The Push of Religion into Government is Relentless
One would think that when there is a time of crisis religious views surrounding medical issues would be set aside until the crisis has past. This is not happening. Instead religious governors and their cheering squads see the crisis as an opening to force religious views on the general public.
They are doing this with abortion. The false claim is that abortions are optional and use medical resources that are needed to save lives of Coronavirus patients. A few anti abortion zealot Governors have used their emergency powers to limit access to abortions.
Here is why the claim of medical resources is false. If a pregnancy is allowed to continue until birth, about ten times more medical resources will be required than if there is an abortion. Thus, outlawing abortions increases, not decreases, the resources available for the Coronavirus patients. Governors managing the crisis should encourage birth control, not stop abortions.
Choosing to force religious views into government no doubt makes sense to Governors who love religion or who pander to religious voters. It puts into the spotlight Christianities' great concept, sin. Abortion is claimed to be a sin, even though the Bible does not say this. There are lots of rules about sex so sin is involved there as well.
Last week a Federal Judge panel ruled the State of Texas could ban abortions until the Coronavirus had passed. Yesterday a Federal Judge said pill abortions and those approaching the time limit for abortions could proceed. Perhaps that means all women who want abortions in Texas will eventually get them.
Even if no abortions are stopped, the gullible religious right will think it accomplished something anyway.
Some people have common sense, then there are atheists like Jon.
ReplyDeleteThe issue in the pandemic is the short supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when it comes to essential vs. non-essential surgeries and medical procedures. It also has to do with first responders, police, fire, etc. It's the reason that my surgery at the Mayo Clinic was postponed indefinitely and why the Mayo Clinic is facing a $3B shortfall due to all the canceled and postponed procedures.
An abortion is a non-essential medical procedure (killing of a child). The end result of a canceled abortion is life for the child. A birth IS an ESSENTIAL medical procedure as babies don't wait for pandemics to end.
Now, if Jon wants to make the case that abortions should go on without PPE and other sanitary conditions, then his true concern for women will be unmasked.
Why is Jon and a number of pro-abortion politicians so hellbent on killing children during the pandemic when halting abortions will save lives of people already born, e.g. mothers, fathers, grandparents, doctors, nurses, etc.
If stopping abortions could save the lives of a doctor and a police officer, would it be worth the price in Jon's mind? I think not.
Matt--Thanks for the post and I hope you can have your surgery when the shortage problem is solved.
DeleteI agree with you that giving birth is an essential medical procedure and needs the equipment and personnel required. Perhaps you did not read in my blog that a birth requires about 10 times more resources than an abortion (that is my estimate based on the relative costs of each). Thus, each abortion makes resources available to other needs. To help save lives women should be encouraged to have abortions.
You assume the abortion will occur under the same conditions as the birth. Right now, right this minute, PPE shortages are just now starting to be restocked at a level safe to allow for non-essential surgeries and procedures. So, the abortion may have been delayed a few weeks. I was told by Mayo that my procedure was delayed at least 3 months; March until June. Under today's conditions, I may be able to contact Mayo (or them contact me) about scheduling my procedure for April or May. Mayo must have a large backlog of delayed surgeries right now.
DeleteSo, the birth of the child not aborted because of a lack of PPE, would have occurred at a time when PPE resources would be widely available. Staying in the womb while the pandemic rages buys valuable time.
Believe it or not, the longer an abortion decision is delayed, the greater chance the mother has for continuing the pregnancy to birth.
There has been talk on this blog about the serious issue of moving a priest from one diocese or parish to another, after the priest has been credibly accused of a sex crime. It has often been stated that this would not happen if the matter was treated as a crime from the onset.
DeleteJust today, while reviewing some genealogical information from 1672, I found the following:
A family had reasonable suspicion that a family friend raped their 2 young daughters. Four days later, the man had been tried and convicted. The man is "... condemned to restore honor to his victims in the accustomed manner." The civil authorities required the convicted felon to seek forgiveness from God, the Kind and his victims for his "brutal passion". The child rapist is to be banished from his colony and pay a fine to each girl for their future marriages. The source of funds for the fine is to be had by selling the rapists lands in Canada and France. The father of the 2 girls is appointed to oversee the selling of the properties necessary to raise the amount of the fines.
The thing that stands out to me is that the rapist was not jailed. He was told to move on to the next colony or country.
While I have no evidence to support my conclusion, I do conclude that this was the customary way to deal with rape at this time in French and Canadian (territory, not country).
Matt "There has been talk on this blog..."
DeleteI think you assumption moving a rapist to another country was a good one. Incarceration as we practice it today was not done as much in previous times. American Indians, for example, did not "jail" enemy warriors they captured. They adopted them as tribal members. Daniel Boone was captured and adopted but then escaped.
So, perhaps the practice of relocating criminal priests came from back in the middle ages. I would make the argument the church did it in secret while law enforcement was public. The motive of law enforcement was justice. The motive of the church has always been to protect its image and power.
Matt re; your assumption when an abortion does not happen at the time there are shortages it means a birth will happen when plenty of resources are available.
DeleteYou have made a big assumption--resources not available now will be widely available a few months from now. They may be, or, may not be. Wisdom would suggest not making assumptions that make put lives in danger. Fewer births is a more conservative strategy.
I make no assumption, only claim that probability is on my side. Regardless, you have not answered the question about giving up the lives of a doctor and a police officer so PPE could be used for your abortions. Or perhaps the women undergoing - sorry, babies undergoing - abortions should do so without PPE.
DeleteWhat's your answer? Psst - you don't look good either way you answer that, but that's reality.
Matt "I make no assumption, only claim probability in on my side."
DeleteNo, you made an assumption. You did not say "probability is on my side."
The ten to one ratio of resources needed for births makes your question absurd. My question to you is why do you favor "giving up the lives of a doctor and a police officer so PPE could be used" to carry out your particular religious beliefs?
this is for Matt: sometimes reading this stuff is enough to turn one's tummy (figuratively of course). ugly, twisted "logic"; crass utilitarianism. unwarranted assumptions. sad! as to the Native Americans another unwarranted sweeping generalization. how about inter tribal wars? how about savage torture (which we know occurred)? how about scalping? how about slaves (we know that some tribes kept slaves, the likely status of those captured in the tribal wars).
ReplyDeleteJon,
ReplyDeleteSome posts here speak of the eugenics attributed to birth control advocate Margaret Sanger. It has also been said that the hidden agenda of Planned Parenthood is to control the reproductive behavior of people of color. Well that’s a double edge sword. Post Civil War white folk were frightened to death that free black people would retaliate for their enslavement by out breeding them and take over — witness the real birth of the anti-abortion movement in America. I submit that the mislabeled Pro-Life campaign was not born of religious prohibition but that the religious angle was adopted to leverage the political clout of racist whites in order to sustain their firm grip on a society they saw as their birthright. They needed, then as now, more white babies. The curtain has been pulled back on the politics of the anti-abortion crusade and its hidden xenophobic agenda. It is on full display today for all to see. The most dangerous place for an African American is not the womb it’s red hat Trumpica.
I'll give you credit for one thing: you are really talented at twisting your thinking like a pretzel when it comes to denouncing religion, the pro-life movement and all your other assorted bugaboos.
DeleteUnknown April 12, 2020 at 8:23 AM
Delete“pretzel”
I read we are living in “post truth” America. Furthermore, taking a cue from Trump, I am entitled to my own facts. Here’s another pretzel for you — in the ancient Roman Republic punishment for abortion was inflicted on the woman because her action violated a father’s right to dispose of his offspring as he saw fit. Perhaps a wee vestige of that right strangely persists in the anti-abortion stance of today’s Roman Catholic Church and is viewed by some Roman Catholic men as tacit approval to put their noses where they don’t belong.
Ardy B "post truth America"
DeleteGreat post. Unknown, and perhaps others, have taunted me in the past with something like, "You know deep down inside the abortion is immoral." What bull $hit. Anti abortion has been self serving since day one. The gullible have been told it violates Christianity even though an "all power all loving God" has killed millions of fetuses with miscarriages. Deep down inside they must know their views on taking women's rights away and giving them to men is immoral.
Ardy, as to Rome, I don't know whether what you said is true. What's your source? What is true is that the pater familius (sp?) had final say over whether or not the child would live or die. Infants were often rejected and exposed: the Christians often rescued them and raised them as their own. Now women get to say whether or not their offspring lie or die, in effect replacing one injustice with another. As to post-truth societies , I suggest that you get beyond Trump Derangement Syndrome and take a good hard look at the extent to which lying, propaganda, and just plain illogic have taken hold in so-called elite circles.
DeleteUnknown "I'll give you credit for one thing:"
ReplyDeleteIs that called a "backhanded compliment?"
What I do here is not twisting my thinking like a pretzel. It is calling out religion when it plays with peoples' minds like a baker with a pretzel. I read an explanation this morning about religion. Before there were good highways for marching armies overland to maintain order in conquered lands, religion became the tool of control. Rulers and religious leaders joined to talk up invisible mono gods to frighten people into conformity-- and frighten them into paying taxes and tithes.
I realize Unknowns comment was directed at Ardy, but I chimed in anyway.
Delete