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"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." Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Many people argue that Mary is just the personification of every stereotypical "feminine" attribute that Old White Men want all women to have (she has been called "weak", "submissive", "too pure", etc.).
Right.
If you think a young girl defying the norms, facing social stigma and false accusations of fornication, and risking the dissolution of her betrothal is "weak" and "submissive", you have another thing coming. Besides, how exactly is a Queen submissive and weak?
As for the purity accusation, what exactly is so wrong with being pure anyway?
"But she just did what God asks, that's not strong!" you say.
Well, in case you haven't noticed, EVERYONE is called to do what God asks. What is impressive is when we actually have the strength of will to do so, in spite of social or familial pressures.
One other thing to note is that Jesus (i.e.: God Himself) obeyed her at the Wedding at Cana.
And if you want to know about other awesome women who are honoured by the Church, look no farther than the Saints.
Mary and some Saints just hanging out being friends.
Once you're done, tell me again how my Church hates women. If you can say it with a straight face.
...
Also: I AM A WOMAN. I AM A (really awful) CATHOLIC. I DO NOT HATE MYSELF.
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
"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.'"
A pro-choice friend of mine has been busy posting articles and videos on the much-maligned "war on women" by the GOP. Usually, I find the stuff she posts pretty annoying (I'm sure she thinks the same thing about my pro-life posts), but I actually found this video pretty interesting. Basically, its a bunch of women quoting some prominent Republicans and their supporters. They end the video with a snappy,
"Women will out-vote men by 10 million.
You might want to keep that in mind.
We're Women.
We Vote."
Besides the first comment about aspirin (gross), and the Ann Coulter quote (seriously - ugh), I didn't really have a problem with any of quotes used as evidence that the Republican party is involved in a "war" against women. So, lets deal with the rest of these quotes, shall we?
"Forcing women to have an ultrasound before an abortion is justified because they already made the decision to be vaginally penetrated when they got pregnant." -Republican Lawmaker
Well, when people say stupid shit like this its no wonder pro-choicers went crazy and claimed that ultrasound laws are government-sanctioned rape. However, those who believe that this is the best reason that lawmakers can come up with in support of ultrasound legislation have clearly not done their research. There is no "negative" in requiring both that ultrasounds be done before an abortion, and that the mother should be allowed to see the ultrasound should she ask. It ensures both safety and informed consent. See my rant about informed consent here. See a pro-choicer's take on the rhetoric surrounding ultrasound legislation here (to quote a key paragraph: "I have considerable concerns about what calling these ultrasounds 'rape' and 'unnecessary' will mean for abortion patients and providers. The reality is that most abortion patients do receive an ultrasound to date their pregnancies [...] the transvaginal ultrasound is a useful and common tool that helps providers perform abortions safely and well."). See this article from the Ottawa Citizen about a women who had just undergone an abortion (another key quote: "Anna asked what the fetus looked like and could she see the ultrasound. She said, 'The technician told me she was not allowed to show me the images and I was unable to see the screen' [...] Bu that's exactly what Anna did want."). In my opinion, the main reason that pro-abortion leaders galvanize pro-choicers against this type of legislation is that the majority of mothers who view their unborn child in an ultrasound decide to keep their baby. Who cares about informed consent or safety when women are deciding to keep their children?
"The agenda of Planned Parenthood includes sexualizing young girls through the Girl Scouts." - Reb. Bob Morris
Well, the connection between Planned Parenthood and the Girl Scouts is pretty well-established. Whether they are sexualizing young girls or not really depends on your opinion of what constitutes appropriate sexual health. But this article from Secular Pro-Life is a great spring-board to do some research on the issue - you can go through the comments to find tonnes of links to more information, including the "Healthy, Happy, and Hot" PP brochure that has apparently been handed out at several GS events. Either way, from the controversy surrounding the PP and GS connection, its easy to see why Rep. Bob Morris said what he said.
"The vast majority of abortions are matters of lifestyle convenience." -VA State Del. Tod Gilbert
This one makes me laugh, because it is, quite frankly, very true. Just take a look at this table from the Guttmacher Institute on reasons why women seek abortions. Or you can read through this blog post which summarizes the stats. The most common reason women choose abortions (in both 1987 and 2004)? They aren't ready for a(nother) child. If that's not a matter of lifestyle convenience, I don't know what is.
"A woman impregnated through rape should accept that horribly-created gift, the gift of human life. Accept what God has given you and make the best of a bad situation." -Rick Santorum
Frankly, I'm sick of the "rape" card. It is incredibly hateful. It trivializes the experiences of all those who have been raped, and it hurts those children who were conceived and born through rape. To really put a face to the issue, go here and read about Rebecca Kiessling, an attorney and pro-life speaker who was conceived through rape. Here is a quick excerpt of what she has to say: "Please understand that whenever you identify yourself as being 'pro-choice,' or whenever you make that exception for rape, what that really translates into is you being able to stand before me, look me in the eye, and say to me, 'I think your mother should have been able to abort you' [...] 'If I had my way, you'd be dead right now.'" I doubt that the lady quoting Rick Santorum could walk up to Rebecca and say that to her face, and yet, by the insinuation that pro-lifers are at war against women because we believe that those conceived through rape are just as worthy of life and love as those conceived through consensual sex, that is exactly what she is saying.
"Why should the government force you to insure for contraceptives. Are they going to have us have to insure for toothpaste? I mean, this is ridiculous." -Rudy Giuliani
Yup, I agree. And the issue isn't insuring for contraceptives, its being forced to. If you want to read some Catholic's perspectives, go here, and especially go to the Patheos blog Bad Catholic. Marc is pretty hilarious and does a decent job demonstrating why religious institutions understand the contraceptive mandate to be a war against religious freedom and not a women's issue. You can start with his first post, and go from there.
"If we're going to pay for you to have contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want you to post the videos online, so we can all watch." -Rush Limbaugh
Ah, the infamous remarks from Rush Limbaugh, which I believe he has since apologized for. Good for him, and good for the media for pressuring him to apologize for saying such things. Woot! Looks like we're a culture that won't take mysoginist crap from anybody, right? Oh wait.
And to summarize the point of this passionate little video:
"The GOP must have a serious problem with women."
Well, two can play that game. Read over the last link I posted from Michelle Malkin. The point she makes, and something that should be obvious to anyone that does not have an agenda, is that the mainstream left has an equally bad, if not worse, track record in their treatment of women from the opposition. To quote, "Self-serving opponents argue that such attacks to not represent 'respectable,' 'mainstream' liberal opinion about their conservative female counterparts. But it was feminist godmother Gloria Steinem who called Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison a "female impersonator." It was NOW leader Patricia Ireland who commanded her flock to only vote for "authentic" female political candidates." ..." etc. Reading through the entire article, it becomes obvious that this so-called "war on women" is being fought on both sides of the US political spectrum. So is the issue really Republican vs. Democrat? Or is it a political culture that focuses only on snappy rhetoric, shallow scandals, and orchestrated controversy?
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."
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..."
"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.
"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?
-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"