On Abortion

Why not begin here?  This seems to be the topic of the month.

This is a response to this blog post: Anatomy of an Unsafe Abortion and especially the last paragraph.  Dr. Gunter is right to be angry at the people who caused this situation, but I wonder if she, like many pro-choicers, is angry at the right people.  While she can't be held responsible for her readers, it is pretty clear from the comments that her readers are blaming the wrong people.  So I made a helpful list:

People who are responsible for back-alley abortions:

• Doctors who perform back-alley abortions
• Family members who pressure young women into having abortions
• Family members who do not forgive young women for becoming pregnant in the first place
• Rapists
• Men who pressure their girlfriends into having abortions
• Anyone who assumes that a young woman below a certain age should have an abortion
• Anyone who forgets that adoption is a viable option (and anyone who makes adoption a non-viable option)
• A general lack of support in our society for women who are pregnant and want to carry that pregnancy to term

People who are not responsible for back-alley abortions:

• The Catholic Church for insisting that all life is sacred (both that of the mother and the child)
• Pro-Lifers who push for laws that give women time to make a full and consenting decision on whether or not to choose abortion
• Conservatives (because they all stay up late at night and think of how they can oppress people, especially women, right? no)

P.S. A friend of mine wrote a great post called Doing Pro-Life.  Everyone should read it.  Everyone!

Introduction

I see media in my Facebook news feed every day that warrants some kind of response.  Usually my reaction is this:

1. I see the article title and think "Dang, I can see where this is going"
2. *Walk away from computer for a minute
3. "I need to see what this is about" *clicks on article
4. *Feel deeply saddened for the world (usually because of a breakdown of communication between people on two sides of a deeply emotional issue)
5. *Walk away from computer
6. "This needs some kind of response" *respond in essay form in a Facebook post

You can probably see how this is a problem.  Facebook is not the best medium for these kinds of responses.  Hence the blog.

I realize that this probably sounds arrogant of me, like I feel personally responsible for responding to things I disagree with.  The truth is, we all are personally responsible for joining the conversation.  I would encourage anyone reading this to respond.  Let's talk; let's debate.  Please, there's too much yelling at each other rather than talking to each other in the world.

So, as a matter of introduction, here's where I'm coming from.  I am a Christian and a very recent convert to Catholicism.  I will be graduating from Baylor University this May with a BA in Linguistics and History.  My responses on this blog will stem from my understanding of my faith as a converted Catholic and, to a smaller degree, my specialization in Linguistics and History.

The name of this blog comes from St. Therese of Lisieux's The Story of a Soul:

"So it is in the world of souls, the living garden of the Lord.  It pleases Him to create great saints, who may be compared with lilies or the rose; but He has also created little ones, who must be content to be daisies or violets nestling at His feet to delight His eyes when He should choose to look at them."

It is my hope that in my own small way, I may improve the great conversation through this blog.