Often the whole bizzo of 'Life' gets an airing in bar discussions and yesterday was no exception. We had some teenagers in, one of whom had a deep and meaningful with a regular.
He was a nice kid. The regular was a well 'qualified' man. He, Mike Adams, in fact is a criminology Professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and author of Letters to a Young Progressive: How To Avoid Wasting Your Life Protesting Things You Don't Understand.
If there is anything a young 'progressive' needs it is a better understanding. On that we can all agree. So, I was particularly attentive as I served these two a fine bevvie or two as they talked. Mike was Grace itself.
It was a powerful dialogue about abortion.
I will show his words as he spoke them.
Look Her in the Eye
Teenager: Dr. Adams, may I have a few minutes to speak with you?
I enjoyed listening to your talk on abortion. Your points were solid. But I have just one problem. It’s with the rape exception.
Can you honestly tell me that you could
look a rape victim in the eye
and tell her that she could not have an abortion and that she must take the rapist’s baby to term?
Me: (pulls out phone). Yes.
Give me the number of any pregnant rape victim you know and I will call her right now and talk to her. I can’t look her in the eye but I will talk to her.
Teen: (Laughing nervously). I don’t know any pregnant rape victims.
Me: Well, before I put my phone up, can I ask a favor of you?
Teen: Sure.
Me: I have a friend who was conceived in rape. Do you mind if I call her and give you the phone so you could explain why it would be permissible for her be killed just because she was conceived in rape?
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| You would be shocked at the large proportion of women who have had an abortion and have later deeply regretted it. |
Her mother is still alive, by the way. I’m sure that her continued existence reminds her mother of the rape. My friend’s name is Laura.
Teen: No, I won’t do that. She shouldn’t be killed, now. That isn’t my position.
Me: Oh, I see. You think that there is some difference between the adult she is now and the embryo she once was that would have justified killing her at that earlier stage of development.
Teen: I see what you are doing.
This is the SLED thing, isn’t it?
Me: Yes it is. Size, level of development, environment (whether she is inside or outside of the womb), and degree of dependency.
These are the four differences people generally rely upon when they say you can kill the unborn but not the born. Which one is it?
Teen: Well, none of them, I guess. I see your point.
Me: Good. Now, let’s talk about who benefits when the child conceived in rape is aborted.
Teen: Ok.
Me: Would I, or any of the close friends of Laura, have benefited from her death at the hands of the abortion doctor? I mean, would it not have been a tragedy had her friends never known her?
Teen: Well, yes, I suppose it would have been a tragedy.
Me: Well, how about Laura? Would she have benefited from the abortion?
Teen: No, of course not.
Me: Ok, then who benefits?
Teen: Well, the rape victim benefits. Obviously.
Me: But is it really obvious?
Teen: I think it is.
Me: You know if a woman becomes pregnant through consensual sex and has a crisis pregnancy it is a toss-up as to whether she will have the abortion.
But if she’s raped and becomes pregnant then the chances she’ll abort are much lower.
Teen: How much lower?
Me: The odds are about three to one that she won’t abort. It may seem counterintuitive but it really isn’t difficult to understand upon further consideration. She’s just been the victim of a violent crime. She identifies with the evil of violence and is reluctant to inflict it on another human being.
So she usually decides to suffer evil rather than inflict it.
Teen: I’ll have to think about that one.
Me: Good. It will give me time to ask you another question.It gave me time, too, to recharge their glasses. A LOT of Grace was going down.
Teen: Okay.
Me: You believe that the woman impregnated by a rapist will suffer great stress bringing the baby to term. You obviously believe that the abortion will reduce that stress.
But your argument turns on the assertion that the stress saved by the abortion will actually outweigh any guilt she might experience over the memory of the abortion for the duration of her life. Is that a fair characterization of your reasoning?
Teen: Yes, that’s fair enough.
Me: Well, how did you arrive at that conclusion?
Can you point me to some evidence?
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| The aborted baby gives forgiveness to her devastated mother |
Teen: No, I was just speculating.
Me: Well, you haven’t convinced me that the pregnant woman really benefits.
The abortion doesn’t solve the problem.
She suffers terribly regardless. But when those conceived in rape are aborted there are multiple tragedies.
One human is deprived of life,
one adoptive couple loses a child,
and others are deprived of ever knowing the innocent child who would have had a long life and formed many friendships.
I think that the weight of the evidence is against the abortion.
I just cannot see who really benefits from the abortion.
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| Cui Bono?: Who benefits? Feminists, society wreckers, abortionists, the Anti-Human. The Diabolical. |
Teen: Well maybe I just have some maturing to do as I think about this issue.
Me: I’m not sure it’s really a thinking problem.
Teen: What do you mean?
Me: You have a steady girlfriend, don’t you?
Teen: Yes, I do.
Me: Are you sleeping with her?
Teen: What? I’m not answering that question.
Me: Well, you don’t have to answer it. You just did. You’re sleeping with her.
Teen: Ok … what does that have to do with the discussion?
Me: Well, everything.I caught myself nodding at this point. I could see it coming.
Teen: Please explain.
Me: Every time I am in a discussion of abortion that turns to the so called rape exception, there are two common denominators. First, it is always a guy. Second, he’s always sexually active.Ah, but. It is not always the guy. So many times I have heard women give this 'rape' reason. I am guessing that a Criminologist does not hear the same things a psychologists does.
If he is sleeping with a lot of women he really supports unrestricted abortion. So he just feigns concern for the rape victim in order to preserve unrestricted abortion so he can have unrestricted sex.
Then there are guys like you who are just sleeping with a girlfriend and want to preserve a tiny crack in the wall — a safety valve just in case you get into trouble.
The idea of an absolute ban on abortion makes you nervous because you are taking risks you know you ought not to be taking.
Teen: I guess everything you are saying makes sense. Maybe I just need to grow up.
Me: No, not really. You pulled me aside and started this conversation because your conscience was bothering you. You weren’t really worried about the rape issue. You were worried about your own circumstances.
That’s why it took courage to initiate the conversation.
You knew I wasn’t going say things you wanted to hear.
You were mature at the beginning of this conversation and you are even more mature now.
Teen: Thanks.
Me: Now it is time to stop treating you girlfriend like she’s already your wife. It will clear your mind and help you make better decisions on a whole range of moral issues.
Remember that it is always better to decide what you believe and let your beliefs guide your behavior. When it’s the other way around, you become lost and you eventually lose your moral compass altogether. You eventually become a law unto yourself.
Teen: Well, how do I explain this to my girlfriend?
Me: Well, that should be easy.
Tell her you are not yet ready to be a parent.
Tell her that if she became pregnant it would be your child, too.
Make sure you look her in the eye and firmly tell her that you could never allow her to abort your child.
In other words, start living your life according to rules instead of clinging to exceptions.(Author’s Note: The above is based on a real life conversation, which occurred last May. It originally appeared on www.ClashDaily.com
http://townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams/2014/04/28/look-her-in-the-eye-n1829369/page/full
It is important that people THINK and address the issue of abortion. So many excuses are made to avoid confronting the Great Moral Issue of our time.
The Tavern Keeper stands every Tuesday outside the abortion clinic in Hobart and says a Rosary. It is a public act of defiance as well as a profound prayer for the souls of the babies, their mothers and the sad, damaged souls of the doctors and nurses who ply this evil trade.
Anyone is welcome to join me. 2pm Tuesdays.
Pax.
The young have no clue...of the loss. So, sad.
ReplyDeleteAn eloquent explanation from a wise man.
ReplyDeleteThe sculpture "The aborted baby gives forgiveness to her devastated mother" is poignant.
I wonder what that wise man would say about the choice of birth or abortion of a child that had a mental disability that might require them being looked after for life and the parent is more likely to die before the child. The way society is today, after the parent dies the child (who by now is an adult in years but still not able to look after themselves) would not be looked after by anyone.
This reality and the decision made available by medical science puts a lot of pressure on the parents to be.
I knew someone who looked after a mentally disabled child. The child progressed in years but always remained essentially a child. The mental stress of caring and wondering about the future of the child led the mother to commit suicide (when the child was in his 40s).
In years gone by the wider community would have helped and it would not have been an issue. The mother would have known the child would be looked after if anything happened to her.
In general we humans (as a species) have regressed rather than progressed despite medical advances and the choices they give us.
Steps forward; steps back. We progress slowly and reversals are commonplace at societal and individual level.
DeleteThe issue of the disabled is just as difficult. As you point out. Life has tragedies and challenges. And consequences. We - mostly - are afraid of them. But fear must not hold us in its grip. Time gives us space to organise for our deficient offspring. A little help is needed.
But at the very start, at the abortion go /no-go, there is pressure to evade the challenges and dismiss the consequences altogether. But are any of us born without defect? Is 'disabled' not a matter of degree?
I have seen so many disabled people .... (our society HAS progressed) leading happy, productive lives. I have also seen the very abled ordinary folk waste what talents they have.