What The Republicans Are Doing Is Downright Dangerous

I am talking about their effort to de-fund Planned Parenthood.

I am also talking about all these misrepresentative videos the "pro-lifers" have been putting out.

This is all wrong-headed and dangerous.

And I'll tell you why.

This whole thing about selling baby parts for profit and the controversy over fetal experimentation is nothing new. And I'm not saying we shouldn't be disturbed by at least some of what we heard in those videos.

But, there is a danger. A very real danger.

Let me tell you a story:

Years ago, when conservatives were talking about the selling of baby parts and fetal experimentation, I had an acquaintance who was pregnant.  She started to miscarry. She bled pretty badly. But -- she wouldn't go into the hospital. Why? BECAUSE SHE WAS AFRAID THEY WOULD EXPERIMENT ON THE BABY AFTER SHE MISCARRIED. That's right. And this was an intelligent woman. She was very conservative, though, and was wont to listen to all the conservative propaganda about this issue. And by the time she finally did go into the hospital, she came very close to HAVING TO HAVE A HYSTERECTOMY, because the medical personnel feared that they wouldn't be able to get the bleeding under control in time to save her. She actually endangered her own life and her reproductive health because she was misled by all of this "pro-life" propaganda.

And this makes me angry. So. Very. Angry. It is wrong to use misleading scare tactics to win people over to your side -- even if you passionately believe your side is in the right.

Hear that Republicans??? You are putting people's lives in danger -- including the lives of the unborn, because women might be afraid to seek care when they need it. I mean, what if my acquaintance's baby could have been saved if she had sought help in a more timely way? It's probably unlikely anything could have been done, but we'll never know, will we? Why? Because of people like you, Republicans. This lady did go on to have more children -- children she was almost not able to have because of conservative fear-mongering. So, that would have been on you, conservative fear-mongers.

(If you are getting the idea that I am totally pissed, you would be right. My apologies.)

And let me tell you one other story. This is a personal story that I have never told anybody, because I was ashamed. Now, right up front, this is not my abortion story. This is my almost, could-have-been abortion story. And I hope you will all still speak to me afterwards.

Years ago, when I was still in college, I was in a very bad place in my life. I had broken up with my fiance -- and it was awful. I was not getting along with my parents, AT ALL. I felt all alone. And I messed around with a guy one night, because I was lonely and heartbroken and not feeling very self-protective. We didn't have sex, but we came pretty close. And then my period was late. And I panicked. I prayed and prayed that I wasn't pregnant, because I didn't feel like there was anyone I could go to. I wouldn't have gone to my parents, because things were horrid between us. And there was no way that I wanted this guy to end up being the father of my child. And his family was pretty dysfunctional, as well. All my close friends were Christian. None of them would have supported me in getting an abortion. And I don't blame them. I certainly didn't believe in abortion. But, when I look at it honestly, I probably either would have had an abortion (and felt like absolute crap about it) or committed suicide. And I'm not exaggerating about that. Suicide would have been a very real danger to me, at that point. Now -- thankfully -- I wasn't pregnant. But, as I have watched the "abortion wars" over the years, I have often thought about myself in this situation. And I guess I am glad Planned Parenthood would have been there. Yes -- the baby would have been lost, but I wouldn't have been. And I think there is value in that. There is potential hope in that. For you Christians reading this, I'd say, "My baby would have been in God's hands. And I would have had the chance to heal -- and repent." For you non-Christians reading this, the repentance part might sound silly, and I respect that. But, it wouldn't have been silly to me. 

There are many abortion providers. There will always be abortion providers. But, at least Planned Parenthood is a non-profit. I bet a lot of the providers aren't. Abortion services are also a small part of their total activities. And -- if you look at their website -- the information is quite accurate. If you really don't want to get pregnant or a sexually transmitted disease, all you have to do is look at the information and follow it. I actually had a young woman who worked for a pro-life pregnancy center tell me that she used to refer to the Planned Parenthood website, because the information was very complete and very accurate.

Of course, I'm sure that there are Planned Parenthood affiliates that operate in a less than ideal manner. But, let me tell you one more story:

I heard a woman from Texas speak once. She had run an abortion clinic. I think she actually owned it. And I don't believe it was affiliated with Planned Parenthood. She said that they used to purposely give young women the least effective birth control pill because they knew a lot of them would get pregnant and come back for abortions, which her particular clinic actually profited from. At least, with Planned Parenthood, they list -- quite accurately -- the effectiveness rates of the various methods of birth control, so you know what you're getting.

Now, at this point, I don't know if I have any friends left. But, that's okay. I have never lived my life for the purpose of seeking people's approval. I hope, though, that conservative people will at least look at these issues in a way that is more even-handed and less accusatory. It breaks my heart to see what much of the "pro-life" movement has become.

Pax.

How Being The Sex Tutor Brought Me To The Bar Mitzvah -- Reflections For Today

Lots of accusations being hurled about right now.  "You want to take away my religious freedom."  "You want to force me to have children when I am not ready."  "You want to remove all consideration of God from public life."  "You want to keep me from having someone to love."  And on and on....

One thing that concerns me about all this?  The idea of MOTIVATIONS.  It seems to me that people, on both sides of the important issues being discussed in our society right now, are quick to assume the worst possible motives on the part of those who disagree with them.  I was talking to my husband about this on Saturday night, and he told me that there is a Catholic idea which holds that you should always assume that others have the best possible motives.  Seems wise to me....

So, I was thinking about an experience I had when I was about 19 years old.  While attending San Francisco State University, I was the student assistant for a class entitled:  Human Sexuality.  As you can imagine, this was a very popular class.  Three to four hundred people usually signed up for it each semester, so it was easily the largest class on campus.  And the teacher was a kind, funny, Jewish man, who was married to a kind, funny, Jewish lady.  The two of them had a kind, funny, Jewish son.  I spent a lot of time with this family, as my job for the class entailed quite a bit of work, which the professor and his wife often helped me with. (Yes.  I just dangled a preposition.  I am such a rule-breaker.)  There were tests to be written, typed, and graded.  Exam scores to be recorded.  Grades to be calculated.  And, sometimes, I even got to help plan and deliver lectures -- something which greatly appealed to the "ham" side of my personality.  And I can be quite a ham.  Around campus, I was often fondly referred to as the "sex tutor", which caused me great amusement.  All in all, not a bad job.

Since I spent much time at the home of this family, I was invited to their son's Bar Mitzvah.   It was a great occasion --  a beautiful ceremony at the Temple and a wonderful party, with traditional Jewish dishes and much music and dancing.  If you have never had the opportunity to attend a Bar Mitzvah, I would recommend immediately making some Jewish friends, as you would not want to miss out on the experience. 

Now, at this lovely party,  I was seated next to a beautiful Jewish woman who was probably in her early 40's.  She was an administrative assistant at the university, and was pretty high up the "totem pole", as far as administrative jobs went.  As we were enjoying our food, she turned to me and asked, "You are Catholic, aren't you?"  To which I replied in the affirmative.  She then said, "Well, then you are probably against abortion rights.  I am for abortion rights."  She then proceeded to tell me all about why she was for abortion rights.  I was a little taken aback that she would bring this topic up on this particular occasion, but I listened to her, as I was interested in what she had to say.  (I was also basically "trapped" in my seat, giving me really no alternative but to listen to her, even if I hadn't been interested.  Divine Providence, I believe.  God is truly at work at Bar Mitzvahs.)

In a nutshell, her reasons for supporting abortion rights were, in many ways, my reasons for not supporting abortion rights.  We were both concerned about upholding the dignity of women.  We were both concerned that children would be loved, cherished, and well-cared-for.  So, when I hear people who are against abortion rights accusing pro-choice people of not caring about women and children, it irritates me.  They do care.  So, let's not assume their motivations are evil, because they are not.  It's not that they believe abortion to be an actual "good".  It's not that they assume everyone with an unplanned pregnancy should have an abortion.  It's that they actually do believe that women should have a real choice.  They believe that the lack of this choice is a type of manipulation of women that undermines their dignity.  And, on the other hand, people who oppose abortion rights should not be labelled as enemies of women.  Most people who oppose abortion rights, especially these days, want to truly help both the woman and her child.  Many of them donate much of their time and resources for women in difficult circumstances.  When I was younger, I admit that there were a lot of "pro-life" people who were basically mean in their attitude towards women who became pregnant in difficult circumstances and who wanted to choose abortion.  I knew people who would accuse these women of being "baby killers" and would condemn them to hell and would not even want to offer them to much help.  "She dug her grave.  Let her lie in it," was an attitude I encountered more than once.  I have come to see, though, that the vast majority of the younger people who are against abortion rights are not this way.  They are truly interested in loving and helping women and children, whatever their circumstances.  They are much more charitable, in general, than those of my generation.

So, as we have this important discussion about reproductive rights in our culture, I hope we can bring ourselves to assume the best possible motivations from The Other.  And we want to remember the women in these very, very difficult circumstances.  We don't want to add more pain and heartache to the pain and heartache they are already suffering.  That is cruelty.  There is no excuse for it.

And in all our discussions about all the important issues of our day -- national defense, the social safety net, gay rights, environmental issues -- let's try to assume the best possible motives from each side, instead of jumping to the worst possible conclusions about those who disagree with us.  It seems to me that charity demands this.