My Response

You say: "I have to wonder why you believe that your opinion is so important, so vital, that you absolutely must deliver this message to anyone who might not share that opinion. But control issues aside, perhaps by posting in forums such as this, creating a Web page, paying for an ad in the local paper, or perhaps having your own cable access show would be good opportunities for you to let others know how you feel. Approaching people randomly is exhausting and will reach the fewest numbers possible."

I believe my opinion is important because of personal experience. I believe that I have a responsibility to share my experience with anyone who doesn't share my opinion because, to me, an abortion means the death of a baby. Put yourself in my place for a second. I believe with all of my heart and mind that an unborn baby is a life that deserves to be protected. To admit that someone else has the right to a different opinion is the same to me as saying to a Nazi that they are entitled to believe that Jews should be exterminated. It may be true that they are, in some abstract way, entitled to that opinion, but it is horrific to admit. Having said all of that however, let me make it clear that I have no desire whatsoever to approach women on their way to a clinic. You are right that it reaches far too few people and if a woman goes in anyway despite what you are saying to her, you feel as if you have just allowed a murder to occur. You start to wonder what should be done to prevent that abortion and before you know it you've become a raving religious lunatic. Let me also make clear that I speak only for myself. Other pro-lifers have differing opinions from me, especially concerning the role of religion in the debate.

I must also emphatically insist that I have absolutely no social agenda. I don't have any opinion on pre-marital sex except that I think its bad for minors. I have no desire whatsoever to thrust a specific morality on anyone. I haven't figured out my own brand of morality, so it is hard for me to inflict it upon anyone else.

You say: "Here's the inherent problem with the subject of abortion. It is the only instance of an issue where one can never give equal rights to both parties, as one is completely dependent upon the other. To give rights to a fetus is to deny rights to the mother - and vice versa. One must make a choice here as to whether the living person deserves more or less rights to the not-yet-living person."

Here is the problem I have with this argument. It is based on the assumption that an unborn baby is not living. Even the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade didn't have the courage to make that assumption. The court said that if it were found that the fetus was in fact a living human being, its right to life would supercede the mother's right to privacy. I believe that a fetus is living. Unless his or her heart has stopped and he or she has ceased to grow, the fetus is living in the only way that human beings can live at that stage of their developement. To deny them the same process that brought you and me and everyone we love into the world simply for convenience, is a horrific thought.

It is very hard for me to believe that our lives are less precious because we may have made our mother's lives difficult. And it is very hard to accept that all of our rights to exist are based on something so arbitrary as our convenience to our mothers. Do you have less of a right to be born if you are a burden to your mother? Can anyone honestly say that they would rather have been aborted than cause their mother misery? Can anyone honestly say that a baby shouldn't live because it could potentially ruin their mother's life? I can't do it. I just don't think my right to be happy is more important than my baby's right to his or her life. Any response is welcome, just be civil. If you can take religion and feminism out of the debate it is actually an interesting topic.

ABORTION DEBATE CONTINUED

As you can see, the pro-choicer refuses to leave the pro-lifer with anything other than prayer.

"If you believe that an unborn baby is a human being and that abortion destroys a human life, what are you morally obligated to do?"

Pray. Ask God to protect, to enlighten, to do whatever you want. But keep in mind how vital to the foundation of this country it is to continue to keep church and state separated. As you mention, it is a "moral" issue, and not everyone shares the exact same moral convictions. If 90% of our population really felt strongly about the "wrongness" of having sex without benefit of marriage, for example, then we would have laws to prevent it, and punish those who break those laws. But too many Americans do NOT think they have the right to legislate such behavior, which is why it isn't legislated.

"I can't approach a woman on her way into an abortion clinic even to tell her that the abortionist she is about to see has a malpractice record a mile long."

Correct. You could be sued for defamation of character. Let's say you're an attorney and I disagree with your politics. If I stand outside your office and tell potential customers as they enter the building, that you've been called before the bar on numerous occasions for whatever reasons, you should be protected from that. Let the patron do their homework and find out if the doctor they're going to has been sued for malpractice. It's not up to you (or me, or anyone else).

"People who believe strongly in the rights of animals are not forbidden from approaching fur-bearing individuals and letting them know what they think. And in those cases, the crime has already been committed. The animals are dead. Every time I have seen a woman walking into a clinic to have an abortion, I have cried too hard to even speak to her."

I must wonder if you're psychic. How do you "know" that a woman walking into a medical clinic is there specifically for an abortion?

Besides, it is obvious when someone is wearing fur that they do not support animal rights; it is not necessarily obvious that a woman walking into a clinic is there for an abortion, or that she supports such a choice in the first place, or even if she is pregnant. Contrary to popular urban legend, there is no such thing as an abortion-only clinic; clinics that perform abortions also perform any number of other services. One can't assume anything.

"All I am looking for is a way to reach women who are suffering with this dilemma and give them my point of view before they have an abortion which is irreversible."

I have to wonder why you believe that your opinion is so important, so vital, that you absolutely must deliver this message to anyone who might not share that opinion. But control issues aside, perhaps by posting in forums such as this, creating a Web page, paying for an ad in the local paper, or perhaps having your own cable access show would be good opportunities for you to let others know how you feel. Approaching people randomly is exhausting and will reach the fewest numbers possible.

"I have no political agenda or even a social agenda."

Actually, you do have a social agenda if you feel you should be able to approach women as they enter into a medical clinic and tell them your opinion on what you assume they're there to do.

"I feel that my views are being more and more stifled by the press and the politicians and the judges of this country."

I don't understand why you feel this way, especially these days with all the anger-spewing talk show idiots around. As I said before, you can post on a Web site or take out an ad in the paper, expressing yourself. No one is preventing that.

"...and wonder if maybe there is a responsibility to protect these children before they are denied justice by the choice advocates."

Here's the inherent problem with the subject of abortion. It is the only instance of an issue where one can never give equal rights to both parties, as one is completely dependent upon the other. To give rights to a fetus is to deny rights to the mother - and vice versa. One must make a choice here as to whether the living person deserves more or less rights to the not-yet-living person.

ABORTION (yuck)

I have, no doubt stupidly, become entrenched in a debate on the abortion issue. I put out a feeler on Slate's The Fray just to see who I could hook into an argument. I know. I know. I'm retarded. I am going to post the first argument I made and the replies that I have gotten. If you can take religion and feminism out of the argument it is an interesting discussion in the abstract. In the actual, it is horrific, especially if you are anti (like I am). So here it is:

I am against abortion because I believe that each person's individual humanity begins at conception. I believe that an unborn baby has the right to exist in his or her mother's womb and children have the right to be protected from conception to adulthood. I have heard every pro-choice argument and will never be convinced that an unborn baby is not a life worthy of protection. But let me pose one question before people try to convince me anyway and the name calling ensues. If you believe that an unborn baby is a human being and that abortion destroys a human life, what are you morally obligated to do?

The legal ropes of the protests that I may engage in are getting tighter and tighter. I can't approach a woman on her way into an abortion clinic even to tell her that the abortionist she is about to see has a malpractice record a mile long. People who believe strongly in the rights of animals are not forbidden from approaching fur-bearing individuals and letting them know what they think. And in those cases, the crime has already been committed. The animals are dead.

Every time I have seen a woman walking into a clinic to have an abortion, I have cried too hard to even speak to her. All I am looking for is a way to reach women who are suffering with this dilemma and give them my point of view before they have an abortion which is irreversible. I have no political agenda or even a social agenda. I think everyone is entitled to do and be pretty much whatever they want, but to me the term "everyone" includes the unborn. I advocate no form of violence whatsoever and that is why I am pro-life and against abortion.

I feel that my views are being more and more stifled by the press and the politicians and the judges of this country. No one seems to have come up with an adequate solution because just when everyone becomes numb to the idea of abortion, you hear of a Laci Peterson and her unborn son or a "partial birth" abortion that makes you pause and wonder if maybe there is a responsibility to protect these children before they are denied justice by the choice advocates.

Drunk and Loving the Fox News Babes.

I'm not a lesbian. I swear it. But if I were I would be all over the Fox news gals. They are gorgeous. They are no Connie Chung. I'm not gonna get hung up on this though.

In case it is not obvious, I have been watching Fox news while I have been drinking. Heavily. Red wine. You should only watch the news when your drunk. If you're smart. If you are stupid, you should not watch it at all. You might latch on to some moronic point and then vote. Not that I'm claiming to be smart. I could probably stand to bone up on some history and definitely some geography, but I'm not so dumb as to take anything they are talking about seriously. Come on. Even drunk I was able to tell that the question, "the president's poll numbers are slipping, is this going to be a problem for him if this keeps up until the election?" was stupid (courtesy of MSNBC). And frankly, the girl who was asking the question didn't have on nearly enough lip gloss.

One day I will take the time to organize my political views, but I don't really feel like it at the moment. They are too complicated. I will say that I am becoming more and more libertarian as time goes by. I will probably never join a political party though. I relish being an independant. Besides if I join any party, I will jinx myself and the party and we will both diametrically opposed in some obscure but vital way and the world will cease to be. Don't I have a high opinion of myself? OK. I'm done. I'm going to bed.