"I am a Christian, I am pro-life, but after doing a lot of reasearch, I've decided to vote no." I've heard this statement from a number of people (largely on Facebook) and it breaks my heart. I have to wonder where all of their research is coming from.
It is no longer a secret that "Mississippians for Healthy Families" is Planned Parenthood and the ACLU in disguise and that the two agencies have pumped millions into trying to get this amendment stopped. They have a lot to lose if this thing passes, and not just in the state of Mississippi, as other states have this amendment coming up on their ballot as well.
The opposition to the Personhood Amendment is smart. They have pushed their "scare tactics" through social media and other channels by persuading people to think that "If you're really smart, if you educate yourself on this issue, you will see that Personhood is a bad amendment. It's vague. It may have good intentions, but needs to be re-done." See how smart that is? Convince people who are pro-life that while this amendment would end abortion (something they want), it's "poorly written" and "there's a better way to stop abortion" when really the people behind these tactics don't want to stop abortion at all! The argument that really got under my skin was the whole "don't just listen to what your pastor says or what the sign in his yard says. Educate yourself. Be smart. Don't be like your dumb pastor." Okay, that last little bit might be pushing it a little far, but you get the point: "Your dumb pastor just doesn't get it. Research! Then you'll see how bad Personhood is." And what should we be "researching?" Why all of the liberal propaganda they have put out, of course!
Now, I am not an idiot and neither is my pastor. :) I have "researched" Amendment 26. A lot. I have considered all of the implications of this Amendment. Do I believe it will affect birth control? Yes. An IUD? Yes. Do I believe it will have consequences for IVF? Yes, though it won't be banned. Do I think that a woman who miscarries will be investigated for murder? No, that's stupid. Do I understand that it makes no exceptions for rape victims or victims of incest? Yes. Am I just so insensitive that I don't care about any of these issues? No. I deeply care. I allowed myself to get caught up in all of the "research" for a few weeks and I was troubled. What do I do? What about all of these consequences? What about the fact that if this amendment does pass it will likely be held up in courts for so long that it will never amount to anything and end up costing the state millions?
There are many reasons why I could easily vote no. There was a point where I honestly didn't know what to do. So, I turned to God. In agony and near tears for several nights I just prayed and prayed and prayed. The first thing I heard from God was "trust me." Trust me that it will be okay for the women of Mississippi, those who suffer rape or an ectopic pregnancy or other illness while pregnant. Trust me that if this passes it will all be okay.
I started to think about the "what if's?" "What if" this limits IVF? Well, should we really be freezing embryos anyway to one day be used for scientific experiments if unused? "What if" this puts great limits on birth control and we have more and more unplanned pregnancies from unwed mothers who can't afford them? I know of a pretty good way not to end up pregnant, what's so wrong with abstinence anyway? It's how I kept from having any unplanned pregnancies before I was married. "What if" this prevents a rape victim from getting access to a morning after pill? "What if" I was that rape victims baby? What would I want? "What if" we've really been allowing the murder of human beings through these methods all of these years without even realizing it?
A lot of pro-life Christians have gotten caught up in the difference between fertilization and implantation and when a person is really a person and it seems like we've forgotten the fact that pro-lifers can all agree that once a woman is pregnant she is pregnant with a person and an abortion ends that person's life. Planned Parenthood and the ACLU's research has done a great job of turning our attention away from what Amendment 26 is at its core: ending abortion. Don't believe the lies that say "this isn't about abortion." The people behind Personhood have nothing to gain if this amendment passes, while Planned Parenthood has everything to lose.
"I'm a Christian, I'm pro-life, and I've researched and decided to vote no." If you fall into this category, I have to ask, "where is this research coming from?" Have you bathed this issue in prayer and study of the scripture? After having felt God say, "Trust me" Bible Verses just started coming at me everytime I opened my Bible (or, in my case, Bible App). Proverbs 24:11-12 hit me hard,
"11 Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die;
save them as they stagger to their death.
12 Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew.
He will repay all people as their actions deserve."
I added the underlying for emphasis. I want to replace "Look, we didn't know" with "Look, we were fooled!" Fooled by an organization that has aborted millions of babies.
Abortion is one of the issues that I am most passionate about. What have I done to stop it thus far? Nothing. Not one single thing. I imagined standing before God on judgment day and being asked, "what did you do to save these lives?" What would I say? "Well, God, I strongly was against abortion in my lifetime and never would have considered one myself." God, "Yes, but what did you DO?" Me, "Well, there was this one time that an amendment came forward that could have ended abortion, but I voted against it because it was 'poorly written.'" What would God say then?
This is my chance! This is the first chance I have ever had to speak up for all of those innocent lives who are lost everyday! How could I vote no? I am voting YES, and trusting God that it really will be okay. If this Amendment doesn't pass, then I will know that I have done what I could and can say to God that I did something, as small as it was.
"It is no longer a secret that "Mississippians for Healthy Families" is Planned Parenthood and the ACLU in disguise and that the two agencies have pumped millions into trying to get this amendment stopped."
ReplyDeleteIt never was a secret. It was a matter of public record that they purchased the organization. The people staffing it, however, are grassroots Mississippi supporters. Phone bankers, ralliers, people who have stepped up. Pumped millions? Really? Where is this money? The opposition to 26 had practically no money until awareness started being raised in the last month, and people started contributing. Yes on 26, however, has been hugely bankrolled by special interests, particularly out of Colorado. Les Riley (a Quiverfull supporter and Christian secessionist, I might add) is being paid $10,000 a month. They have a van, promotional materials like signs and flyers that could sink the Titanic, and political heft in the likes of Phil Bryant (who said today that "no" voters are like Hitler). Most no voters are making homemade signs and trying to figure out where to get materials. So to suggest that the opposition to this is all PP and the ACLU, and that we have tons of money, is simply not true.
I would also add that the one Planned Parenthood clinic in Mississippi does not perform abortions. They provide counseling and services to students and other low-income families. They're so evil! Nationwide, abortion accounts for 3% of Planned Parenthood's functions.
I realize that PP and the ACLU are two organizations that some people like to set up as straw men and say "They're so evil!!!" which is patently absurd, so I'm not even going to get into that here.
"The opposition to the Personhood Amendment is smart. They have pushed their "scare tactics" through social media and other channels by persuading people to think that "If you're really smart, if you educate yourself on this issue, you will see that Personhood is a bad amendment. It's vague. It may have good intentions, but needs to be re-done." See how smart that is?"
Yeah, I do see how smart that is. Why? Because it's TRUE. As people have learned more about what this amendment actually means, its support has dropped dramatically. That should tell you something.
Scare tactics? This phrase just makes me roll my eyes at this point. Any time Yes on 26 wants people to ignore some facts, they yell "Scare tactics! Here, look at this cute baby! Do you want to kill this cute little baby? Why do you hate children?" Tell me one concern raised about this amendment that isn't true. ONE.
"Convince people who are pro-life that while this amendment would end abortion (something they want), it's "poorly written" and "there's a better way to stop abortion" when really the people behind these tactics don't want to stop abortion at all!"
Do people actually think that this amendment - or any law - would ever end abortion? That's blindly naive. Abortion is not something that's going to go away, whether it's legal or illegal. And an amendment that changes the definition of "person," a word used over 9,000 times in the Mississippi constitution, without even considering the legal implications of that, IS poorly written. And stupid.
"And what should we be "researching?" Why all of the liberal propaganda they have put out, of course!"
Start by researching on any website that isn't Yes on 26 or a link that they give you. That would be a good start. To categorize all opposition to this amendment, and all the concerns raised by it, as "liberal propaganda" is dishonest and lazy. You're better than that, Emily.
"Do I think that a woman who miscarries will be investigated for murder? No, that's stupid."
ReplyDeleteReally? You do realize that it's already happening, right? There are dozens of cases across the US where women are being investigated (and even doing jail time) for "suspicious" miscarriages. In El Salvador, which has some of the strictest abortion laws in the world, women are AFRAID to go to the hospital with miscarriages in case the doctor thinks something is suspicious. This isn't the Twilight Zone. This is real life.
"What about the fact that if this amendment does pass it will likely be held up in courts for so long that it will never amount to anything and end up costing the state millions?"
I notice you let that question - a VERY good one, by the way - dangle unanswered.
"The first thing I heard from God was "trust me." Trust me that it will be okay for the women of Mississippi, those who suffer rape or an ectopic pregnancy or other illness while pregnant. Trust me that if this passes it will all be okay."
...Seriously? That's it? Please believe me when I say that I'm not trying to make light of prayer or anything, but that's awfully weak, considering how many women and families will suffer because of this.
""What if" this limits IVF? Well, should we really be freezing embryos anyway to one day be used for scientific experiments if unused?"
That's not why couples freeze their embryos. They freeze them so that if one implantation isn't successful, they can try again. They also freeze them in case they want more kids in the future. If 26 passes, IVF will remain legal (no one has ever said it wouldn't), but it will be restricted straight out of existence.
""What if" this puts great limits on birth control and we have more and more unplanned pregnancies from unwed mothers who can't afford them? I know of a pretty good way not to end up pregnant, what's so wrong with abstinence anyway? It's how I kept from having any unplanned pregnancies before I was married."
Emily, honestly... I know you're smarter than this. I know you are! It's not only "unwed mothers" who can't afford more kids. Should married couples in poverty just have to stop having sex?
And are you completely brushing aside the truckloads of women who take birth control for medical reasons? I'm one of them. I take birth control for menorrhagia, and the way it works is by thinning the lining of my uterus. Obviously, this would be one of the first birth controls to get the axe. Should I just trust God, or should I order my medicine from out of state and risk being discovered and charged with manslaughter? What about the women who take birth control for ovarian cysts, histories of high-risk pregnancies, hormone regulation, and scores of other reasons? Should they just trust God, too?
Personally, I'd rather trust a doctor than a legislator who doesn't know the first thing about menorrhagia or any other womenfolks' problems, but I guess that's just me and my liberal propaganda speaking.
""What if" this prevents a rape victim from getting access to a morning after pill? "What if" I was that rape victims baby? What would I want?"
Since an egg doesn't have feelings and has a 30-50% chance of being passed from the woman's body naturally anyway, I'd say it doesn't really care. If I have to choose between protecting an egg and protecting a 10-year-old girl who was raped and impregnated by her own father, I'm going with the girl. If that makes me anti-life and evil, so be it.
"Don't believe the lies that say "this isn't about abortion." The people behind Personhood have nothing to gain if this amendment passes, while Planned Parenthood has everything to lose."
ReplyDeleteIt's not a lie. This isn't about abortion. That's why tons of pro-life people are also saying NO. It's about ending women's control over their own bodies, from abortion to birth control to IVF. As one person put it, it's like using a flamethrower to light a candle.
Planned Parenthood has everything to lose? I think the other 97% of their operations will be just fine. Well, except for birth control. We all know that's gonna get the axe.
""Well, there was this one time that an amendment came forward that could have ended abortion, but I voted against it because it was 'poorly written.'" What would God say then?"
Well, the God I worship and believe in would say, "I'm glad you did that, DeeDee. It would have been foolish and reckless to hurt innocent women, all in the name of passing a stupid amendment that wouldn't even accomplish what it claimed it would. Thanks for standing up for rape victims. Thanks for protecting women with high-risk pregnancies. Thanks for using the brain I gave you."
I am not Planned Parenthood. I am not the ACLU. I am a Mississippi woman. I take birth control for a medical condition. I was beyond thankful that when my little sister was kidnapped and raped last spring, she got to take the morning-after pill at the hospital. And I'm very proud to be opposing a legal measure that would hurt me and thousands of other women in this state. Sometimes God is the one trusting US to do the right thing, and wondering why we keep blaming him for humanity's atrocities.
Dee Dee- Thank you for your responses. I am not going to even begin to debate back with you because I am confident I would lose. Rationally, I know that it makes the most sense to vote no. But, I really feel like God is telling me to vote yes. And, you feel strongly like God is telling you to vote no. Is it possible that we are both right? Does that seem too simple? You have done 1000x more to speak out against this amendment than I have for it and for that I admire you GREATLY! In some ways you even inspired me to write this blog about why I am voting yes. For what it's worth, I don't believe that 26 will pass, and never have. And, I have always felt that if it did somehow pass, it would be struck down in courts. So, the issue for me was always more about what this would be costing the state if it did pass, something (you're right) I have no answer for. And, the bigger issue I guess was more how I personally would vote. I'm not trying to over-spiritualize this or anything it's just how I feel God has been leading me. The biggest point I was trying to make (which I'm sure we both agree on) is that we should be praying hard about our decisions that we make when we vote.
ReplyDeleteOn that we agree. I hope you know that I wouldn't have bothered writing such a lengthy reply (so crazy long that I had to split it into three comments... d'oh!) if I didn't honestly respect your opinion. And like I said to Emily Kines a few days ago, I would rather be friends with someone who disagrees passionately than someone who agrees but doesn't really care.
ReplyDelete(And on a completely random and off-topic note, I love the name Evangeline. I might have even told you that before, LOL)