecoverviewpdf/table_42_arrests_by_sex_2012.xls

Males are more likely to be murdered (usually by other males); however, females are far more likely to be victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, usually by a man she knows. https://www.crimeinamerica.net/2016/10/27/females-have-higher-rates-of-violent-crime-than-males/

“The overwhelming majority of women in prison are survivors of domestic violence. Three-quarters have histories of severe physical abuse by an intimate partner during adulthood, and 82% suffered serious physical or sexual abuse as children.” Correctional Association of New York at http://www.correctionalassociation.org/issue/domestic-violence & https://www.crimeinamerica.net/2016/10/12/national-statistics-on-women-offenders/

•        Women are unlikely to report being sexually assaulted or raped, usually due to fear of reprisal and/or rejection, the belief no one will help, or an unwillingness to get the perpetrator in trouble. (https://ocrsm.umd.edu/files/Why-Is-Sexual-Assault-Under-Reported.pdf) & (https://www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system )

“It is believed that only 15.8 to 35 percent of all sexual assaults are reported to the police.” (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, M. Planty and L. Langton, “Female Victims of Sexual Violence, 1994-2010,” 2013; Wolitzky-Taylor et al, “Is Reporting of Rape on the Rise? A Comparison of Women with Reported Versus Unreported Rape Experiences in the National Women’s StudyReplication,” 2010)

“Due partially to low reporting rates, only 9 percent of all rapists get prosecuted. Only 5 percent of cases lead to a felony conviction. Only 3 percent of rapists will spend a day in prison. The other 97 percent walk free.” (Probability Statistics Calculated By the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network, “Reporting Rates,” 2013)

•       Women are more likely to be counseled (especially within the church) to remain in an emotionally or physically abusive marriage.

(http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2018/04/30/leaked-audio-shows-southern-baptist-leader-telling-abused-wives-to-stay-and-pray/ & http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-18/domestic-violence-church-submit-to-husbands/8652028)

Victimization of Pregnant Women

·         Homicide is the leading killer of pregnant women.

•  Pregnant women have been fired, denied employment, kicked out of school, denied housing, and restricted from other basic sources of economic support for refusing to submit to an abortion.
• Pregnant women & girls in America have been raped, stabbed, shot, bombed, poisoned, beaten with bats, and strangled—most often by the father of their unborn child.
•  64% of women surveyed reported feeling pressured to abort.
• 79% of women surveyed were not told or deceived about available resources.
• Post-abortive women are 6 times more likely to commit suicide.
•  67% of women surveyed were not counseled prior to their abortion.
•  84% of women surveyed weren’t sufficiently informed before their abortion.
•  65% of women suffer trauma symptoms after abortion.
•   Many post-abortive women report being misinformed by experts regarding fetal development, abortion alternatives, and risks.
•  Many post-abortive women report having been denied essential personal, family, societal, or economic support.
•  Post-abortive women are nearly 4 times more likely to die from any and all causes.(Forced Abortion in America, Special Report, Elliot Institute.)

·         Lack of Church Support for Abortion-Vulnerable Women

•  36% of post-abortive women surveyed were attending church regularly at the time of their first abortion.
•  70% of abortions are obtained by women who profess to be Christian or Catholic.
•  76% of post-abortive women surveyed said the local church had no influence on her decision.
• 59% of women surveyed received or expected the church to react to her in a judgmental or condemning way.
•  49% of women agree that a pastor’s teachings on forgiveness don’t seem to apply to abortion.
•  65% of post-abortive women believe church members judge single women who are pregnant.
• 51% of women agree that churches aren’t prepared to discuss unplanned pregnancy options.

(Care Net National Office 2015 Survey)

Women Are Stronger Than We Think

•    On average, women live longer than men. (https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/worldswomen/documents/Health_BW.pdf)

·         Women are more likely to survive a crisis. (http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/women-are-more-likely-to-survive-a-crisis-than-men)

•   Women are more likely to be religiously/spiritually-minded than men. (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-secular-life/201409/why-are-women-more-religious-men)
•  Women are more likely to donate to charity than men. (https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2017/08/women-more-likely-to-donate-than-men.html)
•  Women are less likely than men to commit suicide. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010440X98900578)

Things Men Need to Understand About Women

•          Women experience far more fear than men, especially in regard to sexual violence. The threats are not imagined. Their fear is NOT irrational, nor is it due to being “overly emotional.”
•         A man will never have a healthy relationship with a woman he sees as beneath him.
•          Even “benevolent sexism” (e.g. “Women should lovingly led and protected by men.”) is still sexism. All sexism is bad.
•          A man will never be able to love a woman he does not respect.
•          Respect is recognizing and honoring another person’s unique, inherent value (even when they do not).
•          Love is choosing the highest good for the other person.
•         Intimacy is truly seeing and knowing another person for who they are. Think “Into-Me-See.”
•       A woman must have respect before she has love. (Love cannot exist without respect.)
•         In respect to a woman’s God-given identity of an “ezer” (Genesis 2:18), which means “mighty rescuer,” women will naturally fight to help and protect others. However, women in our society have been so ingrained with the idea that they are “less” and, therefore, deserving of less, many women are afraid to stand up for themselves—further compounding the injuries women suffer. Women are naturally others-focused, but this gift to humanity is systematically used against them.

 Compiled and Created by Susan Thomas, M.A.

Response to Pro-Choice Argument: "It's Not the Government's Job to Legislate Morality."

I've heard this argument several times in support of keeping abortion legal, but surprisingly I'm hearing it from otherwise anti-abortion people. They say they think abortion is wrong. They even admit abortion takes an innocent human life, but they believe that, because the government can't change hearts, they shouldn't make abortion illegal--leaving up to the individual to decide, saying, "It's not the government's job to legislate morality."

That makes me want to ask:

1. What do you think morality is?
2. What do you think the government's job is?

In the interest of not rambling on forever, I'm just going to tell you what morality is.

Morality is the internal instinct by which we navigate our relationships with God, other people, and the world. Moral behavior is behavior that exhibits an accurate recognition and respect for the inherent worth & qualities of God, other people, and the natural world.

In other words, morality is all about relationship: relationship with God, relationship with mankind, and relationship with the natural world. Morality is the guide by which we decide what is the right way to behave toward God, people, and nature vs. what is the wrong way to treat these entities. Morality is NOT just a set of rules. Morality goes deeper than that.

That being said, let's think about what the government does. Government's job is to set rules based on our collective sense of--guess what?--morality! Even though rules themselves do not create morality and morality itself is not just a set of rules, the government's job is to try to find the most effective way to make people do what is moral--the kinds of behaviors that create an environment where all people (and even animals & nature, to a certain extent) can exist with the reasonable certainty that they will be treated fairly (or, with the recognition and respect for their inherent worth).

In other words, government is all about making laws and laws are all about morality. In fact, there is no such thing as a law for which moral principles were not integral to its creation.

You can't have government without lawmaking, and you can't have lawmaking without guiding moral principles. So, to say that government's job is not to legislate morality is to say that government has no purpose or function at all. If you believe government has no purpose, then you must believe we should be living in anarchy.

Perhaps you could respond with, "No, government could stay out of the morally-based, lawmaking business, but still exist to provide us with civil services, like roads and schools and prisons." But without a morally-based method of taxation, dividing up funds, distributing funds, and choosing what kinds of services to provide, there can be no such function. (And we're not even going to get into the difficulties of having a prison system without any kind of moral compass guiding us.) Again, government requires morality to exist, let alone function.

You might say, "But our government leaders are flawed people, at best, and some are deeply corrupt. How can we trust them to legislate morality for the rest of us?" Here I would agree with you. We can't trust them--at least, not fully. However, in a republic, which is the form of government we have in the United States, the people have the responsibility and the power to insist that our leaders make moral laws--even if the leaders themselves are immoral. And if we manage to have moral laws, those who aren't sure what is right or wrong will be encouraged to, at least, conduct themselves in a moral way as they figure out what they believe.

So, even though it's true that laws do not establish morality, they do have the power to create a moral environment within which we can learn and grow.

Now to the topic of abortion: If you believe (in your own, internal, moral center, with a clear view of the inherent worth of other human beings and your relationships to them) that it is wrong to take an innocent, human life, then you must believe that abortion is a great evil. If abortion is a great evil, then the government's primary job is to make it illegal. If any government allows a great evil--a behavior that denies the basic, inherent worth of human beings--to continue, that government has failed to perform it's primary function.

So, in response to the pro-choice argument: "It's not the government's job to legislate morality," I will respond with: "Government's ONLY job is to legislate morality."

If you believe abortion is no different from murder, but also believe murdering a born person should be illegal while murdering an unborn person should be legal, you are in a state of self-contradiction. I suggest you reevaluate your position and choose to uphold the morality of simply letting other people live. And when evil people or an evil government arbitrarily decides that one human life is less valuable than another, it is your moral obligation to stand against that kind of core immorality, to hold your government accountable, and insist they make moral laws consistent with the reality of the equal, inherent worth of all human beings, in all its forms, at all stages of development, from conception to the grave.

© 2016; S.E. Thomas has a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Idaho.