Feeling Controversial. Read At Your Own Risk.

I know this is a hard topic and that my views differ dramatically on this issue from most of the people who read my blog. Let me just say that my views on this topic were inspired by my previous life as a Catholic. BUT I do not hold my view because that church told me what to think politically. And I feel like I am on a hiatus from church- so my religious and political opinions are independent from each other. Let me also tell you that I voted for Obama.

I am a rare Pro-Life Liberal. I am sympathetic with the liberal connection to helping the vulnerable and marginalized in society, like welfare mothers, people with different sexual orientations, immigrants, and recipients of other public benefits. But I feel like the mainstream liberal platform does not extend protection to the MOST vulnerable in our society- the unborn.

We are all very aware of both sides of the issue. We both will continue to believe what we believe no matter what the other side has to say. So this post is just to allow me to express what I think. Too often we just associate liberalism with pro-choice views. But to me, that association does not make sense.

I am sympathetic with victims of rape. But the fact is that they make up only a VERY small percentage of people having abortions. In America, where birth control pills and condoms are so very easy to access, why are we even having this problem? I understand why the liberal left wants to promote feminism, rights for women and gender equality. As a liberal, these are things I support and am passionate about as well. But I'm sorry. I don't see how letting people abort babies promotes feminism. Motherhood is hard and being pregnant is scary, but I think having a baby is empowering. When you bring a life into the world, that is the most powerful thing you can do. Having a baby doesn't translate into a form of slavery for women and I feel betrayed by the left for framing the issue that way. In my opinion, people wrongly think they are entitled to living life in the exact way they want to live it. No one is entitled to that. We aren't entitled to an easy life. We aren't entitled to a life without burdens. No one should be entitled to chose their most convenient lifestyle at the expense of another human.

I love this quote by Rosemary Bottcher (on the issue of liberalism being pro-choice): “The same people who wax hysterical at the thought of executing, after countless appeals, a criminal convicted of some revolting crime would have insisted on his mother’s unconditional right to have him killed while he was still innocent."

We want to protect children from all types of abuses and harms. But we don't protect them from being killed by their own parents? I know it is awful to think that a child will be born into the world unwanted. But I don't think the appropriate answer is to let a parent end that baby's life.
If we cannot love and protect our own kind, what hope is there? True, a young fetus cannot survive on it's own or even without medical technology. But even after birth, a baby cannot survive on its own without someone to feed it or nurture it.

So there you have it. That is what I think. I respect and understand the logic of people who are pro-choice. But I will respectfully say that I think they have their priorities wrong.

"A person's a person, no matter how small." Dr. Seuss.