An Analogy

My brother-in-law, Jon, was telling me the other day of an analogy that came to him as he was thinking of ways to counter arguments for abortion that a lady at his place of work comes up with in conversations. I thought it was a great analogy. I’ll try to communicate it here.

A man and a woman have decided to go on a hike up a mountain with their small son. They make it up to the top of the mountain and then begin to go back down. The father injures his leg, but is able to limp along slowly. As they continue back down, the son gets tired. Since the father isn’t able to carry him, the mother decides to pick him up and carry him. However, soon the mother begins to tire of carrying him. But they have come to a treacherous part of the trail that runs dangerously close to the edge of a cliff, and although she could carry him farther, she decides to put him back down. Instead of holding the child’s hand or carrying him, the mother simply walks along in front of him. Unfortunately, the child loses his footing and falls off the cliff to his death.

The parents both made the choice to go for the hike. But the father could not carry the child. Only the mother could. And it was her choice to continue to carry him or put him down, knowing that if she did so, death was certain for her son. If this happened in real life, we would say the mother should be held responsible for her son’s death. What makes this situation different than a woman who is pregnant and decides to abort her baby?

Let me know what you think about this analogy.

Pro-Lifers Busy at Dem Convention

Jill Stanek links to an editorial at the Colorado Springs Gazette that tells about how pro-lifers stole the show at the Democrat convention.

Far left activists who promised convention mayhem mostly made fools of themselves. They had no coherent message and couldn’t even seem to organize chants and clever signs. When riot cops stared them down with rifles at the ready and “bring it on” body language, most of their gatherings had less energy than the average cemetery internment.

Not so, regarding pro-life activists. They were seemingly everywhere in Denver during the convention and for days leading up to it. Priests were arrested for staying put when police ordered them not to sit on the ground obstructing entry to the Denver Convention Center, not far from the outer security perimeter of Pepsi Center. Two teenagers from CA were arrested for writing anti-abortion messages with chalk on the sidewalk outside the hotel where Barack Obama stayed. The formidable passion and conviction of the pro-life crowd was obvious.

An Environmentalist In A Fur Coat

Father Thomas D. Williams has a great reaction to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent attempt to fit abortion into the Catholic faith. I would say his point can be applied to the Christian faith in general–not just the Catholic church.

A solid core of beliefs or principles undergirds any human organization. These beliefs constitute the cement that binds the society together and determine its identity. Obviously plenty of issues fall outside this fundamental core, and there is a difference between legitimate pluralism of opinion and arrant contradiction. Environmentalists, for example, can disagree about many things — such as strategies, priorities, tactics, funding and the like — but devotion to the environment and its logical corollaries are not up for debate. If you sport a mink coat, you’re out of the club.

From the earliest days of Christianity, Jesus’ followers distinguished themselves from those around them both by their doctrinal beliefs and their moral code. The earliest known work of Christian antiquity outside the New Testament is called The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, known also by its familiar Greek appellation, the Didache. This catechetical manual makes no bones about what it means to be a Christian. It begins with the stark admonition: “Two ways there are, one of Life and one of Death, and there is a great difference between the Two Ways.” Included in the explanation of what it means to love one’s neighbor, as part of the “way of life,” first century Christians read the words, “Do not kill a fetus by abortion, or commit infanticide.” Such has been the consistent teaching throughout the history of Christianity and no amount of political posturing will change that.

I find it impossible that a true Christian could ever reconcile their faith with a pro-abortion stance. Sadly, many “Christians” try to rationalize being pro-choice every day using a variety of reasons.

McCain Picks Palin as VP Running Mate

All the news organizations are reporting that Senator John McCain has picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. This is excellent news from a pro-life perspective. Life News has more on her strong pro-life stance.

She is strongly pro-life and was a member of Feminists for Life of America, a leading pro-woman, pro-life organization that has championed reducing abortions by helping pregnant and parenting students with financial and other resources.

As LifeNews.com reported in April, Palin put those pro-life views into practice.

As many as 80 percent of unborn children diagnosed with Down syndrome become victims of abortion, but Palin didn’t let her child become a statistic. Palin, who has deeply-felt pro-life views, gave birth to her fifth child and the baby was diagnosed with the condition.

Palin confirmed her baby, named Trig Paxson, has Down syndrome.

“Trig is beautiful and already adored by us,” Palin told LifeNews.com at the time.

“We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives,” she said.

‘We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed,” the governor added.

Laura Ingraham Ensures McCain Hears Pro-Life Stance

LifeNews.com is reporting about the interview that conservative radio talk show host Laura Ingraham had with Senator John McCain. During that interview, she made sure he understood that true conservatives want him to select someone who has a pro-life record as his running mate.

“How could you consider selecting someone who opposed the federal partial birth abortion ban and was one of the eleven original cosponsors of the radical freedom of choice act as your vice-president?” Ingraham said of Lieberman.

Ingraham then took the opportunity to make her case, saying “from the conservative perspective we are literally imploring you to not turn your back on your great pro-life record over decades now.”

McCain heard about the abortion issue again in the town hall when a voter asked about whether he would pick a pro-life running mate. Another, according to the Washington Post, worried he would select someone who would “cause us to want to stay home.”

“I will nominate a person to be vice president, my running mate, who shares my principles, my values and my priorities,” McCain said to loud applause.

Rich Lowry on Obama’s Inconsistency

Rich Lowry has a great article on National Review about Obama’s inconsistencies between what he says and how he’s voted when it comes to abortion.

Obama’s problem isn’t his temperament, but the unsustainable exertions necessary to attempt to square his reasonable-sounding rhetoric on abortion with the extremism of his record.

APA Draws Criticism With Report on Abortion

According to The Christian Post, the American Psychological Association recently release a report which found that women who have had only one abortion during their first trimester do not have a higher risk of mental health problems than those who had their babies. That report, however, is drawing much criticism from pro-life groups who begged to differ, but were ignored by the APA.

“This finding was expected given the composition of the APA task force (pro-choice in a pro-choice organization) but provides testimony to the bias of APA in not even meeting with groups who represent women who believe abortion did lead to significant mental health problems,” said Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a psychology professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. “Several groups sought to meet with APA but were rebuffed.”

Over 600 women who had an abortion asked to meet with the APA to discuss their experiences of abortion and depression. They were, however, dismissed.

“The APA brushed them off, just like it dismissed any scientific study that didn’t agree with its agenda,” said Forney, whose organization raises awareness about the harmful effects of abortion and has had 2,326 women and men share their testimonies around the world.

For an organization that is so concerned about mental health, you’d think they’d want to perform a study that takes everything into account–not just those pieces of information that support their foregone conclusion.