Election Day

Did you vote?

We dropped off our mail-in ballots 2 weeks ago. I am so glad not to have to stand in line for 4 hours like I did 2 years ago. That was a nightmare. But there's a small part of me that is worried that our mail-ins won't get counted for some strange reason. That terrifies me because I desperately care about who wins this presidential election and our local Senate race.

I had the strangest dream last night about voting. I took the mail-in ballots to the drop-off site. But instead of the box with the slot that they had at our local DMV in real life, in my dream I had to wait in line and give the ballot to a man. He seemed to be a representative from the RNC (or something like that) and when I handed him my ballot he asked if I had ever considered running for office. "Why, yes" I responded. "Senate or House of Representatives?" he asked. I figured those were much too lofty for my aspirations and made that clear. As I was leaving the polling place, I saw Senator McCain. I wished him luck in the election. What a strange, strange dream. I'm pretty sure I've never had political dreams before. This election stuff must be getting to me.

It's a curious thing, these political parties. I think that in our hearts we all (well most) want the same thing - a safe place to raise children, free from violence in our neighborhoods and violence in our world, a good education for our children, jobs that we enjoy and that pay the bills, an economy that allows us to have the basics plus some fun extras, an end to poverty, and the freedom to make our own path in this life. I think so many people don't understand that these are all things we agree on. What we disagree on is how to make those things happen. Do we make our neighborhoods safer by enacting more gun laws or by teaching a healthy respect for guns? Do we make the world safer by acting as a military force or by trying to reason with people or both? At what point do my freedoms infringe upon the freedoms of others and therefore have to be curtailed? Do we end poverty by handing out free stuff or by teaching skills?
I don't think that any of these have an easy answer. All of these issues have to be treated carefully and the solutions are very likely some combination of our ideas.

***SOAPBOX WARNING****

Do not read past this point if you are easily angered by personal opinions. I will be giving mine in no uncertain terms.
There is one issue on which I do not feel compromise is achievable. It is the issue of choice/life. I have come to understand that the two sides of the argument will never be able to come to agreement because they are not arguing about the same thing. On the pro-choice side, the issue is whether a woman has a right to treat her body however she sees fit. On the pro-life side, the issue is when life begins.

With very few exceptions, people who are pro-choice are not pro-abortion and people who are pro-life are not anti-choice. If you ask many many people who are pro-choice they will tell you something like "I am personally against abortion and would never do it myself, but I am pro-choice." And as you will see below, for those who are pro-life, this is not a question of choice at all. Choice is good in life. Even God thought so, evidenced by the giving of free will. But a choice that hurts another is not a good one and should not be supported.

If you believe that life begins at conception then there is no way to believe that abortion is ever, ever okay. Not in cases of rape or incest. To have an abortion is to take a life. It's not about choice. It's like saying that rape is about choice (I'm not using the obvious comparison to murder because I think it's too hard to see past that word). In a case of rape, the attacker is making a choice on how to use his body. (yes, I know that the attacker could be a woman but I'm going with the most common occurrence) That's his choice. But it's still not right. Why? Because his choice is impacting someone else in a negative way. His choice is stealing something very precious from his victim - her dignity, her feeling of security, her sense of peace in herself. In the same way, abortion is stealing something very precious from that unborn child - their life. The mother certainly has a choice. But because her choice is directly impacting someone else in a negative way, it is not right.

So you can see why for those of us who are pro-life it's not about choice at all.

If you don't believe that life begins at conception, that it's just a collection of cells with potential then I guess I can understand being okay with abortion.
But riddle me this.... if life does not begin at conception then when? Obviously there is life at the moment of birth. What about 10 minutes before birth? What about at 36 weeks gestation? What about at 24 weeks gestation? I've heard the argument that it begins when the baby could survive outside the womb. How do you know when that is? Does the baby need to be able to survive without medical intervention or would survival in a NICU with breathing machines be considered surviving? How can you put a cutoff date in the sand? Each baby develops differently. Perhaps for one baby it is 25 weeks but for another it is 23 weeks, 2 days. You can't know until that baby is delivered.

And if you've been pregnant... Have you done that early, 8 week ultrasound where you get to see the heart beating? It's amazing. This baby has been living inside of you for just 6 weeks (removing the 2 weeks pre-conception) and already there is a heart beating. I got to see that tiny beating heart with both of my children. There is no way you will ever be able to convince me that there was no life there at that point. Allison & Peter were already there with all of their unique DNA - growing and changing, just as they continue to do today.

And if you are a Catholic, I urge you to strongly consider the Church's teaching on the subject. Do not be fooled. It is not possible to be a Catholic in good standing with the Church and support abortion rights. This statement will rub some of you the wrong way. I'm sorry if it does, but it is fact.
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church
"From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a "criminal" practice (GS 27 § 3), gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life. "
http://www.catholic.com/library/Abortion.asp
http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0898.asp
http://www.ewtn.com/media/abortion/responses.asp

Finally, if you still cannot see past the choice argument, let me present to you the long-term ramifications on the mother. There may be very serious physical and/or psychological effects. I have a cousin struggling with this very issue. 15+ years after the fact, she cannot forgive herself for her choice. I would never wish this kind of grief on anyone.
http://www.abortionfacts.com/effects/effects.asp

As you head out to vote today. Or as you watch the poll numbers come in, please consider this important issue. Pray for wisdom in making your own decisions. And pray for our elected leaders to have wisdom as they go forward in setting policy for our nation. Pray for those women currently facing the very difficult position of an unplanned pregnancy - that they will understand that no baby is unwanted. Pray for those women and men who have lost their children to abortion - that their physical and emotional wounds would be healed through God's love.

*** disclaimer.... I am the product of an unplanned pregnancy by an unwed mother who already had a child. She made a choice. She chose to give me life and for that I am eternally grateful. She could have chosen very differently. Some of you may not be sad about that (of course, if you are reading my blog, I'm guessing you at least kind of like me). But if you care about me, consider that your world would be different if I were not here. My birth mother's "choice" has impacted your life, whether you like it or not. This fact of my creation plays a gigantic role in my opinions.