Yes, Virginia, there are such things as pro-life atheists.

There are few things more frustrating sometimes than to be non-religious and pro-life. 

Yes, I realize the religion thing is a choice, but if I don't feel the faith in my heart then it's just going through the motions.  I'm not closing myself completely off from the idea of religion--I'm still something of a 'seeker', seeing what's out there and what I feel called to.  For now, it's just not there.  And I'm not going to be like one of the many Catholics in my state whose beliefs directly contradict those of the Church in terms of things like contraception and marriage equality.  Whatever I decide on (if anything), I don't intend to half-ass it.

But I digress.

In the meantime, being agnostic and liberal means that the assumption is typically made that I am also pro-abortion.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I'm anti-war and anti-capital punishment (though I wasn't always), and being pro-life just seems to be the most natural extension of that.  I'm also in favor of universal health care, marriage equality, comprehensive sex-ed, and I don't have a moral opposition to contraception.  So, yes, I tend to vote Democrat.

I'm going extinct.

"If human beings don’t respect human life, we descend rather quickly to a world where the biggest and meanest get to make all the rules."

 I don't want to live in that kind of world.  Do you?

40 years of death

Forty years ago today was the infamous Roe v. Wade decision.

Here are four women who decided that the children were more than just "products of conception": http://www.feministsforlife.org/news/four-women.htm.  And I'm hoping those numbers grow!


In other news, Planned Parenthood is no longer calling themselves 'pro-choice'.  They appear to be claiming some kind of moral gray area exists.  I don't even have words for this.

Sometimes the man surprises

Hubby and I made tonight our date night, which these days means picking up a movie from Redbox and making dinner.  He likes various types of movies but I never saw him take interest in anything that could even remotely be considered a "chick flick".  Plus, he doesn't exactly share all of my views, particularly with regards to abortion.

So I was a bit surprised when he texted me with "So, I saw they had the movie October Baby, are you interested?"

I responded: "Yes.  You do know what it's about, right?"

"Yes, I read the synopsis.  Looked interesting!"

Could my husband be switching sides?  I'm crossing my fingers!

As of this posting, Maine, Maryland, and Washington have passed (by popular vote, a first!), the right of gays and lesbians to marry.

Congratulations to you all!

Upcoming elections

I have gone back and forth on the presidental race, not sure who to vote for.

My conscience will not allow me to support a candidate that does not support LGBT rights, nor can I in good faith vote for someone who does not have a consistent view on the sanctity of life.

Romney does not have a consistent view.  His stance on abortion changes depending on who he's talking to.  The only thing he's consistent about is his inconsistency.  Furthermore, he has given no indication that he will take steps to ensure that the other vulnerable among us (most notably the poor) are also protected.  I was as appalled as many others when he referred to 47% of the country as people little better than freeloaders.  He is out of touch with most of the country, period.

And yet there's Obama.  As a Democrat, he cannot be counted on to be pro-life.  Very few Democrats are openly so, I don't think they can even get party support without openly condoning the murder of the unborn.  And yet...he's made historically significant steps in making sure health care is available to all, and in acknowledging the need for equality for LGBT families. 

I don't believe that abortion will be ended through criminalization, but rather through a strengthening of the social safety net that ensures a safe world for every child to be born into.  I certainly don't trust the Libertarian party to maintain that safety net!  I used to identify as Libertarian, but I found it lacking in compassion.  We all have responsibilities towards each other and it is troubling to me that people would neglect that duty to their fellow man.  I've been accused of being a Socialist, but if that's true then Socialism has I think made me more compassionate.

Why gay rights matter to me

I went back and forth about whether or not I should post this. 

Ultimately, someone being GLBT does not affect me.  It makes no difference in my life if the two old ladies in my complex are life partners or just trying to stretch their Social Security checks by sharing a 1-bedroom unit.  Which restroom my waiter uses doesn't matter, as long as they wash their hands afterwards.

I have the luxury of being part of the status quo.  I am a woman married to a man.  Up until about a decade ago, in all fifty states this was the only legally recognized form of marriage.  There were other restrictions if you go further back--when President Obama was born, there were still states that didn't recognize his parents' marriage as being valid.  Now?  Interracial marriage is legal, and churches are still not required to perform interracial ceremonies (or mixed-faith ceremonies, or any other marriage they disapprove of). 

So people got comfortable.  They grew compliant.  They didn't think about their privilege.

And marriage is still considered the highest standard that all relationships should aspire to.  Just ask anyone who's still single after 30 and has parents pressing for grandchildren :). 

Yes, people who are against homosexual marriage are painted as bigots, intolerant, etc.  And it's hurtful.

But homosexuals face active discrimination, are assaulted for their sexuality, rejected by their families, forced into abusive conversion therapy that has been proven to nothing more than damage people.  Some like to pretend that they don't exist.  Homosexuals are compared to pedophiles and those who would have sex with animals.  Yes, really.

In some countries, homosexuality is punishable by death.  The American Family Association and Exodus International ACTIVELY WORKED TO GET BILLS PASSED IN UGANDA THAT WOULD CALL FOR THE EXECUTION OF HOMOSEXUALS.  Who supports the American Family Association?  Well, Dan Cathy of Chick-Fil-A, for starters.  Which puts the boycott in a whole new perspective.  Congress in 2010 considered a bill that would condemn this action.  The Family Research Council lobbied against it.

I acknowledge that it's frustrating to have your beliefs labeled as narrow-minded, bigoted, etc.  However, please consider the bigger picture.

The Distress of the Privileged.  Fantastic article.

Fried chicken and me

So in other news, Chick-Fil-A's founder is against gay marriage. This has led to blog postings, Facebook memes, and various other discussions on the topic. Oh, and boycotts. One of the fun things about being pro-life is that it's often assumed that I'm Catholic (I'm not), or some kind of fundamentalist Christian (no, but I wear the uniform sometimes), or that I vote Republican (uh, sometimes but I'm not a party-line voter).

My co-workers think I'm either some kind of uber-liberal snob because I thought "50 Shades of Grey" was a poorly-written piece of trash, or a conservative Christian because I dress modestly in the office and don't talk about getting wasted on the weekends. My more liberal friends assume I toe the same party line as them and my conservative friends think I'm a leftie wingnut.

Some days, a woman can't win :)

I do support gay marriage *gasp shock*. I hope the voters of Washington state pass R74 and set a precedent for the rest of the country. Well, actually, because I do view it as a civil right I don't think it should be left up to the democratic process--but 'extremists' like me don't get elected. Where I disagree with many liberals is that I also think churches should be allowed to say "no, we won't perform X ceremony because it goes against our beliefs". This is fine, this is within their rights and this is NOT A BAD THING. Do you want the government telling covens they have to allow everyone to dance naked in their circle who wants to, forcing Dianic groups to allow men, or that your occult group has to put a safety cover on their ritual sword?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

If you're not a member of that church, don't get all huffy and puffy about how they do things. If you are a member and you don't like how they are running things, vote with your feet. But do make the effort to understand where people are coming from. Conversion Diary has a very calm, rational explanation of the Catholic concept of Natural Law, for example. No, you don't have to agree! Just...read it. And think about it. Then go play Xbox or complain about me on your own blog.

However, from a civil perspective--there are over a thousand federal rights granted to married couples that are not given to same-sex couples.
 What harm does it do anyone if these rights are extended?
We do not have a limited number of rights. If my gay neighbors are able to get legally married, my husband and I aren't suddenly losing any of our own legally recognized rights. I don't have any good reason to not want to share these rights.

And I don't understand why people wouldn't want to share these rights either.