Monday, October 12, 2015

Abortion and Gun Violence



I saw this infographic on a friend's Facebook page and was kind of taken aback by it. I am used to seeing liberals voicing their opinions on support of gun control and being against the 2nd Amendment while ironically also voicing their support for abortion all the way up until the moment of birth, but I had never seen the two used together.

I look at the Abortion issue from a scientific and logical human rights point of view. Most people just simply look at it as a religious issue. Yes, the pro-life view does have roots in the teachings of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, but science says WAY more about the issue than those religions do.

Before I start analyzing this graphic, I want to define some of the terms I use and explain beforehand what exactly science says about abortion. Scott Klusendorf states that "The science of embryology is clear. From the earliest stages of development, the unborn are distinct , living, and whole human beings. Therefore, every "successful" abortion ends the life of a living human being. Leading Embryology Text books confirm this (TW Sadler's "Langman's Embryology", Keith L. Moore's "The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology", and Ronand O’Rahilly and Fabiola Muller’s “Human Embryology and Teratology.“ Just to name a few)" (1).


In his textbook, Keith L. More writes, "[The zygote], formed by the union of an oocyte and a sperm, is the beginning of a new human being." (2).

World renowned Genetics professor at the University of Descartes, Dr Jerome LeJeune writes, "After fertilization has taken place a new human being has come into being. [It] is no longer a matter of taste or opinion...it is plain experimental evidence. Each individual has a very neat beginning, at conception."

Dr Robert P. George, Award winning McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, states: "These facts are stubborn; there is no running away from them. Human embryos are not creatures different in kind from human beings (like rocks, or potatoes, or alligators). They are, rather,human beings - distinct living members of the species Homo Sapiens - at the earliest stage of their natural development. They differ from human beings at later developmental stages not in virtue of the kind of entity they are, but rather by degree of development"

In 1981 the United States Congress held the Subcommittee on Separation of Powers to Senate Judiciary Committee, where the issue of when human life begins was discussed. Congress had several expert testimonies on the matter. The subcommittee's report concluded that "Physicians, biologist, and other scientists agree that conception marks the beginning of the life of a human being - a being that is alive and is a member of the Human Species. There is overwhelming agreement on this point in countless medical, biological, and scientific writings."
Among those who testified were:
Harvard University Medical School professor Micheline Matthews-Roth stated: "It is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life begins at conception". As well as Dr. Watson A. Bowes from the University of Colorado Medical Center who said: "The beginning of a single human life is from a biological point of view a simple and straightforward matter - the beginning is conception" 

Those scientific expert testimonies from textbooks only scratch the surface of what science says about when human life begins. According to these sources, life begins at conception, thus, every abortion unjustly takes the life of of an innocent human being. These human beings killed in abortion are just as much human as you and I are. Therefore, logically and scientifically, killing someone through abortion is no different than someone killing a newborn, someone who is two years old, ten years old, twenty years old, or eighty years old. 

NOW, on to analyzing the graphic. First of all, the infographic begs the question that abortion is simply a medical procedure and that it doesn't kill an innocent human being. We know from what science tells us that abortion DOES in fact take the life of an innocent human being. It also begs the question that everyone who buys a gun is doing so with the purpose of killing innocent people.


The graphic states:

"How about we treat every young man who wants to buy a gun like every woman who wants to get an abortion - mandatory 48 hour waiting period, parental permission, a note from his doctor proving he understands what he is about to do, a video he has to watch about the effects of gun violence, an ultrasound wand up the ass (just because)."

The 48 hour waiting period in some states is in place to give the woman more time to think about and research the life-ending procedure they are considering. This isn't comparable to someone buying a gun. Simply buying a gun does not end a life. The purpose of buying a gun isn't to end someones life, but the purpose of getting an abortion is to end someones life.

The parental permission line is only applicable to someone who is underage. And this isn't even required in a lot of states. I agree that a minor who is buying a gun should have their parents permission, just like they have to have it to do various other things. Although I do think it is insane and illogical to require a minor to have parental permission to get advil from a school nurse, yet not have parental permission to have a highly invasive surgery.

I honestly don't have any idea what the line about the guy having a note from his doctor means. Ive never heard of any woman considering an abortion having to do that. My friends who have had abortions didn't have to do that.

Abortion facilities are required by law to show their patients an ultrasound of what their child looks like before an abortion is performed. Sadly though, this isn't done most of the times. I have had friends who have had abortions who were never shown an ultrasound. In some cases they even lie to their patients about what the ultrasound shows. I had a friend in high school and college that had that happen to her.  Once again, the logic of comparing an ultrasound viewing to forcing a gunman to watch a video about gun violence is terribly flawed. The reason women are shown an ultrasound is to allow them to see that their child is very much alive, has a heartbeat, and is human, this is to persuade them not to get an abortion. Surprisingly, according to a 2011 poll, up to 78% of women who are considering abortions who view an ultrasound of their child choose not to abort. A person who buys a gun isn't buying it to go and do violent shootings.  In fact, there are approximately 270 million gun owners in the US, the overwhelming majority of the owners do not kill people. One thing that I think people who advocate for strict gun control don't get is that these people are criminals, they, by their very label, do not abide by laws. No amount of gun control is going to stop people from being killed by guns.

The graphic says that people who want to buy a gun should have an ultrasound wand put pup their ass. Whoever wrote this obviously has no idea how an ultrasound machine works. The wand is never inserted inside anyone. I suggest they put some thought and research into their argument before making absurd statements like that.


The graphic goes on to state:

"Lets close down all but one gun shop in every state and make him travel hundreds of miles, take time off work, and stay overnight in a strange town to get a gun. Make him walk through a gauntlet of people holding photos of loved ones who were shot to death, people who call him a murderer and beg him not to buy a gun"

Again, there is no comparison here. The vast majority of people who own guns do not kill people, but abortion does kill a person.  That is why there are now less than 739 abortion facilities in the US. Pro-Life people believe that killing innocent human beings is wrong, thats why they want to shut down these facilities. Every day in the US, over 3,000 innocent human beings are killed from abortion.

As for the line about people having to walk through groups of people with pictures of loved ones killed by gun violence, this just isn't a reasonable comparison either. Once again, the vast majority of people who buy guns do not kill people. It would make sense to make someone contemplating homocide to see pictures of loved ones killed from gun violence. The people who hold up pictures outside of abortion facilities are  holding up signs of children that are killed by abortion. Many of the people that I know who protest outside of abortion clinics have either had abortions themselves or have had loved ones who have had them. They are begging people not to allow their children to be killed. Every day in the US, over 3,000 innocent human beings are killed from abortion.

The line about people calling the person a murderer is also false logic. As I have stated many times, the vast majority of gun owners in the US do not kill people. Also, calling a woman who gets an abortion a murderer isn't an accurate comparison either. The person who is actually doing the killing is the abortion doctor. The woman simply pays him to kill another human being. Calling the woman a murderer is both false and hurtful. Most pro-life people don't do that. Being pro-life means being compassionate and loving towards the women getting abortions. In fact, there is a growing movement of people in the pro-life movement who do counseling outside the abortion facilities. They talk to the women and give them information about ALL the choices they have. They give them information about FREE pregnancy centers, adoption, counseling, etc. I am friends with the president and founder of Sidewalk Advocates For Life, a non-profit that exists solely to help women know all of their choices. These amazing women dedicate their life to helping women who are considering abortion. Many of them help find financial support for the women if they choose to not abort their child.


The final lines of the graphic state:
It makes more sense to do this with young men and guns than with women and healthcare, right? I mean, no woman getting an abortion has killed a room full of people in seconds, right?

The logical answer to this is no. As I have repeated in this post, the vast majority of people in the US who own guns are not killers. But all women who get abortions are paying to kill an innocent human being. Abortion is in no shape, form, or fashion, in any sense of the word, healthcare. Healthcare, according to Merriam Webster is "the maintaining and restoration of health by the treatment and prevention of disease especially by trained and licensed professionals". Scientifically speaking, Abortion is the act of ending a human life. This is the complete opposite of healthcare.

Overall, this infographic defies logic, science, truth , and common sense. It is completely idiotic.


Since 1973 there have been 524,278 deaths from gun violence, and over 54,559,615 deaths from abortion. That is approximately 104 times as many deaths. Abortion has claimed the lives of over 9 times that of the Jewish Holocaust. If people REALLY cared about saving lives, they would also be against abortion.

Don't get me wrong, gun violence is awful. I am in no way downplaying the tragedy of those killed by guns. I believe there should be some gun control. But the overwhelming majority of gun control laws do nothing to stop criminals from obtaining guns, but instead affect the 270 million law-abiding gun owners in the US. I do not own a gun, but, living in the south, almost everyone I know owns a gun. All of them own them for either hunting or for protection of themselves or their families.

On the note of comparing abortion to mass shootings and murders:

I have seen conservatives use situations like school shootings to talk about abortion. I admit that I see their logic in doing this, and have been guilty of doing this in the past, and I also see how it can be insensitive. I think Josh Brahm, president of Equal Rights Institute, does a good job of explaining it.

"Put simply, 9/11 is one of the most unforgettable acts of violence we’ve seen live on TV. Yet, every time September 11 rolls around, I watch dozens of well-meaning pro-life people post Facebook statuses like this:
“2,977 people died on 9/11. 3,300 babies are killed every day in abortion facilities. Why does everyone get so upset about the former and not the latter?” 

People won’t take your moral views seriously if it seems like your moral compass is broken. They won’t have a reason to believe your moral compass is properly functioning if you are unable to authentically acknowledge the horror of other mass killings.

Pro-choice people look at the 9/11 Facebook status above and think, “Of course we get so upset about 2,977 people dying! And we should! It was horrific! And we watched it on the news! Why can’t you see how horrible 9/11 is?” 

Don’t miss this point: I’ve (almost) never heard a pro-life person actually say that we shouldn’t mourn those other tragedies. But what they say comes across to many people as devaluing one tragedy to elevate the one issue they care most about. I think some pro-life individuals just need help expressing the grief they already feel about other human rights violations."



Sources:
1. Scott Klusendorf (2009) "The Case for Life"
TW Sadler (2014) "Langman's Embryology"
 Keith L. Moore (2011) "The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology"
Ronand O’Rahilly and Fabiola Muller (2001) “Human Embryology and Teratology"
2. Keith L. Moore (2012) "Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology"



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