Video: “No, Mr. President”
posted at 1:05 pm on May 18, 2009 by Allahpundit
An amends of sorts to passionate pro-lifers who don’t care for my position on this issue. The speaker is theologian John Piper, the animator is unknown, but both are obviously superb at their jobs. Consider this an especially vivid illustration of the point I made yesterday about the impossibility of “open-mindedness” about abortion when one’s religious conviction runs this deeply. As Freddoso puts it in his postmortem of The One’s speech:
Notre Dame sent another clear message to its new graduates by honoring a politician who has spent his entire career resisting even the smallest legal protection for the unborn. To tomorrow’s Catholic leaders, Notre Dame has said that the direct and deliberate taking of innocent human life through abortion is just one issue among many, and nothing worth getting too upset about.
Indeed. The most important thing — the supreme virtue — is “dialogue.” No doubt Netanyahu’s getting an earful about that right now.
Blowback
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Fellow conservatives fight the abortion debate on the wrong battle field. The right field is with a constitutional amendment, not presidential elections in the hopes that we get the “right” justice
Conservative Voice on May 18, 2009 at 1:10 PM
What is the virtue, let alone the utility, of dialogue, when “[He] won”?
He may be in the same room with others, but he ain’t interested in dialogue.
BuckeyeSam on May 18, 2009 at 1:11 PM
If I remember right,didn’t Hopey say,that newborns
have no ‘Human Rights’!!
And,yup,this is a powerful video!
canopfor on May 18, 2009 at 1:11 PM
That’s gonna be even harder to get. And anyway, the constitution already protects the right to life, we just want it enforced consistently rather than selectively so liberals can make assloads of money grinding up innocent human beings while screeching about belly slapping terrorists.
Darth Executor on May 18, 2009 at 1:12 PM
Powerful.
Glenn Jericho on May 18, 2009 at 1:13 PM
wow. hard-hitting and hard to argue with.
another “right-wing fanatic”. or is it “religious vigilante”?
i just can’t keep up with the lefty lexicon these days.
homesickamerican on May 18, 2009 at 1:14 PM
If we’re talking about constitutional amendments, how about one that limits Supreme Court justices to 10 years instead of lifetime appointment? Some of these bozos just don’t know when to quit.
Special K on May 18, 2009 at 1:14 PM
I like john piper(you should put up the video where he goes off on the prosperity gospel) but he has been arrested before for protesting abortion… he’s definitely in operation rescue territory when it comes to engaging on this issue…
ninjapirate on May 18, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Amazing that common-sense and straight-forward honesty seems so revolutionary.
Good video.
darclon on May 18, 2009 at 1:15 PM
John Piper is a great speaker. He has some great books out too. I recommend reading “Don’t Waste Your Life.”
deidre on May 18, 2009 at 1:17 PM
Agree…
ujorge on May 18, 2009 at 1:17 PM
No, Mr. Piper – Obama’s extreme position on abortion was very apparent during the presidential campaign. No, Mr. Piper – those who are opposed to abortion who ‘wept for joy’ at Obama’s inauguration were suborning their opposition to abortion to something else. Just as those who advocate abortion suborn the lives of those taken in abortion to something else.
ProfessorMiao on May 18, 2009 at 1:17 PM
Yeah, women’s “reproductive rights”. Right. What about their Reproductive Responsibilities?
stonemeister on May 18, 2009 at 1:20 PM
let’s hope Alumni and Donors tell Notre Dame that the religius beliefs of it’s school are IMPORTANT to some of us……
This school sold out and should be ashamed!
SDarchitect on May 18, 2009 at 1:20 PM
that ship sailed, if there ever was one, after Marbury v. Madison
those pushing that idea, haven’t the foggiest clue what they are promoting(i.e. Ron Paul)
jp on May 18, 2009 at 1:21 PM
When it comes to abortion, the adverse side effects are usually not mentioned. There is a link to breast cancer and abortion. Approximately 25 percent of women who have an abortion will not be able to conceive another child. Not to mention the mental health aspects of the whole situation. The president seems to be protecting women’s health the same way he’s protection the county from our enemies.
Tommy_G on May 18, 2009 at 1:23 PM
Dialogue is the process of the left (palestinians, islamists, etc.) making a token effort to pat us on the shoulder before putting a bullet in our brain. Much like bipartisanship, the process by which we gain praise from the media for doing what the Democrats want.
spmat on May 18, 2009 at 1:23 PM
Beautifully done!
D2Boston on May 18, 2009 at 1:26 PM
I don’t think Ogabe really cares about abortion, he just wants pro-choice money to keep flowing into his campaign coffers.
Darth Executor on May 18, 2009 at 1:26 PM
This is how you use the internet to make a powerful statement. It was not complicated and cited no specific religion. It was not Catholic, or Protestant specific, and it demonstrates how easily Obama and the Left want to manipulate language to confuse many when it comes to abortion. And for that matter any other issue regarding what some might consider “truth”.
At no time in Obama’s years in politics has he ever “listened”, or offered serious “dialogue” with the opposing side of any issue. Anyone remember when the Republicans approached him with some differing positions, and ideas on the Stimulus and he said, “I won!” THAT is not an open mind, and THAT, along with all the other moves by Democrats in Washington, have not remotely suggested Obama or Democrats desire less animosity or divisions in America. The polls indicate we have never been so polarized in the the history of this nation.
With somewhere between 49% to 51% being pro-life; ads like this should be run by the GOP. Just one more obvious fact that Conservative issue win elections. Clue to Graham and Steele on that. As Fred Sanford once said, “YOU BIG DUMMIES!”
freeus on May 18, 2009 at 1:27 PM
Killing the unborn is a “private family matter”?
By extension, an honor killing of one’s child is also a “private family matter”, isn’t it? As would be the abuse of one’s own children. Or the abuse one’s spouse.
The use of family privacy as a shield for rebuffing criticism of what in simple terms is criminal, is a supremely dangerous ploy. If one can justify what has been historically been considered to be unlawful regarding an unborn child, one can justify other henious acts behind the same shield.
Jim M. on May 18, 2009 at 1:27 PM
like slavery, which for centuries was justified using Property Rights talking points(ownership over another human being).
Abortion is justified the same way, with the focus on one Humans Rights over another Humans Rights.
abortion is tolerated, much the same way Slavery was tolerated for centuries.
jp on May 18, 2009 at 1:27 PM
That was the most amazing video I’ve seen in a while.
It couldn’t have been stated any better than that.
therightscoop on May 18, 2009 at 1:27 PM
Great video. And yes, Piper is a great theologian and preacher.
Weight of Glory on May 18, 2009 at 1:28 PM
I was one of the some who did not weep for joy at Obama’s inaguration. I knew exactly who Obama was and what he stood for. I wept in sorrow on election day and was just numb with disbelief on inaguration day. I have apologized to God for this country’s election of a man who is so unabashedly antagonistic to Him.
CCRWM on May 18, 2009 at 1:29 PM
Off the hook. Completely captivating and exceedingly well done, both the message and the production.
35 MILLION babies killed since Roe v. Wade in 1973. In terms that I can understand as a Seattleite, that’s 486 Qwest Field’s filled to capacity.
Shameful.
nickj116 on May 18, 2009 at 1:30 PM
I did NOT weep for joy at Obama’s inauguration. I knew what his hope & change meant. The left meant that they hoped that abortion opponents would change.
Obama is SO wrong on SO many things. The last thing America needs is a cheerleader for death. Obama is numbing America for the slaughters to come.
izoneguy on May 18, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Excellent video. I wish more of the Catholic bishops and priests would preach pro-life as strong as this preacher.
JOHNNYB on May 18, 2009 at 1:31 PM
It’s a private family matter, except there is often no “family” as a result.
I don’t get the adulation and ass-kissing, Piper. You don’t really need the whole “grace sandwhich” on this deal. Or did you actually really vote for him–if is so, why are you even remotely surprised?
Is the fawning stuff just a gesture to not completely alienate members of his congregation who did vote O?
TexasDan on May 18, 2009 at 1:32 PM
Does a baby, in any stage of life(Science confirms its a Human life at conception) have any Human Rights at all, including the most basic: Life???
granted the baby can’t vote
jp on May 18, 2009 at 1:32 PM
Check his voting record from the Illinois House. He voted for some of the most horrendous abortion laws ever conceived (pun intended). If it as you say, about keeping the money flowing into his coffers, what exactly does that say about him as a human being? Remember him quoting scripture and talking about “the least among us” if you don’t, don’t sweat it, neither does he.
Tommy_G on May 18, 2009 at 1:32 PM
Piper is a Reformed Theologian, much different than what is taught in many churches.
He’s preaching the theology of Luther and Calvin and not modern day Secular Culture, like many churches
jp on May 18, 2009 at 1:33 PM
I think he’s just wrapping the package in pretty gloss to get Obamabots to listen (Kinda like that Vote Catholic vid that praised Obama while slamming him on this issue).
Probably a lost cause though. To quote an anonymous internaut “Obama supporters are kinda like zombies, except with no interest whatsoever in brains.”
darclon on May 18, 2009 at 1:35 PM
I wept for the millions of unborn, helpless babies who are MURDERED every year – the future of our nation, sucked out of their “mothers”… when BO was inaugarated.
But very powerful message in the video.
stenwin77 on May 18, 2009 at 1:37 PM
While I am not a fan of Piper and his theological bent (Please Piper fans, I do not want to argue or get OT), this is an issue in which we stand in agreement. His conviction, passion, and heartache in this excerpt are representative of many people who are pro-life.
Like Rush said in his opening monologue today, Obama’s using Orwellian “double-speak.” A complicit media and DHS demonize morality and pro-lifers as “vigilantes” or “extremists” or “domestic terrorists.” Take your pick.
Regardless of what they call me, I will peacefully advocate life, i.e., from the womb until the tomb, until my last breath.
conservative pilgrim on May 18, 2009 at 1:37 PM
Neither can a 17-year-old.
CDeb on May 18, 2009 at 1:38 PM
I like John Piper – a lot. But maybe he should be singing “We Don’t Get Fooled Again.”
Very strong, without being insulting. I pray it helps turn some from this practice that history will judge us as a nation for very harshly.
av8tr on May 18, 2009 at 1:38 PM
btw–the animation in the video was awesome.
conservative pilgrim on May 18, 2009 at 1:38 PM
I have apologized to God for this country’s election of a man who is so unabashedly antagonistic to Him.
CCRWM
We are all sinners and we all owe God an apology for our sins, but if you did not vote for Ogabe, you do not owe Him an apology for that.
SKYFOX on May 18, 2009 at 1:40 PM
Conservative voice, I wouldn’t trust anyone right now to put together any constitutional amendment; guaranteed to open Pandora’s box.
I would rather have it done by the SCOTUSA by ruling- correctly- that the Constitution does not address a single elective medical procedure (no matter how abominable you may think it is, that’s what it is.). Therefore the 10th Amendment applies and it is a state issue.
michaelo on May 18, 2009 at 1:40 PM
Wow. So powerful.
Emily M. on May 18, 2009 at 1:41 PM
“…that government should not intrude on our most private family matters.”
Like health care? Education? What portion of our income we decide to give to those less fortunate? I agree.
Notre Dame is not a Catholic University. It’s a progressive University pretending to be Catholic, and doing a terrible job at that.
Rae on May 18, 2009 at 1:43 PM
l
I think the analogy to slavery is appropriate. The President thinks we should have common ground in working to reduce the number of abortions. Any student of his Illinois testimony on ‘live birth’ issues see this as pandering for moral high ground.
So, how you would feel sir if we still had slavery and said well we have differences, but how about we work for a little less slavery to compromise? Hmmmm?
Starlink on May 18, 2009 at 1:43 PM
This is the Social Cons:
“NEVER AGAIN”
jp on May 18, 2009 at 1:44 PM
The Court in the opinion went so far as to say they were in no position to define “life” (which makes the case non-justiciable), then went on to define “life.”
Horrible decision no matter your side of the argument, and as michaelo said, is in no way a federal matter. The states should be left to legislate for themselves.
ConservativeLawStudent on May 18, 2009 at 1:45 PM
How long ’til the tax status of Piper’s church gets challenged?
CP on May 18, 2009 at 1:46 PM
That was absolutely fantastic until the “wept for joy” nonsense. Even Piper won’t take on the O-hole without reverence for his coming.
Newsflash: he’s just a man – and a narcissist, and a greenhorn, and a liar, and a thief.
nico on May 18, 2009 at 1:48 PM
If the SC decided that the “penumbric emanations” of the Third Amendment prohibition against quartering soldiers somehow mandates abortion, then of course they’ll find a way to completely misinterpret any new Amendement, no matter how it is worded.
As Albert Einstein once said, the only truly inexhaustible resource in the Universe is stupidity. If we tried to write a new Amendment everytime the Supreme Court made an asinine ruling, the document would have to be infinitely long.
Liberalism, by its very nature, can’t be limited but Supreme Court Justices CAN. And that’s what we need to focus on.
logis on May 18, 2009 at 1:49 PM
Piper’s not saying HE wept for joy
He’s calling out those in his church, and Christians around the world, who wept.
nickj116 on May 18, 2009 at 1:50 PM
some federalist have made some good arguments as to why it should be federal. always citing the Declaration of Indpendence
“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit…”
as a state issue is more feasible politically
jp on May 18, 2009 at 1:50 PM
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
I cannot fathom how the culture of “Women’s Reproductive Rights” and “Pro Choice Movement” can reconcile their beliefs with the founding documents of this nation. Some might argue that abortion is “a” ‘pursuit of Happiness.’ However, the founders clearly valued life above all other rights, as it was listed first. What about the right of the unborn to pursue ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness?’
Our understanding of the principle reasons that the colonies revolted against the crown have become so perverted, I wonder how we survive as a society, and why we are allowed to continue living this mockery…
monotonousboy on May 18, 2009 at 1:51 PM
If you look at the Dredd Scott vs. Sandford case and compare it to Roe vs. Wade there are startling similarities. Just google the two cases together and you’ll find many relevant articles.
Taney and Blackmun both attempted to end the controversy over the two institutions by denying the victims of slavery and abortion inalienable rights; liberty and life.
darclon on May 18, 2009 at 1:53 PM
It’s also interesting to note that he supports government staying out of this “private family matter” in killing those within the womb that once our children are born, they do indeed take away our “private family matter” rights or inorder to indoctrinate our children to conform with government ideals, not those of the “private family” (unless, of course, those ideals match with those of government).
They are not free to chose, for if they chose that wich is not conforming to government, that are sent to “sensitivity training” and told they are wrongly thinking.
CynicalOptimist on May 18, 2009 at 1:53 PM
Great minds and all that ;)
jp on May 18, 2009 at 1:54 PM
nickj116 on May 18, 2009 at 1:50 PM
Either way, it’s a reference to his blackness as if that is some exalted qualification for president.
nico on May 18, 2009 at 1:54 PM
Agreed!
monotonousboy on May 18, 2009 at 1:55 PM
another way to think of it, should Slavery have been a States issue? we fought a war, to some degree anyway, over that one.
the underlying issue is what should be Federal on these core issues indentifies the character of our nation.
jp on May 18, 2009 at 1:56 PM
I know people feel strongly about abortion, but imagine how much worse this country would be if there were 10 million more Obama voters.
Speedwagon82 on May 18, 2009 at 1:57 PM
John Piper rocks!
shick on May 18, 2009 at 1:57 PM
I felt to do so as an American…
No matter what Obama says, if anything is growing, multiplying and forming it is alive and once you stop that process you have taken it’s life..with a human that is called murder and having done such and now having two kids who I didn’t end that process with, I know what I am talking about. Having an abortion has very very devastating long term affects. A woman usually makes that decision when she is young, stupid, scared, selfish, alone, not grounded in her faith or other. Years pass, she matures, she finds her faith, has other kids and the one that is not there really starts to be noticed. So many women can delude themselves into thinking that they just destroyed a glob of tissue…some of us cannot. We try to make anends by trying to end it and not necesarily by just changing the law but by helping to change hearts, attitudes and cicumstances.
CCRWM on May 18, 2009 at 2:00 PM
to those of us who beleive along the lines of Piper, Obama voters exist because of the sins of Abortion and other things. God’s judgement against us, in otherwords.
jp on May 18, 2009 at 2:02 PM
Responsibility? So passe!
There is only ne group responsible for anything anymore, the American Taxpayer.
We are responsible for paying for everyone’s choices even if that
is abortion, drug use (disability payments and the joke of treatment) or just laziness.
Get your mind right and open your wallet. “Give BACK” what you earned to those who’d rather not bother.
clnurnberg on May 18, 2009 at 2:03 PM
I think you known as much about John Piper as you claim he doesn’t know about Obama.
shick on May 18, 2009 at 2:04 PM
Allahpundit, there’s nothing religious about the pro-life position. What’s religious may be the courage or the confidence to speak up about it. You do not have to be a bible thumper to believe that all human life has infinite potential, or that it is in the best interest of a great and free nation to extend liberty and justice to all classes of its citizens.
joe_doufu on May 18, 2009 at 2:08 PM
Conservatives need to be reminded it was our position that Congress is suppose to represent the voice of the people, and specifically their state, not the President. We have, slowly, removed power from Congress and lopsided the President, and the courts.
Right now the President can declare half of Utah to be a National Monument. This is a progressive way of doing business, and it started with Teddy Roosevelt. The President can side step Congress, and Congress seems all to willing to let him. The Fed is another example…the power of the purse belongs in Congress, but they didn’t like the political fire when we would naturally fall into a recession.
Do not Congress control who can be a candidate for Justice? Can they not take the horrible ruling of the Supreme Court and fight back? We started with a balance of powers, but it seems we have fallen into Congress < President < Supreme Court, and it seems Conservatives seem all to willing to fight on the battle field designed by Progressives.
Conservative Voice on May 18, 2009 at 2:08 PM
It was merely an exerpt. I’m going to listen to the whole message when I can. I would expect that the whole message was more specific.
shick on May 18, 2009 at 2:08 PM
Look….until the LIFE! warriors (including Benedict the Bad Shepherd) can accept that a differentiated cell clump is not “human life”, this argument goes no where.
First tri-abortions have to be free, legal, and easy.
Take a phreakin’ embryology course, stupid mouthbreathers.
You had had 8 years to overturn Roe.
It sure ain’t gonna happen now.
strangelet on May 18, 2009 at 2:09 PM
Child sacrifice(read: abortion) is always a part of pagan societies. Secularists are compelled to do it.
daesleeper on May 18, 2009 at 2:11 PM
John Piper is a highly respected pastor and theologian — this video is a powerful reminder that life is sacred, and the very real and tragic irony in claiming to fight for women’s rights while denying the right of unborn females.
Richard Romano on May 18, 2009 at 2:11 PM
I have.
You must really love yourself.
daesleeper on May 18, 2009 at 2:12 PM
except for basic Science proves Life starts at conception, and that life is a Human life complete with all the DNA you have at either conception or age 100, all the Chromosones you have at conception or 100. Biology 101 does not say Life magically starts at birth, or the 2nd trimester, etc.
jp on May 18, 2009 at 2:12 PM
\
For a willfully ignorant leftist like you:
“The development of a human being begins with fertilization, a process by which two highly specialized cells, the spermatozoon from the male and the oocyte from the female, unite to give rise to a new organism, the zygote.”
[Langman, Jan. Medical Embryology. 3rd edition. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1975, p. 3]
Richard Romano on May 18, 2009 at 2:13 PM
Hmmmmm. The Pope vs. an internet chest-thumper.
Gosh, such a tough call.
CDeb on May 18, 2009 at 2:13 PM
What maddens me about someone like strangelet is her/his defence of terrorists who were waterboarded — known killers and murderers. Yet, here he/she is telling us all that a zygote isn’t even a life, but a clump of cells. So, use all the horrific procedures you like, nothing to see here, move a long.
You’re morally sick, strangelet.
Richard Romano on May 18, 2009 at 2:17 PM
I agree, and very well said!
capejasmine on May 18, 2009 at 2:18 PM
There’s many ways to come at this issue now that polls are shifting. A strong religous message is only one thougha nd shouldn’t dominate the debate. This was a good ad (aside from the heavy breathing I heard in the background), but there are plenty of other routes to take such as exposing Obamas outrageous hyposcricy. He talks about a dialogue and common ground yet he uses taxpayer money to fund abortions overseas, is hostile to a consciense clause and was the only state senator in Illinois to to take the floor against the Born Alive Protection act and essentialy argue in favor of infanticide. He is a radical.
I suppose one good thing might come out of this Notre Dame controversy, Obama may be less likely to sign the “Free Choice Act”.
Daemonocracy on May 18, 2009 at 2:19 PM
Shut your festering hole, differentiated cell clump. You have no right to speak.
CurtZHP on May 18, 2009 at 2:20 PM
Once again. This was less then a 4 minute except from a 30+ minute sermon. Not very nice of you to slander him with no evidence.
How can you call the man a narcissist when the last segment of the message said, “We have hope in our sovereign God.”
Where’s the deceipt?
Where’s the theft?
You chose easy and venomous words.
shick on May 18, 2009 at 2:21 PM
Here’s a copy of the sermon from which the video text was taken.
From this Q & A posted today, it’s obvious Piper did not vote for Obama:
Within the context of the answer, Piper says this:
That’s his opinion with no bark on it. I think the video is meant to reach a wide audience.
INC on May 18, 2009 at 2:21 PM
I just wanted to point out that you don’t have to be “religious” to believe that, along with both women and men, that the unborn should have rights, too. Specifically, they should get protection from the torture and slaughter involved with abortion.
This is about human rights. And unborn humans should posses certain rights.
Probably most of our modern rights come from the basic Christian principle that every human being deserves dignity. Or they come directly from the Ten Commandments.
So, I think that focusing on religion with respect to abortion is somewhat of a deliberate distraction.
Dennis_Second_Thots on May 18, 2009 at 2:23 PM
AP, “open-mindedness” is an illusion. There is no such thing. The mind cannot be open to one thing when the heart is a willing slave to it’s enemy.
shick on May 18, 2009 at 2:24 PM
Nico was referring to 0bama, not Piper.
CDeb on May 18, 2009 at 2:25 PM
I respectfully disagree. This is a normative example of Catholic academia endorsed by Rome.
shick on May 18, 2009 at 2:30 PM
I like to ask women, are we really better off now that abortion is legal? Don’t men now have even more of an upperhand than they did before? If we get pregnant, they have no responsibility to us or to the child, because we can just “get rid of the problem.” How much more promiscuous and irresponsible have men become as a result? How much more sexually transmitted disease do we have because men don’t have to wear condoms, they can just pay for the abortion? How much of our real power have we women given up, in the name of “reproductive freedom?” The greatest power we have is the power to grant our sexual favor to men, and the second greatest is the power to give birth and propagate the species. Men fear women because we have this power. Abortion is the best thing that ever happened to them.
How is it “liberating” for women to be told their best “choice” is to kill the child in their womb? I always love the bumper sticker that says “If Men Could Get Pregnant, Abortion Would Be a Sacrament.” No, it’s quite the opposite: if men could get pregnant, there would be REAL choice for those who did — better adoption options, approval and support for single parenthood, better child care options for working parents, more telecommuting and flextime, paid family leave, more part-time jobs, etc. etc. Women are still fighting for these things because it’s too easy for the male-dominated corporate culture to force them to be like men and just kill the child, rather than celebrating and accommodating motherhood.
I also like to ask liberals, if abortion is so great, how come we never see one depicted favorably on TV or in the movies? How come the unexpected pregnancies never get terminated? Where are the confident, liberated women celebrating their reproductive freedom, or even the poor woman having an abortion because she can’t afford a child? Even on “Sex and The City” when the classic case happened and the driven lawyer got pregnant by her ex-boyfriend whom she did not want to marry, she ultimately could not go through with an abortion. The main character lied to her own boyfriend about a past abortion because she knew he would think less of her for having had one.
The reality is that almost nobody really approves of abortion or believes it is the best option. The reality is most abortions happen because people were irresponsible and irresolute about their own bodies, and then selfishly refuse to accept the natural consequences. They have simply been gulled by the “freedom” argument that “I may not like it but I don’t have the right to tell anyone else they can’t have one.” Yet the same people think we have every right to tell someone they should not smoke cigarettes and can’t in any public place anymore.
rockmom on May 18, 2009 at 2:31 PM
My apologies Nico. I misunderstood your comment.
shick on May 18, 2009 at 2:31 PM
I don’t come down strongly on either side of this debate. I do see both sides. The pro-life side is very powerful as seen here. The pro-choice side would usually be very strong except in comparison to something so basic as willfully killing innocent children. The question really comes down to: are they children and when are they? I don’t know and I don’t think there is an answer. I feel we just have to pick a time. For me a few cells is not a child and a 5 month fetus is not an unfortunate growth to be removed.
.
I would like to see the rights transitioning from mother to child as the pregnancy grows. First month legal on demand for any reason. Third trimester illegal except to save the mothers life. In between increasing justification needed to abort.
.
This gives the mother a chance to undo mistakes, rape pregnancies, etc. while preventing the abortion of a fetus approaching what we see as human. There are natural abortions happening all the time early in woman’s pregnancies that often go unnoticed and we don’t usually have funerals for them because we understand it is not a person yet.
bagoh20 on May 18, 2009 at 2:32 PM
AP, are you moving a smidge on this? Is there doubt stirring?
eaglesdontflock on May 18, 2009 at 2:32 PM
“Open-mindedness” = abortion. I promise you that he does not mean to support a child’s right to live.
CynicalOptimist on May 18, 2009 at 2:35 PM
Seconding (thirding) that an agnostic or atheist can have serious moral issues with abortion.
When have we ever advanced as a society when we’ve adopted a restrictive definition of who is a human being?
DrSteve on May 18, 2009 at 2:37 PM
I wept for 30 full minutes the night I learned of obama’s victory – one of the worst days.
I was young and single a while back and making $5 per hour and got pregnant. Had over 20 of my “close associates” and family URGE AND PLEAD that I get an abortion, as I had my whole life ahead of me. I had the birth father punch me in the stomach in an attempt to kill my child. I told them all to burn in hell. My non-aborted child is beginning university in 3 weeks. Wants to go into politics to “bring some morality” back to the beautiful USA.
F**K YOU to the strangelets of the world; you are evil and do not know it (yet). But you will understand one day that killing your own does not set you free or make you liberated.
Ris4victory on May 18, 2009 at 2:43 PM
Well we used to think some animals and rocks were gods and often assumed human souls occupied such creatures as well. I think that was an advance when we moved to restrict it there. Not arguing, just saying.
bagoh20 on May 18, 2009 at 2:45 PM
Powerful video, but why did (“some of us”) “weep for joy at his inauguration”?
Buy Danish on May 18, 2009 at 2:52 PM
I am pro-life. I am not unsympathetic to the reasoning of the other side and believe it is not as black and white many believe. I would rather convince with scientific evidence rather than force obedience.
And I find this a little bit disturbing. The airiness and sort of false emotion in the man’s voice is sort of skin crawling. He’s probably someone important in his circle, but I don’t know him just his voice and it turns me off.
Basically I agree with the sentiments but I don’t really think this convinces anyone. In fact I have a sort of rebelliousness against this kind of preachiness.
Others will think it hits a perfect tone I suppose but it makes me more sympathetic to those who feel that religious people want to control their lives. I knee jerk long for freedom with this heavy handed preaching.
petunia on May 18, 2009 at 2:52 PM
Ris4victory on May 18, 2009 at 2:43 PM
I applaud your courage and conviction to do what is right and honest.
petunia on May 18, 2009 at 2:53 PM
Thank you. A thousand times, thank you.
CDeb on May 18, 2009 at 2:54 PM
petunia on May 18, 2009 at 2:52 PM
:) One of the reasons why I decided not to go to BYU, was because even though I agree with the Honor code…I am such a rebel, I was afraid I would rebel against my own standards because someone in authority was dictating it.
Conservative Voice on May 18, 2009 at 2:56 PM
Ris4victory on May 18, 2009 at 2:43 PM
well said, and thank you.
Conservative Voice on May 18, 2009 at 2:58 PM
I think my thinking also goes along the same line as yours… but I do know women who have morned their entire life for the loss of very early pregnancies. But yeah early on it is definitely different from later term.
Not that I think it right ever to consider only the rights of the mother. Some rights do attach to the fetus early on I think the rights grow as the baby grows as you said. And at some point should be absolutely the same as the woman’s rights.
petunia on May 18, 2009 at 3:01 PM
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