Let's Talk Politics and Much More

When I got out to my car today, there was a flyer tucked under the windshield wiper. I had seen it on other cars as I walked through my parking lot and I was somewhat curious. I was half-expecting it to be something from my apartment, and the other half of me figured it was some stupid ad for a bar. I grabbed it from my windshield and got in my car. It was laid out like a newsletter, but it was a comparison of the candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain. Again, making assumptions, I almost groaned as I figured it would be yet another plea for me to "hope for change" or not vote for "McBush". Yet, shockingly, it was not. It was actually from a pro-life group. On the sheet, it showed each candidates stance on different issues concerning abortion and life. Handwritten on the top of the sheet were the words "pro-life" (above McCain) and "pro-abortion" (above Obama, of course).

Now, I already knew the obvious. I knew their stances on abortion, yet there was so much more that I discovered on this surprise document. Here are new things I learned that maybe everyone else already knew, but it was news to me:

1. Obama does not support the Hyde Amendment, which is the amendment that prohibits taxpayers from funding abortions through Medicaid.
2. Obama also voted to block a bill that said that at least one parent needed to be notified before his/her minor daughter had an abortion in another state.
3. He also voted 3 TIMES against a bill that protected babies that survived abortion. The bill called for the same rights that are given to babies that are born spontaneously prematurely.
4. Obama also co-sponsored a bill in 2005 that would allow for cloning of embryos (used for research only and not placed in wombs)

So, those are the new things I learned, and here are my reactions:

1. With such a high percentage of our population being pro-life (and even on this very liberal campus, I have seen and heard many pro-life views being expressed), I think that it is completely ludicrous to force taxpayers to pay for such a thing. I certainly don't want to be paying to murder babies. I don't think that it is right to pay for something I don't believe in, but I would be more willing to do it if it weren't a moral issue. I cannot stand by and hand my money to a government that is essentially using it to kill innocent people.
2. Why in the world would we allow young girls to have abortions performed without the consent of their parents? That, to me, is outrageous. Actually, the bill doesn't even address consent, this is just NOTIFICATION. For goodness sakes, can we not at least INFORM the parent that his/her daughter is about to do something that is not only killing a baby, but also possibly causing her psychological damage in the long term? What if that girl were to tell no one that she had an abortion? What kind of effect could that have on a 15 or 16 year old girl? At the age of 21, I don't think I would ever be able to live guiltlessly after making such a choice. I cannot imagine what I would feel like as an already young, confused and impressionable teenager. I think that by not at least informing a parent, there would be terrible consequences. A girl that age is just that, a girl. She cannot have a huge life decision like that left up to her alone.
3. So, I guess that surviving an abortion is not enough proof for Obama that this baby is supposed to live. Can you imagine surviving a horrible accident, one that seemingly should have killed you, and after miraculously surviving, the doctor decides not to give you the care you need to continue to survive? No, of course not, because that would be inhumane. In the same way, denying an abortion survivor the same care that any other child would receive is also inhumane. Also, just as an FYI, even Hilary Clinton and Ted Kennedy supported this bill.
   
4. While I can see why researchers want to perform studies on embryos for the purpose of finding cures to diseases and other amazing things that science would be able to provide for us, I cannot justify this. First of all, I would like to say that I oppose embryonic stem cell research in any form. My main reasoning for that is that knowing people, and from my 21 years on this earth, I think I do, I know we are greedy. Greediness doesn't always come in the forms we are used to seeing (for money etc.), we also have a greed for knowledge. We have a thirst for it, which is a wonderful thing. However, in this case, I would be afraid that scientists would want to research more and more, resulting in the production of embryos strictly for research purposes, which is disgusting. Plus, I think that it is a little disturbing to perform research on people who never actually gave consent for it in the first place. Anyway, all of that is really beside the point. The point is that cloning of embryos is not necessary and it is not right. By duplicating embryos, are we not creating life? I don't think that it is our place--at all--to be doing such a thing.
   

So, if it is not obvious, I will certainly be voting for John McCain this November. I have a big issue with abortion. I cannot support it in any way. I am probably one of the most extreme anti-abortion people that I know, in that I don't support it for any reason. Well, the only reason I am somewhat unsure of is in the case of the mother's life being in danger. I suppose in that case, it would be up to her, but I'm not sure if that is right or not. On one hand, you are losing two lives if you do not perform the abortion, while termination would only result in the loss of one life. On the other hand, and I'm not a mom, so maybe my opinion is invalid, but how many mothers would rather see her child die at the sake of her living? So, I think I know my position on that issue as well, but I suppose it is a little shaky.

It does sadden me that McCain supports funding of embryonic stem cell research. Personally, I am not the biggest fan of McCain either, not only because of that, just in general. However, I will be voting (sadly) for the lesser of two evils. I wish that there were a third party option that appealed to me, while actually having a chance to win the election. I wonder, how long it will take for a third party to arise? I mean, it's not like new parties haven't stepped onto the scene before, and it hasn't always been the democrats and the republicans. I think that there is a need for a fresh and new perspective, and neither of these parties are really cutting it for me anymore.

All of this goes much deeper than politics, though. My opposition to abortion has nothing to do with allegiance to a particular party. It has much more to do with my belief that all people have the right to life. How can we take that away from them?