What makes a feminist?

What makes a feminist?

Friday, December 10, 2010

I wish I could say the world's gotten better.

But a little over 21 years ago, an angry man went on a rampage and shot 14 women simply for the crime of being female.

Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte, and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, may you rest in peace.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Well, now it's December. So much for my blogging assignment for myself. Perhaps this isn't my strong point?

Educated, Glamourous, and wearing a Hijab. I love finding articles that promote the freedom of dressing modestly, rather than promoting the 'liberal' idea that unless we all run around in miniskirts and tube tops we are somehow repressed.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Life or death-decided by internet poll

Please go to http://www.birthornot.com/ and vote for this couple to give birth to their baby...and if you're the praying sort, pray they realize how foul their actions are!

I can't believe life and death can be put up to popular vote like this.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

keeping on schedule

Day 04 – What you ate today

Coffee, fruit, vegetarian nachos, soup, raw veggies, and a Weight Watchers ice cream bar.

Day 05 – Your definition of love

The feeling of completeness and belonging you get when being with another person just feels...right.

Day 06 – Your day

Was a day like any other, with an extra hour to boot.

Day 07 – Your best friend

My husband.

I'll get back to other blogging soon, I promise

Flu bugs have hit our household. But in other news...

"Bleep My Dad Says" is a comedy based on the site Shit My Dad Says. Basic premise, 20-something guy loses his job, moves back with his dad. Pretty typical story of the current economy. Said 20-something man's father is a foul-mouthed (obviously edited for television) wise-cracking retiree played by William Shatner. Hubby is a William Shatner fan (yes, he's a Trekkie). So I'll sometimes watch with him. It has funny moments.

The most recent episode, however, left me bothered enough to contemplate writing to the station to complain. Here is a brief summary.

The scene that disturbed me was towards the end, when Henry comes home from his "date" with a torn shirt and walking gingerly (as if to imply forced sodomy) after a night of rough and violent sexual activity.

And it was used not as a sobering realization that men can also be raped...but as a comedic device!

I'll repeat that: RAPE was used for COMEDY.

Are you mad yet? I sure am.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

day 3

Day 03 – Your parents

My mom did the best she could, all things considered. My stepfather apparently liked young girls, myself included (that's for a whole 'nother post among other things).

If you can find my bio-dad, you're doing better than I ever did.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

I promised!

Day 01 – Introduction

Who am I?

I am a wife, a friend, a daughter.
I am a pro-life liberal.
I am a survivor of sexual assault and childhood abuse.
I consider myself a feminist but am not well-received in most feminist circles.

You'll note I don't mention my racial background.

Day 02 – Your first love

I was tempted to write this about romantic relationships, I really was. But I don't define myself by those. I loved reading and used it as my escape--I could lose myself in a great story.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Memes and 'about me'

I'm not a meme fan. But I don't write enough as it is, so I figured this might be a good way to get past the writing block.

30 days in November. 30 topics, as follows:

The Meme:
Day 01 – Introduction
Day 02 – Your first love
Day 03 – Your parents
Day 04 – What you ate today
Day 05 – Your definition of love
Day 06 – Your day
Day 07 – Your best friend
Day 08 – A moment
Day 09 – Your beliefs
Day 10 – Your physical constitution
Day 11 – Your siblings
Day 12 - Something you feel strongly about
Day 13 – This week
Day 14 – Your education
Day 15 – Your dreams
Day 16 – Your first kiss
Day 17 – Your favorite memory
Day 18 – Your favorite birthday
Day 19 – Something you regret
Day 20 – This month
Day 21 – Another moment
Day 22 – Something that upsets you
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
Day 25 – A first
Day 26 – Your fears
Day 27 – Your favorite place
Day 28 – Something that you miss
Day 29 – Your aspirations
Day 30 – One last moment


I might not post every day (life, it gets busy, ya know). But I'll get to every topic at the very least.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Halloween

Store bought costumes are dreadful.

Overpriced, shoddy construction and material, and if you're female...well, pretty much everything is a 'sexy' version of something else.

I saw a "sexy" Rainbow Brite costume. I WAS Rainbow Brite for Halloween when I was 6. My mom made the costume, it was absolutely adorable. She still has it somewhere.

My childhood...it's being ruined!

*crosses her fingers*

Things are looking up!

Hopefully soon I'll be able to drop the second job.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Gianna Jessen has a message for us all

For those who are not aware, Gianna Jessen survived an attempt on her life before she was even born. Her teenage mother, at 7 1/2 months (!) pregnant, sought a saline abortion.

Gianna was born alive.

Here she is, speaking in Australia about her life:





Her story is a touching reminder that we, as a society, will be judged by how we treat our weakest members--both the disabled and the unborn.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

low impact living

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about how what I eat impacts the world around me. I still have given thought to becoming a vegetarian, but my husband isn't as keen on the idea :-)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

social justice

It's all I hear on the liberal blogs I read. Social justice this, privilege that.

It means nothing to me when those same voices wholeheartedly support murder of the unborn.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Technology+Natural Family Planning=Lady-Comp!

Lady-Comp.

It's not cheap ($495...how many of us have that kind of cash lying around? I mean really...), but apparently lasts up to 10 years.

And sure-using a computer takes some of the 'natural' aspects out of it, but I wonder what the future implications could be for society if items like this begin replacing IUD's and pills. It's a neat way to get back in touch with our bodies.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

It's been awhile since I did a post on capital punishment.

Jeffrey Matthews is condemned to die next month, despite evidence that may prove his innocence.

This is why I could never sit on a jury trial for a murder case--no, I would NOT be willing to sentence someone to death, thankyouverymuch. And I don't think the state has the right to do so either.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

bumper sticker madness

I saw a bumper sticker today that read "Real Men Love Jesus".

I'd like to design one that says "Real Men Love Consent". Because seriously--we women can march the streets day and night crying out to stop sexual assaults, but it is the men (who commit the majority of sexual assaults) who need to be taking more action.

Men--stop laughing at rape jokes*. Stop implying women are 'asking for it'. Start treating all females the way you would want any and all men to treat your girlfriend/wife/mother/sister/daughter (and if you're okay with any of these women in your life being attacked, you are in need of serious help).

Or let's broaden things more: "Real Men Are Respectful". There are plenty of ways to be disrespectful without being a sexual predator. You don't even need to be a feminist/egalitarian. I find nothing inherently disrespectful in complementarianism if it's entered into of one's own accord. Not my thing, but whatever.

Just be respectful of your fellow human beings. I don't need to be put on a pedestal for being female, but don't try to knock me off my feet either.




*unless, and I find it highly unlikely, you're using humor as a way of dealing with your own experiences as a rape victim. People use humor to deal with all sorts of trauma.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

On being liberal and childless

Sometimes I wonder if I would still be pro-life if I had never had an abortion.

And the truth is, I don't think I would be. I would continue to spout forth the same liberal party line, without giving any thought to the impact abortion truly has.

I didn't think I could call myself liberal and still be pro-life. The classic image of the pro-lifer is of a religiously conservative, slut-shaming, clinic-bombing nutcase. I didn't want to be associated with that.

So for myself, I've been redefining what it means to be liberal. And my own definition is this: I believe in the preservation of life, liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness for the born and unborn alike, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other such factor.

I support universal health care, gay marriage and adoption, and measures to preserve the environment. I oppose abortion, the death penalty, and unnecessary war.

Some of my pro-choice friends wrote about how they never realized how important it was to be pro-choice until they did have children of their own, and thus became more resolute pro-choice activists. Of course, being without children I keep being told that I'm not allowed to have a say in the issue, just as men aren't allowed to because they'll never get pregnant.

More accurately put: men and childless women aren't allowed to espouse the "wrong" view on abortion. Pro-choice men are welcomed into that inner sanctum.

My husband is a cancer survivor. Chemotherapy essentially rendered his sperm useless before I'd even met him, and he hadn't considered it important to put any on ice before beginning treatment. People who don't know that about him are always asking ME why we don't have children yet. Because it's always the woman's fault, dontcha know?

I talk about adoption, and it's always "but don't you want children of your OWN?" as if someone else's child is somehow defective or less worthy of love.

"Don't you want children who look like you?" I'm in an interracial marriage...even if we did have kids they'd look more like my hubby than me.

"What's WRONG with you? Are you so SELFISH about preserving your figure or something?" Figure? I'm plus-sized with hips that were designed for baby-bearing. Come on...it's not like I've got some cute, tiny, girlish figure. Bless my husband-he's more than happy to describe in explicit detail about what is wrong with his sperm and why he'll never impregnate anyone.

Still-it hurts. People can be incredibly thoughtless when they don't know the facts.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Full Frontal Feminism: Who Decides What Makes A Feminist?

Never mind the title, it's safe for work and pretty much sums up how I feel about feminism also.

Yes, I believe women are people too. I despise the attitude that being pro-life is somehow "anti-feminist" (and Feminists for Life would have a thing or two to say about that as well...). Is it really so horrible that a woman would think it's wrong? I'm tired of being treated like some kind of "traitor to the cause".

I want a better world for women to have their babies in. Let's start by removing things like poverty, racism, violence and homophobia and replace them with things like education, health care...ya know, things that feminists supposedly like. The difference being that I also abhor racism and violence against the unborn.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Utah reveals its savage side

The state of Utah executed a man last night by firing squad, a method so savage that even in the 19th century the constitutionality of the method was being challenged. In a 21st century twist, the Attorney General of Utah announced the execution on Twitter.

For those wondering why Utah allows this method while no other state does, there is a bit of Mormon theology involved. "Blood atonement", in LDS theology, means that unless blood is shed a condemned person cannot properly atone for their crimes and be redeemed in the next life.

This YouTube video shows a quiet, yet chilling view of the execution chamber following the event (the victim's body is not shown).

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Frightening!

Belgian euthanasia nurses admit to killing without patient consent.

Could anything be more scary than the possibility of going into the hospital and being killed by the people who are supposed to be caring for you?

I'm certainly glad I'm not Belgian...

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Busy

Overwhelmed. Keeping my head together.

I recently lost my last grandparent. Grandma was a dear, wonderful woman--and now she's gone.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Yeah, this is just one of the reasons I'm longer Pagan

Starhawk writes on 'sacred' abortion.

And they say Pagans don't commit human sacrifice anymore...

EDIT: oops...it's from the Washington Post and requires registration. Here's the article (I commented on it, I can't bring myself to blog about it further):


A Woman's Sacred Right to Choose

Can you be a feminist and oppose abortion in all circumstances? Can you be a person of faith and support abortion in some circumstances?

These are the questions posed to us this week by the On Faith staff. Before I can answer them, I need to point out that their subtle framing. Both put the emphasis on abortion as the defining issue, which accepts the framework of the anti-abortion movement. Both contain an unstated implication--the first, that the mainstream feminist position demands universal and unlimited abortion, the second, that 'good' people of faith would of course oppose abortion no matter what the circumstances.

I don't accept that frame. The core issue, for me for the pro-choice movement, is this: Who gets to decide what goes on inside a woman's body?

My answer as a feminist is: The woman herself must have the right to make that decision, to wrestle with her own conscious, to encounter for herself those great issues of life and death that all of us must face in this mortal world.

Those decisions are never cut and dried, and no one makes choices in a vacuum. The opinions of others, of partners and doctors and friends and respected mentors of faith all come into play. So do the rights of others. But ultimately, the right to self determination begins with the right to make basic decisions about one's physical self.

Feminism, however, is not a faith with a catechism and a belief-test for entry. People are capable of holding enormously contradictory beliefs, and I know women who hold widely varying opinions about abortion who still work stalwartly to advance the project of women's overall liberation.

I am a person of the Pagan faith, which also holds no litmus test of belief or universal dogma. Pagans believe that nature and life are sacred--but that's Life with a capital L, not every germ cell, seed, zygote, or individual spark of potential existence. Pagans vary enormously in how we interpret our duty to cherish life. Some Pagans are strict vegans while others honor the Way of the Sacred Hunt.

My own belief is this: to terminate a pregnancy is to end a potential and deny a possibility of life. That's neither murder nor is it a decision to take lightly. In the The Pagan Book of Living and Dying, my co-editor M. Macha Nightmare and I included stories and rituals for women choosing to end a pregnancy who want to honor the process as a sacred choice.

Pagans do hold that sexuality is sacred. We see that the intensity of the furor around abortion is fueled by a culture that fears sexuality and seeks to keep it under control. Were it not so, we would see the same vehement passion where loss of life is not connected to sex, where outright murder goes on through war, through hunger and starvation and environmental degradation.

We honor our sacred sexuality by exercising our adult responsibility to nurtue and provide for any children we choose to bring into the world. We can take up that responsibility in many ways--by using birth control, by choosing to end a mistaken pregnancy or by giving a child up for adoption, by working for a world in which all children will be cherished and provided with the means for a healthy and fulfilling life.

My faith and my feminist politics are strongly in accord, for Pagans place spiritual authority within each individual. No priest or legislator can tell us how to resolve our own dilemmas. For it is in wrestling with tough choices that our spiritual development takes place. In our face to face encounters with the great forces of life, death and regeneration, we come to know the Goddess.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

I promise, I haven't vanished!

I've gone from having no job to having two--it's left me a bit busier than I would expect. I can't say I mind though.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

anti-adoptionism

Why Giving Up A Child For Adoption Would Be Wrong For Me. Because "women's rights" equal "rights to kill their children", don't ya know? I bet this woman wouldn't have the guts to tell a childless couple this to their face. Plenty of anti-adoption comments on the article as well.

I keep hearing the argument that no woman should be forced to serve as an "incubator". What so many of them fail to realize is that, sexist as it may sound, that is what their bodies are designed to do.

The primary purpose of the uterus is to house a developing baby. Period. It is an incubation part.

If you don't like this fact, either get rid of it or take responsibility for it. We tell women to get breast exams, pap smears, exercise regularly-all in the name of taking responsibility for our bodies so that unwanted things don't happen to it. Don't want babies? There are a multitude of options out there up to and including removal of the uterus.

I support feminism in theory, but the denial of personal responsibility (dirty words to many feminists)is appalling.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Joys of Facebook

One of my friends just gave birth. What a fantastic thing new life is, and what a wonder technology is that we can share photos of a new miracle so quickly!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

There is a great deal of anti-choice discussion on many feminist blogs. It appears that the target du jour is the Crisis Pregnancy Center, advertised in many cities under "abortion alternatives" but allegedly also posing as abortion fake-clinics meant to scare women out of terminating their pregnancies.

Alleged Campaign of Misinformation.

What I'd like to know is: is there anyone out there who has had a positive experience at a CPC who would be interested in telling their story? I'd hate to see these incredibly useful (and often volunteer-run, how cool is that?) resources get taken down!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

happy tax day!

If you need a break from number-crunching, spend some time at my favorite daily cute sites!

Babies Making Faces cute pictures of silly baby faces.
Cute Overload Baby animals galore!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Fixing poverty--as the LOLcat would say, ur doin it wrong

Let's fix it by punishing children born out of wedlock!

No, no, and NO. This is not the solution.

A peaceful society cannot exist where a child conceived/born in one set of circumstances (in this case, out of wedlock) is treated as inferior to another child born/conceived within wedlock.

The answer cannot be in withholding assistance to children born out of wedlock. Whether you believe marriage is a sacred bond or merely a piece of paper that affords legal perks, the ones who suffer the most from lack of support are the children. America can not simultaneously claim to value life and fail to support it.

We aren't losing a huge chunk of tax dollars on these "welfare queens" (and for the record, I hate that term. Racist/classist much?). It doesn't anger me. You know what does? Corporate bailouts for billionaires. They're not going to starve if suddenly they become millionaires instead of billionaires.

No distinction should ever be made with regard to the conditions surrounding the birth of any child. All children must be welcome and accepted!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

crisis pregnancy centers and historical heroes

Dr. Charlotte Denman Lozier, (1844-1870) wife, mother, scholar, physician, and woman

In 1866, Dr. Lozier refused-and had arrested-a man who was looking to procure an abortion.

In other news, I've been reading a lot of fire over the controversy that is the "Crisis Pregnancy Center". Allegedly, these centers are firmly right-wing, will use scare tactics to talk women out of abortion, even providing false and misleading information about how far along they are, how "it's not necessary to abort, the pregnancy isn't viable", subjecting them to propaganda images, etc. All while advertising as "abortion services".

Well, maybe it's because I live in the liberal Pacific Northwest, but I've never seen these centers advertised as "abortion services". They sit prominently at the top of the phone book as "abortion ALTERNATIVES". Some have ultrasound machines, some are desperate for them (guess which agenda fights against requiring women to view their ultrasounds before obtaining abortion?). Pretty much all are run by volunteers and don't charge for their services as they operate by donations.

Recently, in Baltimore, CPC's came under fire for not properly advertising their services. They were asked to put on their door that they do not offer or refer for abortion or birth control services. The Baltimore Archdiocese has stated this interferes with their right to free speech and religion.

Call me a dirty secular humanist, but I would hope any crisis pregnancy center would PROUDLY display that they do not offer abortion services (and artificial birth control if that goes against their beliefs too). Be proud of your beliefs!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

quote for today

“The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.“

Hubert H. Humphrey
Speech, November 4, 1977

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

What are they so afraid of?

Apparently, the Lilith Fair announced the following on Monday:$1 from every Lilith ticket sold will be donated to a local charity in each of the 36 cities the festival visits. Fans were asked to help by voting for the charity in their city that they thought Lilith should support.

The following info was found on the Facebook page "Lilith Fair: No money for crisis pregnancy centers!" Site quotes are in italics.

On the Minneapolis voting page, the Metro Women's Center is described as follows: "To actively promote and maintain the sanctity of human life through educating women and the community at large about pregnancy alternatives so that informed decisions concerning the outcome of pregnancy may be made. We desire to do this by respecting the lives of both the mother and the child equally. We believe that the answer to a problem or unplanned pregnancy is not to abort the child, but to seek alternatives which allow both parties to live. Since: 1990 http://www.metrowomenscenter.org/ "

The Indianapolis voting page describes Life Centers, an anti-choice CPC which seems to be even less interested in covering up the fact that they do not support choice - "We empower women in unplanned pregnancies to make informed decisions about themselves and their future by offering pregnancy testing, confidential counseling services, information about abortion alternatives, and referrals. Established 1982 http://www.lifecenters.com/ "


Oh, heaven FORBID we actually offer women options beyond killing their children! I shouldn't be surprised, I guess. The pro-choice movement has also been known to oppose things like requiring women view their ultrasound before terminating a pregnancy. Because of course it's just too hard to acknowledge that what they're doing might just be...oh, I don't know, wrong?


In Atlanta, a Beacon of Hope Womens Center, Inc., offers a key component to many CPCs: a free ultrasound accompanied by misleading information about safe and legal abortion procedures. A Beacon of Hope freely admits on their website that,"we do not offer or refer for abortion services." The description on the Lilith Fair voting page reads (without any correction to spacing edits),"A Beacon of Hope is a counseling center for women who have unexpectedly become pregnant. Serviced offered include: Free Pregnancy Testing/Free Limited Ultrasound Testing/Options Counseling/Prenatal Educational Programs/Financial and Medical Assistance for Patients currently in Programming/Housing Placement Referrals/Parenting Classes for Patients in Programming/Mentoring for Patients in Programming/Transportation for Patients currently in Programming to and from needed doctor visits Since: 1999 http://www.abeaconofhope.com/ "

The Metro Women's Center and Life Centers self-describe as Crisis Pregnancy Centers - one of the worst offenders of women's rights.


Wait a minute here. I see free pregnancy testing, all manner of assistance...this is bad for women how?

Crisis Pregnancy Centers are MISLEADING and perpetuate MISINFORMATION to women who are in difficult circumstances. We are concerned that, even through a democratic process such as voting, Lilith is condoning such actions, which stand in direct opposition to a "Celebration of Women."

Women are powerful, wonderful creatures. And while not all women will have children of their own, we all possess that amazing ability to bring forth life. To support alternatives to abortion is to truly celebrate womanhood.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Health care reform

The internet is abuzz with the passing of President Obama's healthcare bill.

I'll say it up front: I am a liberal. I am pleased that Obama actually recognized that we had a problem with healthcare in this country and made moves to fix the problem.

Was this the best way to fix the problem? Well, parts of it will help a lot of people. And Obama, albeit reluctantly, signed an executive order ensuring that federal funding would not be used for abortions, essentially keeping the Hyde Amendment intact. I'm holding him to that :-)

As for the rest? We'll see. Both sides (liberal and conservative) have good points and good reasons to be nervous.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Stupak and health care

I stand with Stupak. Do you?

Words cannot describe how pleased I am that a Democrat is taking such a strong stance for the unborn. I identify as liberal in *most* other ways, but I cannot stand with my liberal brethren when they take a stand against the unborn.

Cecilia Brown of PLAGAL (Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians) wrote an excellent post on the topic here.

From the article: It is my belief that we should focus on making abortion unthinkable by finding the root causes of abortion and dealing with those issues. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the most common causes are either financial reasons, or that another child would interfere with their work, education, or ability to care for other dependents.

This is why I like groups like Feminists for Life. They believe in eliminating abortion by removing the social and economic inequities that cause women to feel like they have no choice but to kill their children.

Does that make me a socialist? If so I'm not the only one. In 1911, Emma Goldman wrote in Mother Earth: ""The custom of procuring abortions has reached such appalling proportions in America as to be beyond belief...So great is the misery of the working classes that seventeen abortions are committed in every one hundred pregnancies."

Women Deserve Better.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

today in history

From Executed Today:

On this date in 1955, murderer Gerald Albert Gallego became the first client of Mississippi’s new gas chamber.

It was a botched job, though that didn’t stop Mississippi from retaining the gas chamber into the 1990s.

Gallego coughed, choked, and wheezed on a less than lethal cloud of cyanide poisoning. Finally, after some forty-five minutes while officials feverishly worked to correct the problem, the repairs were completed and Gallego quickly died. An additional step was then added to the required testing of the chamber prior to an execution: an animal, usually a rabbit, would be placed in a cage in the chamber chair and cyanide gas was released to make sure the mixture was sufficiently lethal.


Words fail me.

Supposedly the technology got better, but not in enough time for Jimmy Lee Gray in 1983, who spent eight minutes flailing and gasping before dying-from banging his head against the steel pole behind the chair. Or Donald Harding, who in 1992 took eleven minutes to die, gasping, shuddering and desperately making obscene gestures with both strapped-down hands.

Who else used the gas chamber? Nazi Germany, and North Korea.



The gas chamber was last used in the U.S. in 1999, and as of 2009 only five states (Arizona, California, Maryland, Missouri, Wyoming) still have it as a method, with lethal injection available as an alternative in all five states.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

disgusted

Woman live Tweets her abortion.

I just...I don't know WHAT to say to that. I've heard so many pro-choice people proclaim "oh, it's a private decision between a woman and her doctor!". You call this private? "I don't feel like I'm doing anything different from what I do every day," said Jackson. "But now I have people calling me a killer; it's surreal."

I really, really hope she doesn't mean that she considers taking the life of an unborn child an "every day" type of event. I can't believe even someone who is pro-choice would condone this. No...I take that back. I can. Plenty of women publicly proclaim that they're not sorry.

I wasn't one of those pro-choice women. Many years ago, I terminated a pregnancy. I didn't feel 'empowered', I didn't feel 'relieved'. I felt empty and hollow and sad and thought there was something wrong with me. After all, only weak-willed women regretted their abortions, right? I was supposed to be strong, in control of my own destiny, fiercely independent, every girl-power label.

Would I have twittered about my experience? Good golly no. I wanted to sweep it under the rug and pretend it never even happened. Later as I began to process my feelings about both the abortion and the father of my unborn child (he did not know until after the fact), I realized that I felt bad because I knew deep down I had not made the right choice. Would I dare admit it to any of my pro-choice friends? No. Admitting that some women regret their abortions is tantamount to claiming that all women are weak and need to be controlled by the patriarchy, apparently.


Something is terribly wrong in a society where we not only leave women feeling like they have no other choice but to abort, but treat it as a positive thing besides!

Monday, February 22, 2010

"We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience."

"The voice of conscience has always clearly recalled that there are truths and moral values for which one must be prepared to give up one's life." Pope John Paul II


I have a deep and abiding love of history, and a fascination with the men and women who stood up against evil. WWII resistance groups rank pretty high on that list-so few groups, after all, represent evil like the Nazis.

I also got inspired to write this after seeing Sophie Scholl-The Final Days, which I highly recommend.

In 1943, Sophie Scholl, along with her brother and several others, distributed leaflets harshly criticizing the actions of the Third Reich and Hitler's regime. Calling themselves the White Rose movement, this group of students drew the attention of many (including the Third Reich) with leaflets calling the German people to action against the Nazi regime.

In February, Sophie and her brother Hans were spotted by a janitor as they dropped a stack of leaflets at the University of Munich. They were arrested and taken into custody, followed shortly by Christoph Probst. Their trial was overseen by infamous judge Roland Freisler, and the three were sentenced to death on February 22nd, 1943.

The executions were carried out on the same day as the sentencing. Proud of her actions to the end, Sophie's last words before being led to the guillotine were recorded as "Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go, but what does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?".

Photobucket
left to right: Hans Scholl (22 September 1918 – 22 February 1943), Sophie Scholl (9 May 1921 – 22 February 1943), Christoph Probst (6 November 1919 - 22 February 1943)

Sunday, February 21, 2010

dear plus-sized clothing manufacturers

Just because I have a rather bountiful chest, does NOT mean I wish to show it off to the world!

Does it seem all that strange, I wonder, for a secularist to want to dress modestly? Some feminists seem more than happy to label the modest dresser as repressed, a tool of the evil patriarchy that seeks to repress and control women's sexuality.

Bollocks, I say. Repressed, me? Assume what you like about the conservatively dressed woman you pass in the street. The real me is my own secret :-)

Monday, February 15, 2010

On non-consenual pregnancies

A common exception I hear about in abortion law is "exception should be made for rape victims".

I've read the arguments stating that pregnancy cannot possibly occur as a result of rape. This cannot be a true statement--where there is unprotected intercourse occurring, there is the possibility of pregnancy. To state otherwise is to imply that the victim wasn't really raped at all, which is why I have a problem with this particular mindset.

That said-the unborn child doesn't know how he was conceived. He doesn't know who his father is, he doesn't know what his mother suffered. His mother may find the experience of pregnancy healing, she may likewise find it to be a further unwanted invasion of her body and resources.

She may grow to love the baby, she may grow to resent him. But her baby has committed no crime.

Her rapist has, and accordingly he should be punished as the law requires. There can be no justification for sexual assault.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Where are the fathers?

I had the opportunity to break bread with a man of about 24, whose girlfriend had an abortion. He had begged her not to-he wanted to raise the child, to be a father...to take responsibility for his actions.

I hold this in contrast to another young man who identified as "pro-choice". When asked what he would do if he got a girl pregnant and she refused to abort, he said "I'd leave the country, change my name...anything to avoid having to pay for it!". When questioned about a vasectomy, he asked "why should I have to do all that?".

The first man is a MAN. The second will never be anything more than a boy.

On Facebook there is a group called "I bet I can find 1,000,000 men against abortion". The description is heartening:

GENTLEMEN: We must stand strong in the defense of innocent pre-born babies. Real men defend and protect their children- that is THE core of what it means to be a man.

Men do not need to be given the right to stand against abortion, because we already have a RESPONSIBILITY to do so. We have been oppressed for long enough as it pertains to asserting the our rights as fathers in protecting our children.

The time to act is NOW.


This will offend some pro-choice feminists, I'm sure--a common argument is that as men will never get pregnant, they shouldn't get a say in abortion rights. This argument completely and utterly discredits the feelings, emotions, and connections that men have to their offspring. Are these women all dating boys, I wonder?

In the next few days I'll be posting about how I went from being pro-choice to pro-life, and the mistakes I made myself.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

...to the natural end

I don't support the death penalty.

I find it a cruel, barbaric practice that should not continue to be practiced in any civilized society. From Amnesty International's website, The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. This cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is done in the name of justice.

It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.


A culture that values life cannot abide the death penalty. A culture that embraces violence will practice it openly. What do we know about it?

We know it doesn't stop crime. We know it doesn't serve justice or bring peace to anyone. It cannot be reversed if the accused was indeed innocent. It is discriminatory-those who can afford a good lawyer are more likely to be spared death, and minority prisoners are significantly more likely to be given a death sentence than whites. This cannot be acceptable.

Even the most 'humane' methods employed (lethal injection being the preferred method in most states) do not guarantee a painless death. And that's just the practice in the United States--overseas the atrocities are yet worse. They make no secret of this-videos of public executions are all over YouTube. They are very difficult to watch, but if they won't sway a heart against capital punishment, then I don't know what will!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Whose body is it, anyway?

A rallying cry of the pro-choice movement is "hands OFF my body!". The child growing within them is not treated as a separate being, but as the woman's property.

Sound familiar?

Friday, January 29, 2010

Scott Roeder found guilty of murder

Jury took a mere 40 minutes to decide.

There is joy all around on the pro-choice blogs today at this news. One quote from the site itself disturbs me:

"The man killed a doctor for legally doing his job... How does someone do that and avoid the death penalty?"

—Jay Keggerlord


Have we not learned as a society that two wrongs don't make a right? No man has the right to take the life of another man. Period. End of discussion!

Dr. George Tiller was hailed by pro-choice advocates as a hero, who had "generosity of spirit, resolute determination" and his "commitment to serving women has a reach far beyond his Wichita, Kansas clinic. His mantra was 'trust women,' and he demonstrated that belief everyday."

Perhaps that trust went a bit too far. As one of his former employees describes it, "in over 95% of these babies, and it's probably more than that, there was nothing wrong with those babies at all—nothing—and these were third trimester abortions." 3rd trimester. These could be preemies. How many of us know and love someone who was born a month, a month and a half, early? How many of us were preemies ourselves who could have been lost under an abortionist's knife? In how many of these cases was the mother's life in no harm?

Scott Roeder didn't see George Tiller as a hero. He saw this man as a murderer and his OWN role was not to protect the unborn by campaigning to criminalize abortion, but rather by playing God himself. He played judge, jury, and executioner and carried out the sentence in Tiller's place of worship.

Should Roeder be punished for what he did? Yes, yes he should. He should spend the rest of his life behind bars, cut off from the outside world where he can no longer influence other extremists to act.

But the killing stops now.

Voices from our feminist foremothers

Found at Feminists for Life:

Elizabeth Cady Stanton
She classified abortion as a form of "infanticide." The Revolution, 1(5):1, February 5, 1868

"When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."
Letter to Julia Ward Howe, October 16, 1873, recorded in Howe's diary at Harvard University Library

"There must be a remedy even for such a crying evil as this. But where shall it be found, at least where begin, if not in the complete enfranchisement and elevation of women?"
The Revolution, 1(10):146-7 March 12, 1868

Victoria Woodhull

The first female presidential candidate was a strong opponent of abortion.

"The rights of children as individuals begin while yet they remain the foetus."
Woodhull's and Claflin's Weekly 2(6):4 December 24, 1870

"Every woman knows that if she were free, she would never bear an unwished-for child, nor think of murdering one before its birth."
Wheeling, West Virginia Evening Standard, November 17, 1875