An Inconvenient Truth
by Maggie MaloneThank you Gary, for your insightful passionate piece defending life in the womb. I know you really took a risk, and I thank you. There’s no time anymore to pussyfoot around.
Funny isn’t it, how the party of acceptance is very unaccepting of an opposing view. They cling to the mantra that those who believe in protecting the unborn are religious nuts, uneducated and ignorant. It’s a great place to hide, but I believe that as time goes by they are running out of hiding places.
It was brilliant when you referred to the statement, “abortions should be rare.” Why would they say that when it’s a safe and legal “procedure” enjoyed by thousands every day? No big woop. Have abortion parties to celebrate saving the whales, lie in the stirrups and get a pedicure. No big deal, right?
There have been so many studies done about post-abortion trauma that will never see the light of day. I for one suffered. I murdered not one but two of my own children in the womb. In both cases I waited until the deadline at the end of the third month. Back then, in the early seventies, I didn’t have the convenience of “Roe V. Wade” or “Doe. V. Bolton.” So it was back alley, and I have to say categorically that in both cases I knew that it was not a blob of tissue.
Call it a mother thing, but you KNOW it’s a life. Would I have changed my mind had I been able to see an ultrasound? I don’t know. I was a teenager. I know I disliked children and decided to never have one. What difference could one life make anyway?
Six years later, in 1977, I was pregnant again. Yeah, I know, but I had bought into the free-love culture. Well, this wasn’t love and it didn’t make me free, but this time I knew I couldn’t murder again and was blessed with a healthy boy.
When my son was about ten, I remember when we joined a large group holding signs in front of a religious based hospital to protest their purchase of sophisticated equipment to perform second trimester murders. The signs simply read, “Abortion Is Murder.” I was busy talking to some moms when I turned around and saw that my son had written on the back of his poster: “I’m glad my mom didn’t abort me.”
Quietly, I sobbed.
I have since told him everything, about how I was part and parcel of the extermination of his generation. To say he’s pro-life is an understatement. In July, he will have his first child. My grandchild will be born because I grew up, was honest with myself and chose life.
The scars from having an abortion do not go away when you finally have a child. As a matter of fact, I was an angry parent until I found forgiveness, forgave myself and grieved the loss of those two lives. This was the result of a spiritual awakening.
Today I am appalled at the ignorance that is wholesaled by the lunatic proponents of casual murders of convenience. I am an actor from Chicago who meets all kinds of people and I can testify that it is widely believed that abortion is only allowed in the first trimester. When I tell them it ain’t so, they accuse me of reciting pro-life rhetoric. Read “Doe v. Bolton,” and Gary, as you mentioned, partial birth abortion … don’t get me started.
I will close with this. Don’t think for a moment this nation will not be judged for the millions of murders we embrace. The earth is soaked with the blood of the innocents. And I believe that our greatest defense on their behalf is the plain truth clearly seen and heard invitro — a beating heart.
Thanks again, Gary,
Maggie Malone
Chicago, Ill
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175 Comments
I've never understood how people can fight so vehemently for whales and polar bears but act so indifferently toward human beings. Courageous article, Maggie.
http://the100mostannoyingthings.blogspot.com/
Thank you.
Very eloquently and heart-felt. I hope you continue to find peace, and enjoy your grandchild.
Haven't you heard? They think we should off ourselves instead of the cute widdle powar beaws.
Eloquent, not eloquently, sorry
Thank you, Maggie for your honesty. Telling the truth about your own life and about abortion is very helpful to others. The Lord bless you.
'm hoping now that we have an African American in the WH that real dialogue can take place about abortion. Look at the stats for African American abortions. It is horrendous. I don't understand why even the black community would let this continue. It is genocide.
Thanks, Maggie. I heard you call in to DMR when Andrew was hosting. When you made the comment that most of the people believed it was only possible to have an abortion in the first trimester, it hit me how well the truth is suppressed. Hopefully, as more brave people like you and Gary start speaking, the deafening silence holding back the truth will be broken, and people will once again be able to hear that heartbeat you spoke of. Bless you, and thanks.
Thank you Maggie and Gary for your stories. It's strange to say, but I'm glad to read them. It's one thing for someone like myself who has never been apart of an abortion, to discuss my pro life stance. It's something completely different and far more powerful to have an individual who has paid for, or had an abortion state their case.
I live in Chicago and I'm apart of the Respect Life group at my Catholic Church. I'm befuddled at the number of fellow parishioners who will not bend on abortion. They will not discuss their pro choice views, rather they immediately demonize the other side. They live in a vast black hole of denial, and yes like you said, they have fewer and fewer places to hide especially when people like you and Gary tell your stories. Ironic that possibly the most powerful tool to shine a bright light into their black hole may come from people who were once there with them.
I don't hold you or Gary in a poor light. It's not my place. I feel for you deeply and will keep you in my prayers.
I do not have an articulate view on abortion. I will freely admit this. I do believe it's murder. You cannot see a 10 week old fetus on an ultrasound and not know you're killing a human life. So over time our culture has sold itself on the idea that this sort of killing is OK. In my youth I bought into the idea that if it's not viable outside the womb then abortion is OK. What ignorance!
The conflict for me comes when an expecting mother, one who wants a baby so badly, finds out that it has a severe defect and will die at or before birth. Trisomy 13 and Trisomy 18 are not something that will get better, or heal miraculously. It is beyond me to be able to pass judgment on a mother who would terminate such a pregnancy and start over again to try to have another baby. I couldn't do it myself, but I can't imagine the devastation of learning of such a diagnosis, and then having to wait 6 or 7 more months to give birth to a baby that will die.
There are no two sides to this issue; it is too complex. I'm glad some people have a clear moral certitude and see no shades of gray. For me, I wish it were so.
Very courageous, and it's true that we must have compassion for those earlier selves who did those stupid things. We cannot reject and closet them, and still be whole. And we must not project our own lack of compassion onto God, whose mercy knows no bounds.
I'd just like to add, if you ask me I will tell you that I'm pro-life. If pressed I'm pretty sure my arguments would become incoherent, as you can plainly see my conflicts.
Maggie, thank you for sharing your story. Based on other women I know I would say that few have ever gone through with abortions and not come out later with a scarred soul. Prayers to you.
Will this government, represented by the aptly named "Party of Death", create the inadvertent and appropriate penalty for the killers of a generation ? What is just when you've killed a billion people ? Maybe someone saying that you are too old for that surgery or that special medicine to ease your pain or remove that cancer ? The complicity is as overwhelming as the crime. Maybe the first to suffer will be the wordsmith who called this a "woman's right" ?
You are right and it is not going to happen. Abortion is very sadly, tied to the liberals like a stone around their necks. They should wear it proudly since it is such a RIGHT for them.
"They cling to the mantra that those who believe in protecting the unborn are religious nuts, uneducated and ignorant. "
Right, about that mantra -Here's a clue: when you characterize proponents of choice as "proponents of casual murders of convenience.".
You can start there, then work your way up to the clear thinkers like Eric Ruldolph or Paul Hill.
No politician in Congress really wants to touch this issue. They would be very happy if the Supremes would take it on so that they can wash their hands of it.
No cajones.
Thank you for your honesty and sharing this most difficult story.
I have to say right off the bat that I am pro-choice up to the first trimester, after that I consider it murder.
Maggie, I have had that same discussion with other women about late trimester/partial birth abortions. I am shock at the ignorance. Take what happened in Florida recently. A young women went to a clinic for a late trimester abortion. They give her a pill to start labor, sent her home and told her to come back the next day and they would perform the procedure. Before she could get back to the clinic she went into full labor. She got back to the clinic barely before giving birth and they killed the baby. And that my folks is what our Dear Leader thinks is just fine!
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/39158937.html
I recite this whenever this discussion comes up: I have 5 friends who got pregnant "without benefit of clergy". Some chose abortions, some chose to have the baies none were using birth control at the time of conception. Conservatives have been very far behind in promoting birth control. I understand why, but birth control and self control are the only things that are going to make abortions rare.
So, when exactly, in the second trimester, does that the "blob of tissue" becomes a human life? The first week? The first day? The first hour? The first minute? The first second? The first millisecond?
If you could let me know, I'd appreciate it.
Ms. Malone, thanks. I was too one of the "scarred" ones – still am, thinking about it (am 57 now). Went to confession about ten years or so after that and cried afterwards; have never told my living daughter about it (mind you I was married at the time). If people believe that it does not leave a scar on their souls, they are just kidding themselves; it is so painful to think it was done so casually for ME and only ME. I have asked for forgiveness in this horrible thing I did; cried when I read your article. Thanks for reminding ME that it is not all about ME!
Jerb asked my question I guess Bev… at what point in the second trimester does the change occur?
"Now It's just a tissue mass… oh wait, now it's a human life"
Up to the first trimester? What does it matter how old the child is before you kill them?
Kayteeess, I am so sorry for you. Those who say that abortion doesn't leave its mark are fooling themselves, or else they are so callous as to have walled up their souls. There's an organization for you, and other women who have bitterly regretted their abortions. It's called Rachel's Vineyard http://www.rachelsvineyard.org/
Dear kateeess –
Please know that God forgives. And you are a good person. It is those who cannot or will not admit they made a mistake that will face judgment in the next life. We are all human. Peace to you.
A Father.
To Jerb, Mark, and Mo – I knew I would open a big can of worms. Firstly, I never said that a first trimester baby was not human life. Most certainly it is. I believe that life starts at conception. That being said, one of the reasons I am pro-choice (not necessarily pro-abortion) is I think WOMEN are the ones that have to make the choice ultimately, not men. And we are the ones that have to live with the consequences. As this article reflects, abortion is a difficult and life changing choice as much as having a baby. However, there is nothing more tragic to me than an unwanted, unloved or abused child. And if a woman having an abortion in the first trimester can save one baby from a life of abuse or neglect, I can't in good conscience deny that to her. I fortunately have not ever been in the position to have to make that choice, but I have had friend who have. I cannot judge them because,as we learned from this article, they sadly tend to judge themselves. It's a tragedy all around.
All this being said, conservatives cannot bury their heads in the sand about birth control either! As much as you might not want to admit it, teaching abstinance only does not work effectively as a birth control method. We now have very effective birth control methods, and if you want to rid yourselves of the need for abortions, we need to promote viable birth control methods. Sex is a biological function, and it isn't ever going to go
away.
Thanks for responding. But wow, what a strange and contradictory position. You admit that life begins at conception. Therefore ending the life of any unborn baby – at any stage of pregnancy – is murder. Yet murder is acceptable to you if the woman does not want the child.
By this reasoning, it's okay to take any abused or neglected child and kill them. After all, their life is only worth saving if their parents want them.
"I think WOMEN are the ones that have to make the choice ultimately, not men. And we are the ones that have to live with the consequences."
The statement is one of ignorance. Do you really believe that the fathers of the children who are aborted are somehow innured to the event? That they never think about the son or daughter that might have been?
If you want to argue that only the women have to live with the PHYSICAL consequences, fine. But the argument that it only affects the woman is one of the biggest lies of the pro-abortion propagandists.
As the mother of a child with Trisomy 21 and aunt of a little girl who died from Trisomy 18, I can say I know this is great gray pain but that life is very surprising. My son ran the gauntlett of the womb, surviving the diagnosis of Downs which normally results abortion for 90% of those who draw that genetic marker.
Trisomy 18 and 13 are fatal but not immediately so. The pain is that this child will die, that the mother will lose that person. Abortion accellerates that pain by willfully pretending that a person isn't or shouldn't continue because he/she will die.
Each of us could die at any moment. The difference which makes it not so gray, is that death from Trisomy 18 or 13 is a natural consequence of a genetic condition, whereas abortion is the artificial surgical procedure to terminate an existing life at a time of our chosing.
I will have to remember this because it is so well said.
And I am sorry for your family's loss.
I don't buy this "rare" crap. ZERO is rare.
Recall GK Chesterton's quip about Christianity – "It has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and therefore not tried." This applies to any virtue, and chastity is no exception. Abstinence is not universally effective because we are fallen and thus find it too wearying to command our instincts. As a result I can see Bev's case for permitting birth control; the trouble is that the results are usually worse, not better, than relying on one's discipline, however faulty. For all the trouble caused by an unwilling mistake or moment of weakness, there's one trouble it doesn't cause – it doesn't lead to the terrible habit of simply giving up when things are hard to do. Ultimately BC is consent to the mistake one is making, and it weakens the will to rise to the occasion in crucial times.
I think you are wrong. Men may personally grieve for their lost children, but it is women who face the condemnation of society. I do not believe I have ever seen or heard of a man being condemned for fathering an aborted child. So, yes, women face the psychological and physical consequences of abortion.
Maggie – For what you wrote…to put down in words that part of your heart and soul that was/is damaged…you are amazingly brave.
I have often wondered if when women discuss abortion, in general or that of their own, if instead they were discussing how they perhaps put a pillow over a sleeping baby's face or drowned their toddler child, would they be met with the same sort of empathy from others? And would they be so cavalier as to even discuss such a matter in such general terms? I have been a part of many of these very discussions where women have convinced themselves that it was the right thing to do because having a baby would have taken such a toll on their own lives, there apparently was no choice, not even adoption. (continued)
So, again, your ability to put down in words as to how this has affected your life is so meaninful. I wish every woman (especially very young women) had the opportunity to read or hear your words and the words of millions of others like you who have such regrets.
I'm not sure of your belief system, but I believe that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, and in doing so God has allowed us to make these mistakes from which we are to learn, and in the end we are forgiven for being so human.
Thank you for your amazing post.
Maggie, thank you for sharing your story. Did you know that even if unintentional and undetectable, a hunter will get a ticket and a fine if (s)he shoots a pregnant deer? Besides of course being morally wrong, it's considered killing two deer at one time. How far has America flung herself from God, justice, simple decency and morality when we treat an unborn deer as a whole deer granting it more rights and granting it greater dignity than our own unborn children?
“The truth is not always the same as the majority decision.” – Pope John Paul II
Bob Cavalcante
http://CatholicConservativeAmerican.blogspot.com
Bev, I had written up a longer post, but it ended up in moderation.. and I really wanted to know your answers… so I'll try a shorter one.
First off, let me say that I'm of the opinion you cannot be "pro-choice" and not be "pro-abortion". If I'm pro-choice, then I'm giving you the choice of having an abortion, so in effect, I'd be pro-abortion, right? so how do you say that you're not in that "pro-abortion" label?
Second, I will say I still don't get what is the difference between "Month 2 Day 30" and "Month 3 Day 1"? You have yet to say what the difference between the two days of a pregnancy are?
Fortunately Toddes and Mo covered my third and fourth questions/comments, so no long post for that.. (and #4 was the really long part…). I will say that I do agree with you about 85% on the birth control issue (although I still think Abstinence should ALWAYS be the primary promotion).
Bev, I had written up a longer post, but it ended up in moderation.. and I really wanted to know your answers… so I'll try a shorter one.
First off, let me say that I'm of the opinion you cannot be "pro-choice" and not be "pro-abortion". If I'm pro-choice, then I'm giving you the choice of having an abortion, so in effect, I'd be pro-abortion, right? so how do you say that you're not in that "pro-abortion" label?
Second, I will say I still don't get what is the difference between "Month 3 Day 30" and "Month 4 Day 1"? You have yet to say what the difference between the two days of a pregnancy are?
Fortunately Toddes and Mo covered my third and fourth questions/comments, so no long post for that.. (and #4 was the really long part…). I will say that I do agree with you about 85% on the birth control issue (although I still think Abstinence should ALWAYS be the primary promotion).
"The scars from having an abortion do not go away when you finally have a child." No, they do not. In fact, they are often intensified, magnified in everything your living children are doing and accomplishing. Thanks for the wonderful post, Maggie.
Can you answer that question? Can you tell me when the spark of life enters the "blob of tissue?" Do you think we should err on the side of death? That we should declare it's not murder simply because we don't know for sure? The argument works both ways. As far as I'm concerned, the fact that it might be a full fledged life at conception should stop abortion cold. Just because science can't prove or disprove when life begins doesn't give us permission to assume it's okay to kill a baby. Ignorance isn't justification.
Thank you for the article, it made me cry.
My favorite argument from pro-abortion (cause that's what they are, not pro-choice) is when they attack me for opposing abortion but supporting the war.
I wish they could see the difference in the purpose of these deaths. It's sad that soldiers die in war, a travesty that I can't help but worry about now that my best friend has joined the navy, but they make the choice to fight. If it comes to the point that the country asks that greatest sacrifice from them, these brave men and women give everything to protect our freedom and way of life, to extend those same rights and freedoms to others.
But who benefits from taking a baby's life? The mother? She's forever scarred. The "doctor" (they take an oath to protect life, I cannot comfortably call them a doctor and mean it.)? It's a selfish procedure that is gone through for convenience. "But what about Rape? or Incest?" While horrible occurrences that I wish would never happen, is it truly the child's fault? You don't blame a child outside the womb for what their parent did or where they come from, why attack a child inside the womb for something beyond their control?
Soldiers die to protect life, freedom, and each other. Aborted children die so their parents don't have to live with consequences.
Thank you for writing this Maggie. I always find it interesting that those of us who are pro-choice have to end up on the defensive on this issue– the Left has warped our society that much. Why should I have to defend my choice to protect the life of a child? Since when did the pro-death crowd have some kind of higher ground here? How did this turn into a debate about "women's privacy?" This is a human life we're talking about. How did so many people forget that?
Thank you for writing this Maggie. I always find it interesting that those of us who are pro-life have to end up on the defensive on this issue– the Left has warped our society that much. Why should I have to defend my choice to protect the life of a child? Since when did the pro-death crowd have some kind of higher ground here? How did this turn into a debate about "women's privacy?" This is a human life we're talking about. How did so many people forget that?
May God continue to Bless You with the strength and courage to keep the faith.
Thank you so very much for sharing with us Maggie.
==those of us who are pro-choice have to end up on the defensive on this issue==
Doesn't HAVE-ta be that way.
We could end this debate, for all practical purposes, by getting Congress [next Repub majority] and state legislatures to define "personhood" as beginning at conception, as South Dakota is trying to do.
I've been advocating this for over a decade, lobbying Arizona Right to Life to push this strategy. But, they reject it, and I dunno why. But they do, and THAT's the important part. I don't deal with them anymore.
Thank you for writing this Maggie. I always find it interesting that those of us who are pro-live have to end up on the defensive on this issue– the Left has warped our society that much. Why should I have to defend my choice to protect the life of a child? Since when did the pro-death crowd have some kind of higher ground here? How did this turn into a debate about "women's privacy?" This is a human life we're talking about. How did so many people forget that?
Thanks for your reply and for sharing your story. My positions/conflicts are not entrenched which is why hearing the thoughts of others on the topic helps me clarify my own thoughts on the issue. I see your point clearly. I just ache for the moms who can't face the long wait till the end…and for those who actually do.
I meant to say "pro-life." I shouldn't post after being woken up too early by my kids…
Right now I can't see the government passing a "personhood" at conception law. But who knows. Maybe we're going to see a change in society as all the economic excesses are shaken out. Kind of like the changes after the "roaring 20's." I just hope we don't have to go through a depression to see some moral values and common sense to make a comeback.
I meant to say "pro-life." I shouldn't post after being woken up too early by my kids…
Right now I can't see the government passing a "personhood" at conception law. But who knows. Maybe we're going to see a change in society as all the economic excesses are shaken out. Kind of like the changes after the "roaring 20's." I just hope we don't have to go through a depression to see some moral values and common sense make a comeback.
"Roe," about two-thirds of the way down, says "If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the [Fourteenth] Amendment." This is the part of "Roe" South Dakota is using.
This means that, if the Court had the personhood of the unborn before it, it would have had to rule the other way cuz ONLY persons get Due Process. The only person before it, though, was "Roe." So, the Court had no choice. So, it's important to define conception as the beginning of "personhood."
This is why I want "Roe" not to be overturned, nor overridden. It gives us this ammo, and we need to git to gittin'.
Thank you.
You are not alone. Many, many women come to a place where they realize that they have murdered their own child. I have a very good friend who deals with it every day. She became a Christian years ago, after which, I believe, is when she realized (or admitted) what she had done. She has found forgiveness but I don't know if she has found peace.
She's had to tell her seven year old daughter what she had done, twice. I don't think she's told her five year old son yet. But one day the subject will come up and she'll have to confess to him too and see the same confusion in his eyes.
I firmly believe that this is why pro-choicers are so evangelical and intolerant of dissent. There are millions of women like my friend who haven't admitted to themselves what they have done, and millions of men in Gary's position who refuse to admit to themselves what they have participated in. They may have an inner voice telling them, but they refuse to acknowledge it and use drugs, therapy, activism, sex or anything else to keep it quiet. As long as society say it's "okay" then they can feel "normal." As long as millions of other women are getting abortions there can't be anything wrong with it.
CareNet Pregnancy Services have centers around America with ministries, often run by women who have themselves had abortions, created to help women cope with the guilt that comes with abortion.
Inheritance law says that what are called "future interests" begins at conception.
This means that the unborn child is treated by law as a person. Technically, a "jural person." That is, for purposes of law, he is a person. The State, then, has a duty to protect the Rights of the person, and THAT means the person must survive.
Corporations are "jural persons." If we can treat a corporation as a person, why not the unborn child?
Let's also not forget the Right of the father to see an heir. That is a matter of law, too.
Don't forget that half of the stuff that goes into making the baby belongs to the father. So, property Rights is involved. This means that the woman's holding onto his property is a bailment, and an abortion is conversion.
And that is why the Whig Party died, and the Republican Party was born. Whigs wanted to be 'reasonable' and business oriented, and not have to deal with the explosive issue of slavery. Democrats seem to have a repeating issue with calling certain people property for other humans to dispose of at whim. And the Reasonable People on the Right seem to have a problem with a lack of courage and foresight.
Is History repeating itself?
It is little wonder that young women make the choice of abortion today – - and live to regret it. The influence of this 'culture war' against the concept of the nurturing mother and family was and still is, overwhelming. Not only does the mainstream media, promote this 'group think', but the 'entertainment' industry and many of the 'mainstream' churches do as well.
Our early feminists believed that abortion was a human rights violation. Susan B. Anthony said: “It will burden her conscience in life. It will burden her soul in the grave.” Her close friend and collaborator, Elizabeth Cady Stanton agreed: “When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women to treat our children as property to be dispoased of when she sees fit.”
Amen.
Indeed it is. A some point, a backlash of the responsible is likley.
Do you have a link to more information about this?
Women say that during pregnancy is the worst time to be handling things and making decisions.
I would say tht this means that the woman should have a guardian to make decisions for her. That would be her husband. The husband should be compelled to protect life and his part of the property that goes into making the baby.
Whales are nifty-lookin. Polar Bears are cute, and help protect us from the ever-present threat of the Seal Uprising. Human beings are loud, cut me off in traffic and frequently smell unpleasantly
The problem with this idea is that often enough it's the husband who doesn't want the baby. Whether it's because he feels he can't support it, can't cope with a(or another) child or just didn't want children to begin with, there are plenty of cases where women abort under pressure from their husbands.
1. I am pro-choice because to me it is a personal choice to have or not have an abortion. I am not pro-abortion because I would not personally have one myself. But then again, I have never been in that position. I honestly do not know what I would have done had I ever been in Sarah Palin's position with Trig. But again, I will not judge other women for the choices that they make in this situation.
2. There is no difference except in a legal sense. It is an arbitrary bright line set up for the purpose of regulation. However, I did say that I think that human life starts at conception. But I will restate again that I am adamantly opposed to abortion beyond the first trimester.
3. Yes, I agree that abstinance should be promoted. Absolutely, but abstinance only? That is just irresponsible.
Then just admit you don't find anything wrong with murdering children. The "I believe life begins at conception" line and statement that you believe a first trimester baby is a human life just confuses the issue.
Either an unborn child is just that – a child, a human life, or it's not. If it's a human life, then it's murder to take that life. If it is murder then it is wrong whether you do it or whether I do it, just like any other murder or any other crime.
I'm going to assume you do not have this view: "I wouldn't walk up to someone and stab them for no reason. But I can't judge those who do." Like most people who know right from wrong, you'd simply say it was wrong for anyone to do that, right?
I'm sorry, but you can't have it both ways.
As someone who has had an abortion, I really hope all the women on this blog find peace with the decisions they've been made to make in life and I applaud you all in making the CHOICE to plan your future pregancies and families.
You're conflating 'consequences' with 'condemnation'.
And you're wrong as well.
There is no 'condemnation of society'. Abortion is legal. Are there opponents to abortion? Absolutely. Are there groups working to have abortion made illegal? Same answer. But to state that a woman who has an abortion "face[s] the condemenation of society" is to state a fallacy. It just isn't true. She may face the condemnation of portions of society, of those opposed to abortion, but does society as a whole treat her as a social outcast, a pariah, one of the unclean? No. Given the election of our current President, it appears that more that half the voting citizens of the United States support your decision to abort.
And while there is no condemnation for the father opposed to the abortion, there should be for the male participant who supports and/or finances the abortion. Even more so, the one who coerces and threatens a woman into having one.
Agreed Mo, Bev.. i don't see how you can't see the contradiction in your beliefs there.
Thank you Maggie for sharing with us. It's always a blessing to hear of other peoples spiritual awakenings and hear their testimony. Your testimony reminds me of a movie called "Listen to me" starring Kirk Cameron and Jamie Guetz.
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=950DE4...
We are human and we make mistakes, but there is never seems to be a shortage of people ready to capitalize on those mistakes. Greed is the motivator for those performing them, but for the life of me I do not understand what motivates those who advocate abortions. Is it pride? What do you suppose motivates the government to pay for them with our tax dollars? Don't they know they are killing potential taxpayers?
Abortion proponents have ran a very successful marketing campaign in the late 1960's, which is unfortunately a big part of why abortion is so acceptable today. By infusing their campaign with buzzwords such as 'choice' 'freedom', and 'control', as well as fabricating polls and figures, such as inflating the number of women who died from abortions yearly from 250 to over 10,000 (according to Bernard Nathanson, co-founder of NARAL along with Betty Friedan, but now a pro-lifer), they were able to sway the media and public opinion in amazing ways. Of course, many were all too eager to jump on board with the idea that their actions would not bear 'negative' consequences…but as Ms. Malone said, many women in fact do suffer much emotional hurt in the wake of their 'choice'.
I believe that deception and laziness has enveloped our nation as a whole, and has allowed this genocide to happen, but I do also believe a time of awakening is coming…we are a nation deeply divided, and this issue is at the top of that list.
Abortion proponents have ran a very successful marketing campaign which started in the late 1960's, which is unfortunately a big part of why abortion is so acceptable today. By infusing their campaign with buzzwords such as 'choice' 'freedom', and 'control', as well as fabricating polls and figures, such as inflating the number of women who died from abortions yearly from 250 to over 10,000 (according to Bernard Nathanson, co-founder of NARAL along with Betty Friedan, but now a pro-lifer), they were able to sway the media and public opinion in amazing ways. Of course, many were all too eager to jump on board with the idea that their actions would not bear 'negative' consequences…but as Ms. Malone said, many women in fact do suffer much emotional hurt in the wake of their 'choice'.
I believe that deception and laziness has enveloped our nation as a whole, and has allowed this genocide to happen, but I do also believe a time of awakening is coming…we are a nation deeply divided, and this issue is at the top of that list.
[...] second from Maggie Malone, an actress in Chicago is just as stout: It was brilliant when you [Gary Graham] referred to the [...]
I don't want to judge you– your choice is yours and your alone. But when you say "decisions they've (women) been made to make" you make it sound as if you were *made* to have an abortion. Or perhaps you were *forced* to have sex and conceive the child. I hope that wasn't the case for you.
I am pro-life but I am also absolutely pro- birth control. It's not a religious issue for me but rather a respect for life issue. I hope you weren't forced into your choice in any way, and if youweren't I hope you will think ahead and plan in the future as you suggest to everyone else.
I don't want to judge you– your choice is yours and your alone. But when you say "decisions they've (women) been made to make" you make it sound as if you were *made* to have an abortion. Or perhaps you were *forced* to have sex and conceive the child. I hope that wasn't the case for you.
I am pro-life but I am also absolutely pro- birth control. It's not a religious issue for me but rather a respect for life issue. I hope you weren't forced into your choice in any way, and if you weren't I hope you will think ahead and plan in the future as you suggest to everyone else.
Last March, Barry 0 proclaimed "I would not want my daughter punished with a baby." He was asked about abortion, so there's no taking quotes out of context here. Our president has formed his opinion on infanticide, and sadly, it ain't the high road.
To be fair, I have known men who were vehemently against the abortion but had no choice but to accede to the woman's preference. That doesn't seem right either.
Many young women are under intense pressure to abort by either their husband, boyfriend, friends, and even parents…and to try and have that same young woman make such a grave decision under the cloud of a crisis is so much…that's why I believe abortion has such an appeal. Many women are not counseled on what exactly the risks are, neither are they taught about the developmental stages of the life they are carrying. They are led to believe that it's a quick fix for their problem, and they can walk away as if it never happened. Where is the true regard for the woman's well being?? I believe every woman should be FULLY informed…and that doesn't mean a Planned Parenthood counselor casually mentioning that they could consider adoption. Require the ultrasound, require education on fetal development, abortion procedures, and all the risks involved, including the risks of Post Abortion Syndrome…if women were fully educated, I believe we would see a lot more people opposed to abortion, and deciding to keep their children.
My wife's first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. Before that, we both had been ambivalent on abortion. OK for others, but she wasn't going to get one, ever. We saw the baby on the ultrasound, we heard his heartbeat, and we were overjoyed. There was no doubt that that was a human life growing in there. Then, at the next visit, nothing. No heartbeat. No growth. Our child had died. The devastation we felt at losing our child for no discernable reason, I don't see how a person can willfully decide to kill their child.
Usually mothers go to jail when they kill their children, but somehow this is ok…
^^This!
I have a theory that those who are traumatized by their abortions do one of two things: 1) become hardcore pro-lifers as a way of making it up to the children they lost or 2) become hardcore pro-choice activists as a way to justifiy what they've done. Excellent point as well about cushing their guilt by ensuring there will be more women who have abortions; it feels less wrong if lots of other people have done it. I remember reading about a nurse at an abortuary who told one of the clients who had some misgivings that there couldn't possibly be enough room in hell for all of those women who have had abortions, so there was nothing to worry about.
Or a civil war. See Orson Scott Card's "Empire".
My wife and avoid that issue. The tests are offered, never required. If we wind up with a child with Down's, we'll love him as much as our other children. What point is there to the testing if we know we're not going to abort? If we test, then it'll will only make us think of that final solution, and if we don't abort, then we'll end up dreading the delivery day, for purely selfish reasons. Being a new parent is hard work, and life-changing, and scary enough as is. You don't need foreknowledge that it's going to be even harder than usual.
Sheila, you really need to take a look at an investigative report by Stanley Kurtz (Kuntz?) entitled "Obama's lost years", reviewing the votes Obama made during his years as an Illinois state senator. One particularly appalling vote by Obama concerns withholding compassionate care, not even life saving care, to a "failed" late term abortion wherein the baby was "aborted" (better word would be "delivered") alive. He voted to not allow medical staff to take care of the live baby because–and here's what's utterly appalling, "It would cause the mother of the (aborted/ delivered) live baby to have to rethink her first decision, which was to terminate the pregnancy." Another example of how the mainstream media didn't want their candidate to "look bad"–they were railroading him to the presidency, truth be damned.
Sorry to pop your bubble about your fella, Obama. By the way, another story quashed by the mainstream media: Did you know Etta James, in her famous disparaging remarks about Beyonce singing "At Last" (Etta Jame's song), Etta also said, "You know who your president is? (the crowd cheers). ."Well, he ain't MY president!"
Bless you Ms. Malone. You are in my prayers.
Life is full of contradictions. I don't like to see or think of animals being slaughtered, but I still eat meat. It's my nature as a woman, so sue me.
Okay, not all 'Society". I agree. But, you have just spent the day calling abortion "murder, and yet you don't see how that might be condemning. And just because men SHOULD be held responsible, the fact is that they are not.
Kill baby seals/ NEVER.
Kill babies before they are born? Always if I want to .Also, I want 8 babies at one time? Sure, it is my right!
It is the liberal way. It is also insane! And we have to pay for it.
God bless us all.
I could actually go for a bloodless coup, which in my world is a tax rebellion. Clean, simple and quick.
Ms. Malone,
I read both yours and Gary's contributions with tears in my eyes. Thank you.
When I hear the term "bloodless coup", I think of smotherings. Clean and simple, if not so quick.
So, then, make the unborn person a ward of the State.
So, what, put the birth mother in some kind of materity jail?
It may not be a religious issue with you, but you certainly have not problem with judging her.
All I asked of her was that she hold herself to the same standard she insisted we hold ourselves to. I don't think my comment was judgemental at all.
Yours on the other hand…..
I see a LOT of defensiveness here.
Thanks Aly, I didn't vote for Obama. I'm a practicing Catholic, so abortion was just about my number one issue. But, I still have some faith that someone will change his little mind about killing his own race. I can at least dream. BTW, I was pretty shocked about his opinion on partial birth abortion… it is so barbaric. I mean, is he the ONLY senator (ex) who felt this way about it?
Thank you for your heart-wrenching story. You are so brave to share this with the rest of us.
As the grandmother of two precious boys who have autism and one granddaughter who has Down syndrome, I have to wonder how long it will be before the government convinces the uninformed and uncaring that these children are not worthy of taking up space on the planet. I understand it's already happening with respect to Down, but what about when autism can be identified in the womb — 1 in 150 births! Scary isn't it?
The recent portion of the stimulus, regarding healthcare and the power of the government to direct our treatment, is just a precursor to what may be coming down the pike. Be scared! Be VERY scared!
You really are a confusing person. You started off this conversation saying that you believe an unborn child is a human being. Therefore I assumed you were against abortion. Now you are stating that if I call the killing of an unborn human being murder I am "condemning"? Well, of course I condemn murder of innocent human beings! Don' t you?
This conversation has come to the point where it doesn't even make sense anymore.
Maggie, thank you very much for writing this. I have friends who are still tormented by the abortions they had 20 years ago. With all due respect to clergy, one woman who has had an abortion and speaks out against it (or a man who has paid for abortions and came to regret them, as Gary G. did) has more impact than a hundred pro-life sermons. You expose the lie that abortion is the "easy way out." Bless you.
Bev bev bev: at the point of conception when the egg is penetrated by the sperm, there is an initial joining of the two genetic materials then a cell division. At that point, there is an individual in there with his or her own DNA structure. Everything about that child's appearance, and to a large extent, disposition has been decided. There is human DNA present. It may not look, feel, act, sound, or smell like a human being, but the DNA says it is. Science. Now regarding sex as a biological function, it can be controlled, dear. It's called self control. It can be controlled just as much as any other biological function: the need to urinate, etc. UNLESS you are a very small child or someone who is exiting this earth. Viable birth control methods??? Use your will and just say NO! It's easy. Or try Tylenol between the knees. No need to have an abortion if you keep the Tylenoly tightly between your knees!
There is nothing I misunderstood, so you can save your snotty tone for someone else.
The problem is with the horrifying idea that that children who are unfortunate enough to be born to parents who don't want them deserve to be slaughtered.
(Which point Bev has yet to address – whether "eloquently" or any other way.
==So, what, put the birth mother in some kind of materity jail? ==
No, but details have yet to be worked out. That, though, doesn't mean that we just put the shovel to the unborn person until we decide details.
"So sue me"? That's the only thing you have to say in response to all the points I've made?
Why don't you just be honest and say you believe murdering children is okay? Why can't you just say it outright? I'd have a lot more respect for you if you did, instead of this ridiculous dancing around and your lie that you believe life begins at conception and that you think unborn children are human beings.
I was stupid enough to think you were sincere in your comments and looking for honest discussion. Thanks for showing me once and for all that I was wrong. I will not be making that mistake again.
There are fetal homicide laws already on the books in many states.
This is something that I didn't even realize until someone brought it up a few weeks ago. It's not a matter of creating new laws. Like many other issues, it's a matter of enforcing laws that already exist.
Maggie: Thank you for spilling your heart all over your keyboard. The blood of these innocents cries out to heaven and judgement, I think, has already begun.
I was in a show once called Keely and Du. It's supposedly a show that tells both sides of this issue although it leans to the left. I played Du–a woman ardently against abortion. The director was a woman who was ardently for abortion. In one of our discussions during a break in rehearsal, she told us that her sister had had an abortion and had suffered no psychological effects from the ordeal. In the next breath, she said that her sister would wake up in the night and hear a baby crying from the other room. The news media, Planned Parenthood (a racist organization, by the way), and the POTUS are withholding information from us. Women are making uneducated choices.
RE: Running out of places to hide
The other day, an Oklahoma man with a sign on his car was stopped by police, the sign was confiscated., and the Secret Service esearched his premises.
Why? The sign read "Abort Obma not the unborn." The police and secret service considered it as a threat to Obama's life.
But they cannot logically do that because they say abortion is not the taking of a human life. If it does not cause a death, then how can "abort" Obama be construed as a threat to his life?
So they shout obscenely, shut down debate, silence truth and hide with their fellows. They truly have no-place to hide.
I wonder about the Autism question too. My son has Asperger's and he couldn't be more perfect in my eyes.
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