Discouragement

For me, one of the most discouraging things about being pro-life is seeing what other people think of the abortion issue and how cavalier or celebratory they are with regards to issues surrounding the grossly misnamed "reproductive freedom" issue. I just can't understand how someone, even someone who supports abortion in most cases, can be happy about the fact that abortions occur at all. Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, is it not a tragedy when someone decides that they aren't able or don't want to help their own family live? Mom's having abortions because they can't afford their children, or because they found themselves in a situation where they don't want to be attached to the father, or because their family or partner is not supportive of any choice other than abortion, or because they aren't given the resources necessary to raise a special needs child.

The fact that abortion happens is not a good thing. This is our culture refusing to help mothers and children in need, and pushing a "quick fix" solution towards moms who find themselves in less than ideal circumstances. The existence of abortion is a tragedy.

Which is why things like this make me so sad:

Free abortion for all women - yay!! This isn't about killing our children, no, this is about having freedom! This isn't about helping women and children escape their circumstances, no, this is about having rights! 

How do you convince people that they support something that has caused the deaths of billions of people? How have we gotten to the point where this is even something that has to be done?

Sometimes this world is just so discouraging.

At least things like this really highlight how necessary it is for those of us who are pro-life to speak up and engage our peers. It can be so difficult to do sometimes, but it is so, SO necessary!

China's War on Women: Quotes from the Culture of Death

I was browsing through the Women's Rights Without Frontiers website, when I came across the video below, where activist Reggie Littlejohn discusses the effect forced abortions and sterilizations have had on Chinese women.

What I wanted to highlight were the comments on this video; most of the recent comments are supportive of these practices. Reading them, it just made me realize the strength of the aptly-called "culture of death" in our society. That the same people who cry "Respect A Woman's Right to Choose" can come out in favor of brutally forcing women to abort wanted children just boggles the mind. I wrote yesterday about how depressing the abortion debate can be, and today it is just more depressing than ever. I never thought pro-lifers would have to argue against forced abortions.

Emphasis in the comments below is my own:

"Somebody needs to control the rabid infestation that is Chinamen and women. Its either they die this way or grow up in poverty and die of starvation. Leaving this horny population unchecked will create far more problems than having a women be punished for breaking the law. Its tough, but you should of realized that before you went and got pregnant for the nth time."
-LOLURCATS

"First you have to understand the overpopulation problem in China"
-royalsociety97

"load of crap"
-minimouse0285

"[...] The reality is for a long time China has [had] trouble maintaining it's enormous population. Unfortunately [people] don't understand the situation in China, and how bad overpopulation is over there. If China revoked it's one child policy and allow the [population] to grow out of control, there is no way this can be sustained. As a Chinese national I don't like this policy either. But unfortunately there are no other options available."
"... millions of people will starve to death. Just look at how bad it is over in India. Their population has exploded and have grew to rival China. Poverty grips the country more than any other place with millions starving to death every year. But at least they don't have any forced abortions. I wonder if this woman would still be talking about being pro life and condemning all the forced abortions if millions of people in China start starving because of overpopulation problems?"
-barbiquearea

"Blah, blah, blah. The fact is these women are not following the LAW.
Follow the law and they would not be forced to abort. 7,000,000,000 is too many people on this Planet. China is overpopulated - there are not enough resources, nor is there an adequate distribution system to adequately supply food, medicine, etc to the millions of poor people. Why should a child be born and then forced to starve? That is absolute cruelty. Better to abort than to starve ... it to death."

"... Forced violence? The fetus has no clue, dude.
You would rather the child be born and then starve to death, or die from disease? That is not compassionate or intelligent. That makes absolutely no sense.
Death from starvation. Yep, that's the answer (end sarcasm).
Overpopulation is a reality. The grace of god is NOT."
"... China is doing the right thing in limiting population growth. [...] Go out [and] MULTIPLY (fuck like rats) until there are no resources left to sustain us? What a JERK. You are blinded by Bible darkness and superstition. Grow up..."

-Jacob12Rivers

"I don't agree how they do it but I do agree that there needs to be a limit of how many children a family can have."
"I think that there should be a max of 2 children per family everywhere. One day this earth will be over populated. There needs to be a limit or I fear it will be the end of our species.
-FutureScience2012

"don't want a one child policy? don't want forced abortions? stop fucking breeding."
-CowieMooCowo87

"[They] need to follow the rules. There is a real need to limit the birth rate in these areas. You are a bleeding-heart. If they followed the rules, there would be no need to force them to practice self-control and use protection. You are a stupid woman. You need to see the bigger picture."
"SO true. OVERPOPULATION is no joke. When there are tough financial times, humans will kill to survive. We need to limit the birth rate world wide."
-angie0009able

"[They] are NOT following the rules. If kids are born and there is overcrowding, shortages of resources including food, water, medical care and the children become [malnourished], sick and die; who is responsible? They know the rules and they selfishly ignore them.

The one-child rule was adopted for a reason. Stop being a religious moron."
"But what happens when we reach critical mass?
What happens when there is a serious problem that damages or disrupts the food chain?
You do know there are starving children around the world, because of food shortages, don't you.
Food resources are NOT plentiful. That's one reason why China has adopted the one-child policy. You need to get your head out of the sand and face reality. There aren't enough jobs now for people everywhere. This is one we are seeing protests and chaos."
-marcusbronson

"I see the problem with forced abortions, which can be a real psychic torture to some women, but someone mind telling me what's the problem with forced sterilization?

After you get 1 or 2 children forced sterilization can only be right..."
-UNNAM3D82

You can read a good analysis on the acceptance of forced abortion from LifeNews: "Pro-Abortion Groups Still Unfazed by Forced Abortions in China"

Relevant quote (emphasis my own):

"Investigations of population control policies reveal an invisible hand of Western elites.  Great Britain recently gave $268 million to India even after being warned that the program commits mass coerced sterilizations.  UNFPA, whose grants paid for training and equipment like computers to calculate birth quotas, praised China’s one-child policy.  Gill Greer, director of IPPF, which includes the China Family Planning Association as a member, said adopting the population 'policy is very conducive to China’s development.'"

Read another great analysis from The National Post: "Chen Guangcheng, China's One Child Policy, and Abortion's Slippery Slope"