As I write this, the sun is setting for the final time on 2010. Personhood moved slowly forward this year. The ballot initiative in Colorado, Proposition 62, failed, but the number of yes votes increased significantly over the number of yes votes on a similar referendum in the 2008 election.
2011 will see another personhood amendment on the ballot in Mississippi, a state which has much more of a pro-life reputation than Colorado. Unfortunately, there is not a citizen ballot-initiative process here in Texas. Any constitutional amendment proposal must first come from the state legislature before appearing on our ballots.
The proper role of government is to protect the life, liberty, and property of each individual person. It is not up to the government to exclude any group of human beings from that protection, no matter that group's stage of development, age, race, ethnicity, religion, or disability. It is the mission of this blog to convince voters and officials that ALL human beings possess the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Happy 2011!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Christmas and Personhood
Looking back on this Christmas Eve morning, I realized that I started this blog exactly one year ago today. Throughout the past year, the frequency of blog posts varied, and that variation seemed to have a correlation to my level of disillusionment with the status quo in the pro-life movement.
From hearing the Christmas story this season, I am reminded that the first person on earth to recognize Jesus for who He was occurred when Jesus was still in the womb. And the person who recognized him was also still in the womb.
[39 ] In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, [40 ] and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. [41 ] And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, [42 ] and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [43 ] And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [44 ] For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. [45 ] And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
(Luke 1:39-45 ESV)
It's a beautiful story, and it is one of the most cited among those in the Christian pro-life movement. The personhood of children in the womb is illustrated with great clarity. Why so many people in this movement compromise with those on the other side and advocate allowing abortions in cases of rape or incest still escapes me. If a child in the womb is a person, then it is murder to kill that person, regardless of the manner in which that person was conceived. There seems to be a tremendous lack of reasoning in the general pro-life movement, and I believe that it is one of the reasons why the "legal" abortion industry is flourishing today.
Another problem in the pro-life movement is this perception among the general public that it is strictly a Christian movement. Even though I am a Christian, I recognize that the pro-life position and the Christian faith need not be so intertwined. The purpose of this blog is not to win people over to Christ. I'll let more qualified ministers and theologians write blogs for that. My main purpose here is to convince visitors to this page that neither the "pro-choice" nor the "pro-life with exceptions for rape and incest" positions have any logical, legal, or moral foundation.
We are fast approaching the 38th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade court decision. The perceived pro-life party, the Republican Party, has seemed impotent to eliminate legal abortions. Instead, they push through bills which further codify abortion into law. Abortionists can now, by statute in many states (and soon in Texas), kill babies after showing the mothers of those babies an ultrasound.
I no longer consider myself a Republican. Lately, I have chosen to affiliate myself with the local Libertarian Party, not because they have a strong pro-life platform (they don't), but because a fundamental change in the philosophy of government is needed. I have become convinced that the Republican Party will never part with their old conventional ways, and that such change is more likely from a third party. And it just so happens that my views on economic issues and on the intervention of government into the lives of individuals fits quite nicely with the positions of the Libertarian Party.
I'll have future blog posts on libertarianism and personhood and why libertarians should embrace personhood coming soon in the new year. Until then, Merry Christmas!
From hearing the Christmas story this season, I am reminded that the first person on earth to recognize Jesus for who He was occurred when Jesus was still in the womb. And the person who recognized him was also still in the womb.
[39 ] In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, [40 ] and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. [41 ] And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, [42 ] and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [43 ] And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [44 ] For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. [45 ] And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
(Luke 1:39-45 ESV)
It's a beautiful story, and it is one of the most cited among those in the Christian pro-life movement. The personhood of children in the womb is illustrated with great clarity. Why so many people in this movement compromise with those on the other side and advocate allowing abortions in cases of rape or incest still escapes me. If a child in the womb is a person, then it is murder to kill that person, regardless of the manner in which that person was conceived. There seems to be a tremendous lack of reasoning in the general pro-life movement, and I believe that it is one of the reasons why the "legal" abortion industry is flourishing today.
Another problem in the pro-life movement is this perception among the general public that it is strictly a Christian movement. Even though I am a Christian, I recognize that the pro-life position and the Christian faith need not be so intertwined. The purpose of this blog is not to win people over to Christ. I'll let more qualified ministers and theologians write blogs for that. My main purpose here is to convince visitors to this page that neither the "pro-choice" nor the "pro-life with exceptions for rape and incest" positions have any logical, legal, or moral foundation.
We are fast approaching the 38th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade court decision. The perceived pro-life party, the Republican Party, has seemed impotent to eliminate legal abortions. Instead, they push through bills which further codify abortion into law. Abortionists can now, by statute in many states (and soon in Texas), kill babies after showing the mothers of those babies an ultrasound.
I no longer consider myself a Republican. Lately, I have chosen to affiliate myself with the local Libertarian Party, not because they have a strong pro-life platform (they don't), but because a fundamental change in the philosophy of government is needed. I have become convinced that the Republican Party will never part with their old conventional ways, and that such change is more likely from a third party. And it just so happens that my views on economic issues and on the intervention of government into the lives of individuals fits quite nicely with the positions of the Libertarian Party.
I'll have future blog posts on libertarianism and personhood and why libertarians should embrace personhood coming soon in the new year. Until then, Merry Christmas!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)