Who knew republicans were so against birth control?

I have to admit that the past week has been eye opening. I say this because I never realized that the GOP was so anti birth control.

I admit that the GOP has had an anti-abortion stance. But against birth control?

First, you would think that the party of the no entitlements would be pro birth control. Its way less expensive to provide birth control to the less fortunate, than to actually pay for their maternity costs plus the costs of raising a child.

However, most republicans dont see it this way at all.

Some politicians have came right out and said they were against birth control. See Rick Santorum is coming for your birth control: (http://www.salon.com/2012/01/04/rick_santorum_is_coming_for_your_birth_control/)

Others have relied on the personhood argument to maintain this anti birth control stance.

The personhood argument is explained in many ways. The anti birth control argument regarding personhood is as follows (and can be found on wikipedia here: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personhood)

Quote: A political movement in the United States seeks to define the beginning of human personhood as starting from the moment of fertilization, with the consequence that abortion, as well as forms of birth control that prevent implantation of the embryo, could become illegal.^[19][20] Supporters of the movement also state that it would have effects on the practice of in-vitro fertilization.

Here are some examples of our GOP Presidential candidates in action regarding this personhood/anti birth control stance:

Newt Gingrich: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/15/gingrich-post-conception-birth-control-should-be-illegal/

Mitt Romney: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/iowa-woman-schools-romney-anti-abortion-amen

Rick Santorum: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/03/rick-santorum-birth-control-sodomy_n_1181291.html

Ron Paul: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/rep-ron-paul-signs-personhood-pledge-reservations

So there you have it. All four GOP Presidential candidates want to take birth control away. Make it illegal.

So if you are prone to voting republican, and a woman…..make sure you know what you are in for.

 

Has Susan G Komen lost sight of the cause?

Im sure by now youve heard that Susan G Komen has cut funding to Planned Parenthood. (http://jezebel.com/5881057/susan-g-komen-foundation-bows-to-pro+life-bullying-stops-contributing-to-planned-parenthood)

And I saw this article posted today that states that this decision is permanent. (http://www.lifenews.com/2012/02/01/komen-decision-to-yank-planned-parenthood-funding-is-permanent/)

 

In case youve been living in a cave, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is a leading fundraiser for breast cancer research and awareness. The grant Planned Parenthood received from Komen each year was responsible for 170,000 breast cancer screenings and 6,400 mammogram referrals each year. None of the money received from Susan G Komen went to any abortion services.

But those facts obviously dont matter.

It seems as though theyve hired Karen Handel, who ran for governor of Georgia in 2010 and lost. Shes been Komen’s senior vice president for public policy since April 2011.

Why is this important?

Well, on July 15,  2010, she put out this blog post (http://web.archive.org/web/20100921093610/http:/blog.karenhandel.com/2010/07/karen-handel-on-life-and-planned-parenthood/) Thank the internet archives, since the actual blog doesnt exist any longer.

And now…..Susan G Komen has this new ‘rule’ that states their organization bars them from donating to other organizations currently under investigation.

In fact, the ‘investigation’ being brought on by Republican Congressman, is so laughable, that its NOT funny.

Planned Parenthood cant use the money it gets from the federal government for abortions. (http://www.hhs.gov/opa/title-x-family-planning/) And the Hyde Amendment restricts Medicaid funding for abortions (meaning it only allows them in cases of rape, incest and for the life of the mother). (http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_SFAM.pdf) Not only that, but the federal budget deal now bans Washington, D.C., from paying for abortions as well. (Source: The Washington Post [cannot locate link])

FACTS YALL

There is such misinformation regarding Planned Parenthood out in the ‘wild’. And  Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl claimed last spring on the Senate floor that “well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does” is provide abortion services.

Sorry to tell yall, but that figure is totally inaccurate. Heres a pie-chart that represents the services Planned Parenthood provides:

For those of you who claim that Planned Parenthood is an (and Ill quote) ‘abortion mill’, you couldnt be further from the truth.

They also provide:

• anemia testing
• cholesterol screening
• diabetes screening
• physical exams, including for employment and sports
• flu vaccine
• help with quitting smoking
• high blood pressure screening
• tetanus vaccines
• thyroid screening

Services offered to men include:

• checkups for reproductive or sexual health problems
• colon cancer screening
• erectile dysfunction services, including education, exams, treatment, and referral
• jock itch exam and treatment
• male infertility screening and referral
• premature ejaculation services, including education, exams, treatment, and referral
• routine physical exams
• testicular cancer screenings
• prostate cancer screenings
• urinary tract infection testing and treatment
• vasectomy

Most Health Departments dont even cover some of these services, let alone for little to no cost to the patients.

I go from being incredibly sad that so many people are blind regarding Planned Parenthood to incredibly mad that their heads are in the sand. How many low income people will not find cancers early enough now because of this funding being cut? How many will die?

Quite honestly, some of the same people berating Planned Parenthood, are the same ones who probably havent had to find doctors who didnt need hundreds of dollars at the time of service, in order to receive their healthcare. Ya know…..those people with that fancy health insurance. Funny how the people making the decisions never have to deal with those decisions, huh?

 

ACTION NECESSARY

Should you wish to donate your money to your local Planned Parenthood, go here (https://secure.ppaction.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=pp_ppol_Directed_DonationFormOneTimeGift)

Should you wish to donate your money elsewhere, here are a few suggestions

• Black Womens Health Imperative http://www.blackwomenshealth.org/
• The Breast Cancer Research Foundation http://www.bcrfcure.org/
• Breast Cancer Charities http://www.thebreastcancercharities.org/
• Cancer Care http://www.cancercare.org/
• Cancer Research Insititute http://www.cancerresearch.org/

 

 

Womens Health Care gets a win – and so does the White House

Today is eve prior to the March for Life Rally held every year down in Washington DC. Thousands will march around the mall and to the Supreme Court building to protest the landmark Roe V Wade decision made 39 years ago.

I didnt plan on blogging about this topic. And most people know how I feel about the topic of abortion. However, there are some people who are pro-life in every sense of the word who are up in arms regarding a recent White House health care decision.

I point to this article for clarification: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/white-house-stands-firm-in-birth-control-battle/2012/01/20/gIQAtZu6DQ_blog.html

The most important sentence in this article is this and I quote: ‘The rule upholds a requirement for nearly all employers to offer birth control without a co-pay. What’s more, the White House won’t expand exemptions for faith-based hospitals and universities, as religious groups had urged.’

As well as this video: 

This is a HUGE win for women in the US, as well as the White House.

But you say, what does this have to do with the pro-life movement? Well, a large majority of this movement do not condone the use of birth control. One of my friends shared this article this morning: http://www.catholic-convert.com/2012/01/21/obama-gives-catholics-one-year-to-learn-to-violate-their-consciences/comment-page-1/#comment-313666

Im sorry, but no. You are not learning how to violate your consciences. You will learn that the majority of women need preventative health care and if  you insure your workers, you must provide ALL the necessary healthcare to them. You cannot continue to pick and choose thru and cross out the parts of what you dont like.

The hypocrisy of this situation is that none of the same people freaking out about this, freaked out when men were able to get that little blue pill.  Why the double standard? I dont know.

All I DO know is that women, no matter where they stand will remember that it took THIS administration to do what no other has done. And thats to make womens reproductive rights MANDATORY for every company that gives their employees health care.

 

 

Pray for our Election (Novena)

I will be praying a rosary every day between now and Election Day for the end of a culture of death.

I pray that God will do HIS will to protect innocent babies in the womb.

I pray that God will give Americans the wisdom to form a conscience while casting their votes.

And most of all, I pray for the safety of our candidates and our country.

 

“The Silent Scream”

Somewhere around 1991-2 I was invited to my first pro-life march by my then-sister-in-law. At that time, I was personally pro-life, but thought if others wanted to have abortions, let them.

Michele led me to watch “The Silent Scream”. This movie brought out many emotions…the first was how wrong I was to think abortion was okay as long as it wasnt me having one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjNo_0cW-ek&feature=related

The viewing of this movie was carried around with me from that moment on. If you click on the link in the title, you will be taken to the movie hosted on youtube. Its roughly 30 minutes long. Basically, it is the explanation of what an abortion is and does to an unborn fetus at 12 weeks. Not only does this video explain abortion, it shows the procedure via sonogram.

This was the straw that broke the camels back for me. I can no longer say that its okay to have this procedure done. Even the abortionist and feminist that participated in this movie have retracted their opinions on their pro-“choice” stances. The abortionist has not performed abortions since, and the feminist no longer supports choice.

I too, at one time thought nothing of someone I knew having an abortion early in their pregnancy. The earlier the better— After watching this 12 week old fetus suffering through what is called an “extinction” – trying to “get away” from the abortionist’s tools – I have since changed my mind.

Now, it has been more than a decade since I watched “The Silent Scream” and I still beleive that life begins at conception. There are many pro-life groups bringing the truth about what abortion really looks like, and while I don’t like the pictures on the billboards and signs, I can say that it definately gets the point across. Abortion IS ugly and disgusting. How else can you explain it but to show what happens at these abortion clinics?

I wonder how many women go into these clinics and are really told about what is about to happen. Are these women told that their aborted children will end up in plastic tubs in a dumpster? Are they told that the tools used dismember the fetus? If they were to really see what is going on, would they really have that abortion?

Pro-abortion advocates claim that its safe….and most politicians who are -what they like to be called – pro-choice claim that its a women’s right. However, I don’t like to call them choice advocates-because there is no choice….its murder, abortion. Let’s not be creative with our words -let’s call it what it is.

What I really don’t get, is that those who support abortions, get offended when you called them pro-abortion. I have always wondered why so. Is it because choice sounds better in a sound bite? If they beleive in the cause, why not call it what it is? If you are proud of what you beleive in, which most people are, then why walk on eggshells when you call it what is it?

I don’t hear any “choice” advocates saying they support killing unborn children. Isn’t that what it is? No, what you hear is – “We support a women’s right to choose” Choose what?

 

Sad state of affairs

A 60 million dollar lawsuit has been filed by a gay man living in Michigan. He claims that the publisher (Zondervan) added the word homosexual to their versions of the Bible. He is also suing Thomas Nelson Publishing for 10 million dollars for the same thing.

The claim centers around the wording of 1 Corinthians 6:9 in which the word homosexual appears in later versions but not in a 1970’s version. Mr. Fowler, who brought this lawsuit forward, claims that this wording of the Bible caused many homosexuals to become distraught and made him an outcast to his family.

Mr. Fowler is also writing a book which he claims will expose the Bible’s hidden secrets that publishers have been trying to hide.

It should also be noted that Mr. Fowler is representing himself in both lawsuits.

I have read many different articles concerning this lawsuit. I am no Bible scholar, but I have read the Bible – and I am pretty sure that while the word homosexuality wasn’t in my version…I can say that the behavior is “an abomination to the Lord” (Leviticus 18:22)

While many behaviors are specifically mentioned in the Bible, our culture would rather do their own thing than live a life filled with the grace given to us by our Lord. While I am no saint, I know what is right and what is wrong….just because a law says its okay-doesn’t mean that it really is. Our country has passed many laws that go against what the Word of God says and it is hard to distinguish what is right for many people. The notion “if it feels good, do it” rules many lives.

We have come to a place in our history that perplexes me. We are allowing women to have abortions as a means of birth control, and 1/2 of our population think its ok! They beleive its their right to choose whether to keep a child or murder it. Modern day science has proven that life does begin at conception-just look at a sonogram at a developing fetus and you will see life….but because Roe V Wade changed the laws to make it legal to have an abortion, people now think it is a choice and forget about the unborn life.

The same woman who made Roe V Wade law across the USA, is now a pro-life advocate. She states that her abortion did damage her-both physically and emotionally, and she regrets her abortion. It took more than a decade for her to come and admit this, but many women have come forward and said they regretted their abortions. With the “explosion” of groups of women who aborted their children regretting the procedure, and being very vocal at pro-life events…I beleive that women will take notice and think twice before aborting.

In the USA, states are “fighting” for the right to allow same-sex marriages and changing their state constitutions to reword marriage and substitute civil unions. This is truly a sad state of affairs. The sanctity of marriage is being destroyed by our legislators and lobbyists.

Most of what is being lobbied for can be accomplished by a visit with an attorney. Those who are in serious relationships of all kinds can draft documents from power of attorney to living wills. Laws do not need to be changed to suit a small minority of people.

Marriage is for a man and a woman. It still takes both to pro-create. That should be the determining factor, NOT the excuse–you can’t help who you love…I remember reading that if you look at someone with lust in your heart, you have already sinned…this always perplexed me. Who hasn’t looked at someone and wanted to be with them? But, even if you are guilty of this, you DO NOT have to act upon it! When you marry someone before God or the state-you are supposed to be true to them. Now, many marriages fail because of adultery. This is simply because we aren’t truly practicing self-control.

Our culture has basically shoved sex in our faces. You can’t turn on the tv without seeing or hearing about sex. You do not see shows on tv anymore that encourage the nuclear family. Back in the 80’s there were many shows on that showed families-and those shows were successful. Now, the shows center around gay couples and divorced families. Even talk shows and court shows center around paternity tests because its the “norm” for many women to have so many partners, she has no clue who fathered her children. It is also now normal to have several children and they all have different fathers. How is this beneficial to our families?

I am not saying to discriminate ANY group of people, but you do not need to keep catering to the small minority. We need to get rid of useless laws (and there are many) just as we need to get rid of useless programs that waste our taxpayer’s money and then get back to morality. Allowing the “anything goes” mindset has not gotten our country anywhere but trouble.

Just remember what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah….because of the sin occuring.