Thought Quotient

Bush Signs Fetus Rights Legislation

President Bush signed legislation today that makes it a crime to harm a fetus during an assault on a pregnant woman.

The bill passed by a 245-163 vote in the House and by a 61-38 margin in the Senate.

What is the reasoning behind the 163 House and 38 Senate votes against this? Those that did not vote for it will probably say that it would lead to a chipping away of the abortion rights in this country. What does that say about abortion when a bill of this sort can’t be agreed to because of the moral conflict with abortion rights?

Here is a quote today from Kate Michelman, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America (formerly The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League)…

“Everyone agrees on the need to protect pregnant women and the developing lives within them from harm � and with just a few phone calls, the President could have persuaded Congress to pass a consensus bill doing so without entangling it in the abortion rights issue.”

If everyone agrees, why didn’t everyone agree to this legislation? There is no way to address issues of this sort without running smack dab into the moral question of abortion and it’s consequences.

Note: She even mentions “developing lives” in the previous quote. So the logical conclusion is that an abortion ends a developing life. But she didn’t say that, she said that everyone agrees we need to protect the developing lives from harm. How is abortion not harmful? We are only denying reality when we say that it is a choice and not a harmful act to the developing life inside and a harmful act spiritually to the woman.

Stand or Run Away

Three Americans among 4 civilians killed in Iraq
Residents hang bodies from bridge

In every conflict situation in life we have two choices: stand and fight or run away. Times such as these are inevitable - no matter how much we would like to pretend like they aren’t. There are many people in our nation who would say that we have no business in Iraq… that we are wrong for having a military presence there. I think this situation proves otherwise. The forces at work in Iraq which are behind terrorist events like these have to be stopped. Intentionally targeting civilians, intentionally killing innocent people is wrong. Period. There is no argument to this point. Such terrorist activity must be stopped. We can stand by and say, “we shouldn’t get involved, it’s not our business”. But the fact is, such remarks are based in fear. Fear that our lives might be on the line for the issue of right and wrong. Fear that our children might have to fight and die for what’s right. Fear that our comfort might be upset by standing up against evil. Fears that exist in every one of us.

However, fear of the consequences of doing what’s right is not an excuse to do wrong. We have a choice. We can stand and fight against the people who would gloatingly hang the bodies of murdered innocent civilians from the side of a bridge, or we can cower and turn away until our choice is taken away and they’re hanging our people from our own bridges in the U.S. We can’t afford to harbor any delusions… one way or another, eventually we will have to fight or die. Those who say otherwise paint pretty pictures that have no basis in reality. It’s time to face reality.