Thursday, November 09, 2006

Not Too Proud A Californian


My daughter is a senior in high school. She carries over the counter pain medication in a small pill case in her backpack because, if she gets a headache during the day, no one at school is allowed to give her so much as one aspirin. I couldn’t even get on the phone with a teacher or administrator at school and say, “Hey, will you give her two Aleve?” No can do. They cannot dispense medication to a minor, period. For who knows how that medication might harm the child?

However, thanks to the election on Tuesday, any minor girl in California who wants an abortion can have one without the parents ever even being notified. Forget parental consent. We’re talking mere notification. Proposition 85, which called for parental notification, was defeated about 55% to 45%.

How illogical is this? A girl can’t be given aspirin, but she can undergo an invasive out-patient procedure in a clinic. One that has far more potential to cause her physical (not to mention emotional) damage than an aspirin.

Ads against Prop 85 showed an apparent loving mother telling us she knew if her daughter was pregnant, the girl would come to her and talk. But many girls “don’t have that kind of relationship with their parents.” At that point in the ad, background noise switched to yelling voices and breaking glass. The ad ended with urging voters to “think outside their bubble” and vote no.

Do voters really fall for that kind of spin?

Maybe some. But I tend to think it’s simply a part of the rigidity of pro-abortionists. (No, I will not call them by their fave moniker, “pro-choice.” They are pro getting rid of fetuses that grow into full-term babies.) Pro-abortionists don’t want anything that, in their view, encroaches on total rights to an abortion by anyone at any time. Logic doesn’t matter.

To be fair, I could be called rigid, too. I’m rigid in believing that the fetuses have a right to live and grow. In all the spin about girls in abusive households who might come to harm, and women who might die if abortion was outlawed, nobody on the pro-abortionist side talks about the thousands, millions of fetuses who absolutely, positively DO die every year.

Forensics and Faith has never been a political blog, and I’m not going to turn it into one. Tomorrow we shall return to talking about writing and the writing life, and I’m sure many of you will breathe a sigh of relief. But I’m speaking up today and saying--I'm angry. And I’m sad. Sad for California. Sad for our whole country.

Before my daughter left for school, I asked her if she still had enough aspirin in her backpack. Wouldn't want her to run out.

25 comments:

Bonnie S. Calhoun said...

I think this is where my mother comes in and says, "We're going to hell in a handbasket!"

Anonymous said...

I know this isn't about politics, but it is about life. Please explain this to me: how is it that the pro-abortionists are so concerned about our soldiers getting killed in Iraq but could care less about the slaughter of millions of unborn children? And we're supposed to believe they give a rip about the soldiers' lives? I don't think so.
Feel free to delete this, Brandilyn, if I came on too strong, but this is precisely how I feel about it?

Anonymous said...

I agree with you, Brandilyn! I absolutely agree! And we are not talking politics - we're talking God's commandments!

batgirl said...

Makes me angry too, Brandilyn. Makes me say, "come Lord Jesus, Come."

Jerome said...

We are headed in the wrong direction, culturally. And I don't see an end in sight. I had hoped with President Bush in the White House and a republican congress that we could make some head-way. And we did a little with some conservative judges appointed to the federal bench and the supreme court. But the window is now closed and we're probably one vote short on the supreme court of the reversal of Roe v. Wade. The partial birth abortion act is currently before the supreme court. The ruling on the constitutionality of that act will tell us a lot about the leanings of the supreme court. As Christians, we must continue to make our voices heard in the political arena.

Eden said...

I'm right in there with you Brandilyn! Our nation is going downhill and is slowing losing the blessings that God gave it when our nation was a "baby". I'm angry at how our nation is becoming more evil by the day, and it saddens me that my little Olyvia will grow up in a world that is steadily becoming more evil! Sometimes, Steve and I ask each other "do we really want to have any more children?".

Unknown said...

In my state, we can't even send the ibuprofen to school with our kids. They might change it out for something else! That's the fear. So when my teen calls me, with a headache or cramps, I must drive up to the school, ibuprofen in hand, and administer it to my daughter myself. UGH

Southern-fried Fiction said...

When I was a lobbyist for Christian Coalition of NY, we worked to get a parental notification bill passed. It failed.

In NY, a school nurse could take a child across state lines to get an abortion in another state ... all without her parents knowing. More than one teenager died because of it.

If anyone else took a kid across stateb lines without the parent knowing, it'd be called kidnapping.

Go figure.

Ernie W. said...

Oregon also failed to pass the "parental notification" bill. Those that are pro-abortionists seem to have only one care--their own ideals--forget the yount teen; forget the un-born fetus;and please don't ever let a parent be a part of their daughter's life. It's a sad day for this issue.

Susanne said...

I so agree with you, Brandilyn. The scripture: "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (from Romans)

It's going the same direction in Canada, in some ways even "looser" than the States. We do have a conservative gov't now and we just pray they can make some headway into get back to common sense!

Susanne said...

oops that should have said "The scripture.....became fools" COMES TO MIND. Sorry I must need another coffee.

~ Brandilyn Collins said...

Remember years ago when the abortion debate centered around whether or not the fetus represented "life?" With the medicine of today, knowing that DNA is fully present from conception, from photos of babies in the womb, etc., that argument has long gone out the window. That's when the pro-abortionists switched to the argument revolving around "choice."

I saw the attorney for that controversial doc in Kansas on TV last night. The attorney was being asked about these late-term abortions his client is performing, supposedly because the mother is depressed. The attorney kept insisting the issue was what the mother with mental health issues "chose" to do in her "difficult" situation. Never, never anything about the baby--and in these cases, we're talking about babies that would be viable outside the womb.

Unknown said...

I wouldn't have my two sons if their mothers had aborted them. I wouldn't give them up for anything! Yep! and it's a BIG basket.

Anonymous said...

BC, I spent last week in Vegas for a trade show, and I've seen what America aspires to be. We will always be in the minority and cannot vote our way out of it. Be strong and focus on His will. You're not alone, though it may feel like it more often than not.

Rebecca LuElla Miller said...

I naively thought we'd pass it this year because we were so close last time. At first blush, it looks like a mystery that people who call for the most severe punishment for abandoning babies in trash bins, who go farther and set aside property in order to protect an endangered mouse can disdain the life of an unborn baby.

The thing is, the issue is not really about life. It IS about choice. They want to choose because they want control of their lives, not God. They do not want to submit to His moral authority.

But here's the thing. Reprehensible governmental decisions are not new. Jesus lived under the corruption of Rome, and He made it clear that His kingdom was not about making changes in the government.

How are we, then, to live? That's the real question.


Becky

Eden said...

Brandilyn, thank you for all the suggestions of books to read! I love trying out new writers. Free books!! that's always nice! I like many a genre, I bounce all over the place. lol Have a great day!

D. Gudger said...

BC, I'm devestated to hear about what happened in CA. The whole abortion issue looks different to me, an infertile woman who NEVER had a chance to concieve. My repro system never worked. My husband and I waited for 5 years for Kyle to come into our lives. 5 years, b/c in Colorado (this is what our social worker told us)there are at least 10 couples for every murdered baby. KYle was born on our 8th anniversary - March 14, 2006.

Kyle's birthmom was under a lot of pressure to kill him. There are Christians out there who would, after hearing her circumstances, condone a choice to abort. Instead, she chose to carry him and seek help. After looking at dozens of profiles of childless families, she chose John and I. My best friend and her hubby are waiting now after seven miscarriages - two from IVF.

I know our world is fallen. It really hurts to see pregnant women choose to murder what I long to hold and cherish.

Pat said...

Yeah Brandilyn! You go girl! I'm always amazed at the (lack of) logic of the left. Your other commenters have pointed out some of it--environmentalism that puts animals and insects above human life; the "travesty" of war deaths (which are so far below WWII they can't be compared); the school health issues; ad nauseum... I get a headache even trying to understand them. Maybe your next book can shed on Light on the subject. You have the platform...

~ Brandilyn Collins said...

Darcie, I discuss abortion theoretically. You talk about it personally. You bring a name, a situation, personal tears to the issue. And to my own eyes as I read your story. Thank you so much for speaking up.

Anonymous said...

Personally speaking before knowing our Lord, I had an abortion after getting pregnant right after my first child was born. I was too embarrassed to ask for birth control. I was sick my entire first pregnancy, vomiting for 8 months with little relief. Second pregnancy began the with same vomiting, and I had an infant to try to care for. My husband and I were selfish and immature, and long story short, I had an abortion. Now I will have to face in heaven the little child I killed in my stupid ignorance when I believed that precious child was just "a bunch of cells". Forgive me, Jesus, and I know He has.

That was my first marriage which failed but did leave me with a beautiful son who now serves the Lord along with his lovely wife and our three grandchildren all in love with Jesus and serving Him. My second husband and I were saved after marrying, and God in his infinite mercy granted us a son together who serves the Lord with passion.

How great is our God considering how great is my sin.

Please forgive me for signing as Anonymous.

~ Brandilyn Collins said...

Anonymous, ALL our sins are great before the Lord. And all His forgiveness is greater, indeed.

You are loved. Thank you for telling us your story.

C.J. Darlington said...

Echoing Brandilyn. You are totally loved. Anonymous, thanks so much for having the boldness to share. It doesn't matter what you sign your name. Your story is still very real.

EditingSarah said...

I just finished Prophet by Peretti. I've read the book I'm not sure how many times, it's still wonderful.

I'm very physically disabled. I would love to have a family of my own one day, but I don't know what God has for me.

Dineen A. Miller said...

Anonymous,
Your story brought tears to my eyes. How great is our God! I'm so grateful you've come to know him and KNOW you are forgiven. God's saving grace is miraculous.

I'm heatsick that this bill got voted down. Our society is spiraling down. Scripture tells us this will happen, but that doesn't make it any less painful, or shocking.

Jenny said...

Though in Arizona, I am crying with you all. It seems that Arizona is just one election behind CA so I fear for my state as well.
You know, if someone chose to rob a bank and then got caught with the money, he/she wouldn't be able to just hand it back--no marks on his permanent record. He/she would have to face the responsiblity of that choice.
What the pro-abortionists tend to forget is in most cases, the woman has already made the choice when she slept with the man. That is where the choice is made. I am not talking about abusive behavior--the majority of babies aborted are not from abusive beginings but rather from teen-aged girls who have been taught that abortion is a right and who will suffer so much more after trying to make the problem go away.
When I was pregant with my first, I was offered an abortion. I could not do it though at the time I thought it would make things less hard. And things were very hard and stayed that way for some time. But God is good and merciful and will never leave you (or me) nor forsake us. I have never regrreted my decision to keep my daughter--she is Scripture come alive--And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) When my own flesh craved, Satan danced, but God brought me through and blessed me. Perhaps, somehow, He will work good through this awful vote and truth will be revealed--Please Lord, hear our prayer.

Abundant blessings,
Jenny Cary