2008-03-13T14:54:42Z opencongress.org tag:opencongress.org,2007:/bill/comments/43032 2008-03-13T14:54:42Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-03-13:/comment/3046 adelie As long as the female body is capable of breeding, it is the source of life and that must be respected. Pro-life should mean respecting all life and the decisions that go into empowering women with choice; choosing when to take on the 18 year to life long commitment of raising a family. When Pro-Life = Pro-Fetus, it is insulting to female empowerment and family planning. Fathers, grandparents, brothers & sisters, aunts & uncles, and friends: Preserve the sanctity of life by being there for our mothers to be. They need our love and support to know they have made the right CHOICE, and they will. The power of creating life was granted to women by God, and that needs to be respected. Please support the life givers of this world, and support this bill. 2008-09-14T12:10:37Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-09-14:/comment/39100 Anonymous Gift from God - As a Catholic I believe that every human life is sacred and that it is truly a gift from God. Although God may have bestowed on women the right to give birth, that right did not come along with certain privileges nor do I believe it was God's intention that it was our property (because I am sure we are all smart enough to know that this baby is really not a part of our body as some would want us to believe). And moving forward from the term "gift from God", I would ask everyone to seriously consider this -- when someone thinks enough of you to give you a gift, how do you react? Most often you say thank you and are at least appreciative that someone thought so much of you to take the time to go out and get, or make, you a gift. And while, I know, the gifts may not always be to our liking, I know of no one who ever returns the gift to the giver. And why do you think that it is? Because it would hurt the giver's feelings. Well, when we say no thanks to the gift of life, we are hurting God's (for those who believe in a supreme being) feelings. When an abortion is performed (for those who believe in life after death), we have returned to God the gift he gave us. Now I know some of you (especially in this day and age) are given the gift with a receipt which allows you to exchange the gift. I compare this in a pregnancy to having the baby and giving it up for adoption. That's great, because we all know that sometimes the gift we are given we may think is not for us - for whatever reason. And now I would like to call your attention to the new terms of the day with respect to what I think is actually an inconvenient pregnancy --- "unplanned", "unintended" or "unwanted". You can't use these words and be serious about it. Even those who are on the pill or are using some other form of contraception know that these forms are not 100% foolproof. And that the end result of having sex can be a life. And in my faith the purpose of sex is one thing - to procreate. Those words - unplanned, unintended or unwanted (and whatever new ones will be made up to justify abortion) - are just a way to minimize their condition - pregnant, with child. But while minimizing their condition, they are minimizing the life within. I have to wonder how many times those who have an abortion wonder - would that child have been someone today (just think if abortions were readily available, is it possible that your mother or mine would have made that "choice" not to have us or how about Senator Obama's mother, just 18 unsure of what the struggles ahead might be?)? Often times those who's life is the darkest are the ones who are willing to take on that next challenge. So I don't buy that in the name of the poor or the young we must make abortions readily available, because our challenges are what makes us the individuals we become. We are the nation we are because of our struggles, but I am ashamed to think of the nation we will become because of how we try to rid ourselves of our challenges and most often, this challenge. How can we help others through the struggles when we don't believe we have to face our own challenges? When we lose our personal responsbility, we lose the nation's responsibility. So let's be real here - our government's purpose is not to assure that we have an out if we take any action knowing it's possible outcome. I plead to the women (and men) of the world who the politicians say they speak for - read the Freedom of Choice Act - the signing of which will be the FIRST thing President Obama will do if he gets into office as stated at a Planned Parenthood presentation (when what we are all concerned about is health care, jobs and the economy in general) - and let the politicians, but more importantly Senator Obama, know you don't agree with it. Not just as a Catholic, but as a Christian, I am reminded of our purpose through words of the song "Take Up Your Cross" - "Take up your cross let not its weight fill your weak spirit with alarm; His strength shall bear your spirit up, and brace your heart and nerve your arm. Take up your cross then, in his strength, and calmly every danger brave; It guides you to a better home and leads to vict'ry o'er the grave." 2008-09-13T18:14:49Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-09-13:/comment/39077 Anonymous I must say I am more worried about the innocent babies who have no voice over a woman who makes a choice to have sex in the first place. Where is the personal responsibility? But if you're truly worried about the women who die from illegal abortions, does anyone know how many women die as a result of complications due to the abortions since health clinics are not required to adhere to the same rules as hospitals (as it relates to the condition of the clinic and the risk factor of the procedure)? The clinics also do not have the same tracking requirements so I am guessing it would be hard to calculate. But who is worried about that? Before laws go into effect, a full investigation should be done into the topic. 2008-06-12T17:13:12Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-06-12:/comment/24322 mistahtom The choice of a woman to have an abortion or not needs to be preserved. Just because it is legal to have an abortion, doesn't mean that people will have them, solely because it is legal, as some people think. Attempting to make a decision harder for a woman by legislating your belief, especially in a higher power is a violation of human rights, because you are taking away the choice of a woman whether or not to have a child. 2008-05-06T20:52:29Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-05-06:/comment/12989 TX22 All these people think they are GOD. They think it is okay for a woman in America to kill an American child before they are born. Vote every one of these suckers out of office in Jesus name. Amen May GOD bless all of us, U. S. John Wieder 2008-01-18T21:47:27Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-01-18:/comment/288 rjalderson Abortion is not just the private choice of the mother. There are others that are involved: the baby, the father, the grandparents, the brothers and/or sisters, aunts, uncles, friends. There is a choice and that choice is whether to end a life or not.