Every state has had some controversial law pass/fail during the general election. What makes Colorado’s Amendment 48 interesting is that it’s a story that’s been buried under the news (at least in California) but really shouldn’t be for it’s subject matter alone. A 21 year-old evangelical law student has successfully written an Amendment the state’s constitution defining a fertilized egg as a person. It did not pass.
Because the election is over and there isn’t jack shit to write on anymore, I’ve decided to dig this story out and comment all over it, because I have a keyboard and own a blog and thus have the authority to write on devestatingly sensitive political issues at will. God bless America.
I’m pro-life. There, I said it. Super-mega pro-life. It’s hard to be pro-life in Southern California, people. Especially because I’m not religious, and have no ready support groups to fall back on.
Coming out as a pro-lifer is scary shit, and the only thing more frightening than being isolated by your fellow liberals is actually receiving support by pro-life fucktard conservatives like Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
Someone, please shut her the fuck up.
Being a non-religious pro-lifer, I get the pro-choice side. I don’t have a reason to believe God is on anyone’s side here, but I do have a belief based on basic science that because a fetus can feel, move, kick, think, suck its’ thumb, it’s a person. It’s got a fully formed heart and a heartbeat within 25 days of conception. So I don’t take lightly to the whole “bunch of cells” argument. A fully formed heart at any size is already more than just a bunch of cells, be it 2 months inside, 2 months out, 8 years old or 60. After a month of conception it’s a person. We consider babies born 6-weeks prematurely people, but the fact is he would have been that size in or out of the uterus. We tend downplay the importance of the fetus just because we can’t see it.
Sure, a fetus doesn’t really DO anything, in fact the fetus sleeps 95% of the time, as if there were anything else to do in there. But have you been around newborns? They’re boring as hell. All they do is eat and sleep (and occassionally poop) for the first month of their life, which is not much different than what they were doing on the inside.
What I’m saying is, babies are babies, whether or not you can see them, and so it’s not hard to write an amendment declaring the little guy as a person. But we need a smarter (and faster) approach to slowing rate of abortion. And for the love of sweet, merciful Jesus, both sides need to come to compromise, because we could be doing so much to slow the rate of abortion, such as:
1) Making contraceptives more available, and if possible, free.
A fertilized egg is a person – if you leave a fertilized egg alone in a nurturing condition, it will go through the developmental stages on its own. But a single sperm or egg is not. Left alone, neither will do anything, and both will eventually go to waste. Let’s just make sure these two don’t come in contact in the first place. There’s no substantial evidence that abstinence-only programs work, which means theres a lot of people doing the nasty regardless of whatever sexual purity standards you place in front of them. The States, or more proactive organizations, need to take the first initiative in making contraceptives more available, which will slowly remove it’s societal taboo (give it time, people) and prevent conception before it happens. Also, safe sex, prevents STDs, and yada yada yada.
No duh. What about after conception?
2) Extending medical insurance to support teens/rape victims that include physical and mental therapy.
Rape is a serious crime, and teen pregnancy is scary. There a few options for those in either or both catagories to turn to. Teens and rape victims are in a vulnerable state - some can’t go to their parents or friends, so the worry is that they turn to the last resort: unsafe, back-alley abortions. But with another alternative – safe care under the observation of medical staff and a psychologist, they can further explore their options. It doesn’t have to be an either-or option, there are third and fourth ways through the process. Now if we could only make sure everyone had this access to healthcare…
3) Reform orphanage/foster care programs. Couldn’t hurt to advertise adoption!
Those who do not have the stability to raise a child need to have better options. It’s no secret – orphanages and foster care programs are notorious for being riddles with problems, and they are rarely given federal or state consideration. Of course, we have a million things that need reforming (prison system, education, whatnot) but if we want to make things easier for frightened mothers and growing children, we need to make sure both parties will be welcomed by loving arms. Today’s generation seems to have a more open-mind about adoption (thanks, Angelina!) so reforming the adoption process to make it less bureaucratic and more appealing to serious parents could make this a great alternative within a generation. Seriously, a couple of posters around town and we got this.
And finally…
4) Legalizing theraputic abortion! (What? Wha’d she say?)
Theraputic abortions, otherwise known as “terminations,” are terminations of the fetus when it endangers the life of the mother. It’s an unfortunate circumstance, but this option needs to be kept available.
Just some thoughts.
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