Will you vote for a presidential candidate based on his stance on abortion?

What's unfortunate is the focus of the issue. A woman's right to choose is picked at the incorrect time. It should be when she decides to have sex, not what to do about the afterwards. If you drink too much, guess what, you end up with a hangover. If you step out of a second story window, guess what, you fall. So don't complain about the consequences, think about the decision. Further, if the man is involved in the initial decision, why shouldn't he be an equally deciding member of the next decision?

Sarah,

As far as the SC ruling on this, it is almost universally accepted by those who study such things that the Roe v Wade decision was one of the worst ever. It ranks right up there with the Dred Scott case in which the SC ruled that a black person was not a human. Bad decisions have been and should be reversed, including this one.

Killing 45 million potential taxpayers is one reason Social Security is in such trouble, to say nothing of the fact that abortion is murder.

Please see my comment posted 11 minutes after yours. The Supreme Court has the power to change past precedents, and in the case of a Woman's Right to Choose, we are one Supreme Court Justice away from putting that right in serious danger. This obviously won't change your vote, since you already support Obama/Biden, but if you have Pro-Choice friends, who are wavering, please pass on the urgency of this issue.

A million violent murders per year is a high price to pay for any social agenda. Every day more infants are murdered in America than all the American casualties in Irag since the war started.

Mother Teresa stated that there can be no peace in a country where the murder of children is accepted.

Vote pro life, vote Republican

Never underestimate the power of the ANTI-ABORTIONISTS - they vote ONE ISSUE ONLY - forget the economy, forget foreign policy, forget the lies, corruption, deceit of the anti-abortionist candidate, forget any OTHER social issue but abortion.... they only vote ONE WAY...

BE CAREFUL America - the anti-abortionists are a very very powerful ignorant force to be dealt with in politics - educate your friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers that there is ALOT more issues to vote for than just one, else we will get four more years from McSame...

I also like to point out its taboo to kill Christian babies - but anti-abortionists could care less how many HEATHEN BABIES ARE KILLED 1/2 way around the world... they dont seem to count.. anti-abortionists are called HYPOCRITS...

If you don't have respect for life as a gift from God, how can you call yourself a Catholic? Too many Catholics have fallen into the secular humanist views that are killing our faith. Our view of life is at the very heart of how we view the world. Look at the moral breakdown in our society today. Our love and respect for one another is eroding every day because we have become completely out of touch with God's plan. Whether you believe in God or not, killing is wrong---period, whether it's someone on death row or an unborn child that never got a chance to see the eyes of its mother. There are no personal choices when it comes to murder. You know in your heart that killing is wrong. I pray to God that I have changed just one person's view on this topic. America---wake up--we are killing our future!

Who said I was a catholic??? I don't think that is in my statement anywhere!!!!

This issue has been debated, it has been ruled on and as far as I am concerned it is just not a huge issue right now. There are so many other things that are of much greater importance. Yes it is a big issue, I never said it wasn't, I just said there are other things that right now are greater. Good grief we had an attack against an embassy this morning, the stock market fell 500 points Monday, our economy is the worse it has been in years, we are fighting 2 wars and we have no resolution in sight in either of them and you want to debate whether the SC is going to change RvW in the next cycle. Well sorry, but that is just not a big issue for me right now. I am more worried if I am going to be able to heat my home, feed my family, and keep the roof over my head this winter.

Obama/Biden 08

The bible tells us that the Devil is the "father of all lies". What this person (Devils.Advocate) is espousing is riddled with untruths. One of the devils tools is deception as well as people who intentionally paint Christians as Hypocrites, killers, ignorant liars and haters. The truth is that true followers of Jesus believe in life and the sanctity of it and know with certainty that were accountable to God for our actions here on earth. We know that someday we will come before God and give an account for our lives. Therefore when the day of judgment comes and god asks you what did you fight for on earth. I'm quite certain you will not want to say abortion. Whether you're a Christian or not you should take serious consideration to voting for, touting, conducting or having a abortion.

Are you willing to take the risk? Will you be proud to tell God you fought for abortion rights?

Tom-531893

Taxpayers you say? How very interesting. So now it is increasing the tax base. It is nice to see a man step up to the plate about an issue that does NOT impact you personally. All of the right-to-lifers believe a fetus is the most important thing in the world but the minute the "fetus" becomes a child the mom/dd/family is on their own. And I still don't get the relationship the right-to-life crowd has to capital punishment. You would think if "all life is precious" it would also include the criminal.

IMHO, your beliefs are yours and mine are mine. Who are you to tell me and the rest of the country what to believe? The last time I checked the Constitution, the USA was a free country. Get over yourself and your beliefs. They are no more important than the next persons!

More than 90% of the electorate who are against abortion for whatever reason - have no difficulty with the thousands of Iraqi Citizens - particularly the Women and Children who have been killed by our bombs - both times when the US attacked Iraq. Even the Catholic Church - makes a limited plea about ending the killing of the citizens of Iraq - but create a huge bruhaha - about abortion. It becomes a position - that reminds me of J. William Fulbright's statement about the American electorate - "With banners flying we're marching backwards."

If you want America to wake up-we're killing our future - Why is that not applicable to the thousands that we are killing in Iraq - Afganastan - and this morning Yemen - and every other place where Americans are being killed for its racist policies.

Why should we only be concerned about the fetus? Its time to open your spiritual eyes and see the fact that Killing is Killing - regardless of whether they are Americans or people from any other country on this planet. The God you claim to honor and obey is NOT a God of the USA - but of the entire Universe.

I agree - Wake up to the truth and reality.

Among the most fundamental rights a human being has is choice over their own body; how can anyone claim to respect a woman's place in this society and then believe they can dictate choices to her. As Barack Obama so wisely suggested, there must be a compromise between choice when it comes to the need for abortion, and appropriate, accurate, sex education. As we have seen all too often abstinence-only teaching -- which is often fear-based -- is not the panacea its promoters would have us believe. Let us also admit that to going backward on this basic right will increase the number of back-alley abortions for desperate young --and most often poor -- women who cannot afford to send their daughters to the foreign doctors who will perform the procedure. If you do not believe in abortion, then don't have one, and don't allow your daughter to have one; you have that choice.

I believe the abortion issue has many parallels to the U.S. slavery issue in the 19th century. Half the nation thinking it is immoral and the other half feeling they had a God given right to it. As a Catholic I consider it genocide. To kill a baby at any stage is horrid and sickening. I do understand that the whole country does not share my faith and agree with life at inception. I do believe Non-Catholics that are raped or are victims of incest should be able to choose to terminate a pregnancy, but with the Ru-486 abortion pill, women can do that immediately after inception. A month, two months three months down the line it is certainly a baby, and an abortion not only leaves a huge emotional scar on the woman, but many times physical ones as well. Barack Obama is not moderate on this issue at all. He is the lone supporter, not even Barbara Boxer of CA supports it, of infanticide. He was against a bill to ban killing a baby that was born and viable outside of the womb in failed abortions. Late term abortions where the baby is accidentally born, he believes that mother has the right to kill the baby still, even though it's outside the womb. I certainly don't understand why it's not a baby inside the womb, but outside? The President has no direct power over the economy, and he's not supposed to, it's a FREE market system we have. The government is only supposed to be there to protect us, even the smallest of us. If you wanted a government to have control over your every day affairs China is a great place for that. They give everyone money, a job, tell them how many kids they can have, kill the kids that are born without permission, government healthcare, a Utopia. The U.S. was founded on the p[rinciples that we are free to make it on our own. As a Catholic I do believe that we need to take care of the less fortunate, be WE the people should. Not the Government. The government can not effectively manage the Post Office or Amtrack, why would we entrust our poor to them. Life is important to good people, votes are important to politicians.

Well said. I think abortion is the ultimate act of selfishness. My son has autism and I never even bothered to do the amnio tests during either of my two pregnancies. I knew I was having my kids no matter what. It's hard to believe the abortion rate for Down Syndrome pregnancies is 90 percent. That's a lot of supposedly pro life, catholic women having these done. I urge anyone leaning toward Obama to look at his voting record on the "Born Alive Bill" It's sickening. Even Hillary, the Abortion Rights League, Ted Kennedy and other pro choicers voted to protect babies born alive after abortion procedures. Obama didn't.

The woman AND the man exercised their "right to choose" when they had sex. She and the man she had sex with need to take responsibility for their actions. If it is rape, have the baby and give it up for adoption. Two wrongs don't make a right. Abortion is murder. Life begins at conception. This is the most important issue by far because it affects the most lives by directly, and currently legally, ending them. Military members accept their call to duty and know what they are getting into. How many have died in Iraq? 5,000? 10,000? That is less than a week's worth of abortions. Babies have no chance to exercise their right to choose when they are murdered before they are born. All the other issues combined are not as impactful as the murders of millions of innocent lives via abortion every year.

The arguments for abortion are pathetic. An unborn baby is not life? Yet a living cell on Mars and we have found what? LIFE! Not life unless the being can support itself? Can a 6-month-old baby support itself without help from the parents? There is only one objective, concrete point in time when life begins: conception. So stop the murder. Vote anti-abortion. Vote McCain-Palin.

BIBLE BELIEVER AND DONNAFORMCCAIN... your posts speak for themselves - ONE ISSUE ANTI-ABORTION voters... you know, the ones who pull out bible quotes (of which there is one for every issue and every side you wish to enforce)

Jesus only preached LOVE AND PEACE... neither of which you proclaim or perform - instead you spout HATRED AND WAR-MONGERING... HYPOCRITS... AND SELF-APPOINTED GOD'S JUDGES... who are you to know the mind and thoughts of God?? beyond what you hear from your pulpit pounding mortal human preacher/priest/pastor....

Well guess what - If there *is* a God... I am prepared to say I practiced what I preached... YOU FOLKS can only stand before God and say "I did what I was told..." as in what the German People said after following Hitler in World War 2...

HA - TOTAL IGNORANCE FROM THE BIBLE-BELTERS - I GUESS SINCE I AM A DEVILS ADVOCATE THAT MEANS I ADVOCATE THE DEVIL...

Google "Devils Advocate" - you folks merely show how uneducated and ignorant you are...

Actually, John McNeil, you're misinformed. They have done many surveys that say that women who have abortions do NOT have the "huge emotional scars" you claim. That's just more propaganda from prolifers. And by the way, I think you mean "conception," not "inception."

It's not a baby inside the womb because it is completely dependent on the carrier for everything. If the mother is not there, it dies--not from neglect, but because a fetus has a parasitic relationship with the mother while the mother is pregnant.

And Bible Believer, I am a Christian and prochoice, and I have no problem sleeping at night and I will not have any issue with standing up before God and saying that I voted consistently for the men and women who would protect my right to choose--not because I can ever see having an abortion myself, but because I have NO RIGHT to make that decision for another woman, especially when I don't have a dog in that fight. (Meaning, naturally, that I'm not footing the bill for any prenatal visits, let alone caring for the child once it's born, among other things.)

To anyone who thinks rape victims should be forced to bear their rapist's child: could you be less sensitive and less compassionate? Your lack of empathy for another person makes me sick.

I'm sorry, but being a single mom of four having been raped twice, and having my children regardless, I am still ProChoice as it is no one's business AS CATHOLIC JOE BIDEN POINTED OUT CLEARLY to judge others or push their RELIGIOUS BELIEFS onto anyone else. It is a personal, individual choice that is extremely TRAUMATIC in any respect, it is NOT murder because it is attached to the female and not capable of living or surviving on its own until it is DETACHED, hence it is not murder AS MY RELIGION teaches.

This country was founded on religious freedom under the Constitution therefore, those of you taught that it is "murder" must mind your own business as Joe Biden pointed out. If you were in a position such as this, (especially you men), it is a different story. Perhaps walk in the steps of someone who has gone through it before casting profoundly twisted and unjustifiable judgments onto others as they may be just as religious or more religious than yourselves. Further, if this is what you believe, perhaps you should start spilling out money because having children is not cheap and in today's economy a teen getting pregnant would not be able to afford it especially if they were single, did not have health insurance like most age 18-21, with much more difficulties in finding good paying jobs. Why not adoption? Because the mental trauma is not that easy to overcome, and I find it rather selfish that there are people out there who do not give any thought into such issues that they have NEVER EXPERIENCED for themselves. Mind your own business and let people make their own choices, you are not God and until God comes down and appears PHYSICALLY and tells me and others, OTHERWISE, no one PRO CHOICE needs to be demeaned or talked down to by such ignorance, selfishness, and hypocracy. It is my belief we were all put on this earth to live and learn, hence we are given CHOICES and there is no "hell" and we were very blessed with the option of individual rights under the Constitution, as well as the God-given CHOICE (he gave us this choice by ruling FOR Roe v. Wade) to have an abortion if we feel this would be in our best interests, not our neighbors, or society at large. It is a personal matter, and I thank Joe Biden for discussing this topic so eloquently.

OK so to be a conservative or a pro lifer automatically means that you believe in killing others and that you don't the death of the innocent in other countries where a war is going on? What about the multitudes of countries that are visited by these pro lifers doing their "charity work" that no has seemed to mention? Russia, Darfur, Kenya, Haiti, Angola, Thailand, etc... and yes food and money gets sent to Iraq. So just because it is not directly mentioned does not mean prayers and sorrow is not felt for them. But does anyone seem to remember the JOY and PRIDE that was felt the day and days after we were crying and mourning our loved ones here? And the uncertainty of when and if it would happen again? SO what would you rather the war be here? Would you rather not have anyone over there and allow them to continue plotting but with no one there to interrupt? Do you not think there is a huge powerful group that is out there growing everyday, recruiting everyday to attack the country you live in? The difference is there are people who are killed directly on purpose or by mistake, there are people that commit suicide and then there are people that commit MURDER no regret no sorrow and they are repeat offenders at times also!

Oh, I forgot--I guess I have almost had an abortion, according to Catholics. I had an ectopic pregnancy that nearly killed me when my fallopian tube ruptured in March. From what I've read, the Catholic church encourages women with ectopic pregnancies to wait until the fetus dies on its own. Ectopic pregnancies are emergency situations in which the fetus needs to be removed, either via an injection which flushes it out of a woman's system, or by lap surgery, if it progresses as far as mine had. A ridiculously and tragically high number of ectopic pregnancies kill women every year in this country, and at least some of that blood is on the hands of the Catholic Church.

Let's see.... The pro-choice believe that a young girl ( in her early teens) gets pregnant, no husband, no place to live should have an abortion. Well Thank God ! The Virgin Mary wasn't pro-choice 2000 years ago. If you were with her then , you would of probably tried to talk her into it. !

Wow, so sorry to hear Stephanie, and my son's girlfriend (18) just went through this as well. The day after her high school graduation her appendix ruptured and she had to have her appendix removed. Well the medications the doctor put her on cancelled out her birth control which lead to an eptopic (tubal) pregnancy. They work construction together and she started hemorraging at work, they had to take her by ambulance to the nearest hospital 2 hours away. For young kids (18 &19) They now have a medical bill of over $7000. To find that there are such selfish people out there who have not experienced the traumas of rape, or having to go through eptopic/tubal pregnancies, nearly losing their lives, all of the mental trauma that surrounds this issue because of selfish teachings, really makes my stomach turn, literally. My son's girlfriend almost lost her life, I was hospitalized and had cancer on top of this and for others to believe they can tell people what to do or we cannot make informed decisions ourselves as to what is IN OUR BEST INTERESTS health-wise, mentally, etc is truly disturbing. This is an extremely personal matter and people should be considerate enough to realize this and I could not agree with you more.

I understand Pro Life, but I do not understand why Pro Life people think that making abortion illegal will save their soul. Do you not remember the reason why we have a Pro Choice society now? Do you not remember that we lost over 10,000 young girls to back street and home abortions because they could not get an abortion legally. Changing the Law is not going to stop abortions it will just put it back in the dark of the night in dirty back alley offices. You hope your daughter or granddaughters will never have to make this decision, but I do not want the government telling a 14 or 15 year old girl that YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS BABY AND GIVE IT UP FOR ADOPTION or keep the baby and have a CHILD RAISING A CHILD.
And folks don't forget that there will be 14 and 15 year old boys with their lives not even getting started yet, that will be paying CHILD SUPPORT fort the next 18 to 21 years. Keep the choice between you and God, not you and the Government.

A baby is not a choice.

Women should have the right to choose. Our government, nor our planet for that matter, can support the current population. What would we do with all those unwanted births? I realize there are couples out there trying to have families that will adopt, but there are A LOT more kids in the foster and adoptions systems then families to care for them. There are babies abused day after day by unfit adults. Why force more lives to be? Abortion should not be a form of birth control, but it should be an option. And, btw, it is not the biggest issue facing this country right now, the economy is. Why put the strain on an already failing system of thousands of unwanted births.

I have news for you, Tom, those 45 million are not likely to be "tax payers." Many will be rabid consumers of social services. Are you ready and willing to pay for that?

My reproductive rights should be no one's business but my own. As far as making it a religous issue...well everyone has different beliefs and that should not impact the laws we are governed by. Those that seek to make this a theocracy go against the very reason why this country was founded.

Women have been aborting unwanted pregnancies since time began..thru the use of herbs and such. The Native Americans used one as well for just this purpose. You may seek to make it unlawful again but it will just go under the radar where back alleys and wire hangers will once again be a part of our national vernacular.

Of course I would prefer that there was never the need or desire for a woman to want to have an abortion. But that can only occur thru increased awarness and sexual education...a subject most who hold this issue dear seem to have no interest in.

this is for unity-354253

its not for my soul, but for the soul of the murdered baby

we also need to focus more on teaching morals to our young people
not just at home, but in our schools

Bible Believer makes Devil's Advocate's point perfectly. I've gone through about half the posts here and not a single one of these anti-abortion responses addresses the hypocrisy of "pro-life and pro-war". Wasn't it Pope John Paul II who made a statement advocating a "cradle to grave" position that truly fit the definition of "pro-life", including opposition to the death penalty? How can a Christian of ANY denomination ignore gospel lessons as "who lives by the sword dies by the sword" and "turn the other cheek" justify promoting or even tolerating war a war based on lies or the death penalty? There are many "moral" issues that seem to be overlooked by anti-abortionists that involve souls who are born and have their lives damaged or ended by the actions of "pro-life" politicians who count on emotionalism to get a vote then commit some of the most un-Christian acts imaginable.

I learned about the separation of Church and State in Catholic school. We received state funds and had to account for it being used on secular education only with Church funds/donations being the only source of money for the religious side of our education. The same school also set up comprehensive sex ed classes that included information on the risks of pregnancy and STD's and the limited effectiveness of birth control. Based on this, I learned that faith doesn't make the real world go away or excuse ignoring facts that don't come from the Bible. My personal experience on the issue is that abortion is a tragic choice some women feel the need to make and that any spiritual consequences are best left to them and the Creator, but that to demand we go back to the hazardous days of back alley abortions is nothing more than vengeful thinking by self-righteous zealots.

In short, I would sooner accept the leadership of an excommunicated President who tries to address all aspects of social justice than a manipulative, warmongering hypocrite who plays on people's emotions and has the support of religious leaders.

Perhaps if "God" wanted the baby to live it would not be aborted. I am sure that "God " could do that if He/She wanted to.

You may say that people have free will...but if one truly believes in "God" and follows a particular dogma then they really have no choice but to follow that dogma to the letter.

You must not understand any religious teachings. God does not interfere with man's free will. If he did, Adam and Eve would never of ate that apple! That's what makes us different than any other animal! We are free to make choices... right or wrong !

Let's see, from your perspective obviously you are misunderstanding ANY religious teaching. Yes, God does not interfere with free will and has given us choices. They are right and wrong and we are put on this earth to encounter both in a learning experience. Hence, every one of us is EXPECTED to make mistakes and LEARN from them! Further, we will not be punished by God for making the wrong decision either, this is mortal man's teachings in an attempt to find blame, place blame and judge others, not God's. God's teachings are to love one another, respect one another and help each other out in times of need. NOT ONE PRO-LIFE PERSON came forward to me and asked me if I needed any sort of assistance after my two rapes and decisions in keeping them sir!!!! I have serious issues with man-made churches that preach lies and hypocracy to their followers.

Actually there are plenty of examples of God interferring with man's free will in the bible.

Balaam's blessing of Isreal when he tried to curse it. (Numbers 22-24)
The stirring of Cyrus' heart to release the Israelites from captivity (II Chronicles 36-22)

Just to name a few.
These are people who had their free will changed by God to suit God's purpose at the time.

Thank you, kjacks. My sympathies to your son's girlfriend as well. I hope she's doing okay now. That's a lot for her to have to have gone through! I'm also amazed and inspired by everything you've been through yourself. I am a Christian and am sorry that you have had such bad experiences with churches, although I am also not surprised. Humans, sadly, continue to persist in perverting who God is and what S/he really stands for and what Jesus taught.

Paul, if you believe that God exists and is omnipotent, why in the world would you think that Mary choosing to have an abortion means that there would be no Jesus? God would probably just try again. Honestly, if you want to frame it that way, Jesus could have said no to obeying God unto the cross (hello, free will, which you brought up yourself), which means that God would have had to start over again there, too.

But of course, as others have said, religion shouldn't really be a part of the discussion. Separation of church and state--the govt. should not be involved in religious issues, including (in my opinion) marriage, whether between straights or gays. But the illogic of telling someone who identifies as an atheist that they can't have an abortion because a God they don't believe in says it's a sin just blows my mind.

It is difficult for me to vote for a Republican this time around, specifically because we had a Republican Congress, Senate, and President for 6 years and one specific method of partial birth abortion was outlawed. I will be voting on the life issue, specifically because of the Supreme Court. I would rather it be a state issue because overturning Roe V Wade will NOT outlaw abortions. It will simply make it a state issue, something that the Constitution supports, along with the Declaration of Independence giving us unalienable rights endowed to us by our Creator - LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Wow, this room is hot! This seems to be an issue that makes the ladies steamy, >=D and the gentlemen just blow their top. =P I love politics!
This one is machine and nerve and has its mind concluded, while the other is but flesh and faith and is the more diluted.
The argument can be made that the government exists to uphold law. One law generally accepted by most governments in general is against the practice of murder (IF the victim is valued, and IF the victim is not 'in the way') We have the power as human beings to choose the path of least resistance to our goals, if we are smart enough to find it, but governments, in general, historically have a way of screwing it up eventually. Human beings, in general, tend to make choices that benefit themselves first of all. Whether or not you think that is a bad thing depends on your point of view. Also the Idea of population control does have merit, after all, the less plates to fill, the bigger the slice of pie; and the price of pie has gone up as of late. It has already been stated that anti-abortionists do not adopt near enough to make up for their noise against the subject. Human beings also tend to move in schools like fish, or herds like oh so noble buffalo. When one baby starts crying the rest will fallow, and the baby with the lollipop will always have the envy of the baby with none, even though one would not necessarily be happier than the other if both were blind. If you are a catholic, I will say this; you are responsible for your own soul; And for everyone else, if you do have to go to jail, murder is the best way to go, at least in this country. XD

The"virigin Mary" reference Paul-24#### made saying 'she would have been pushed toward having an abortion in this day and age'. If you actually read the story again you will find that Joseph, who she was to betroth, was about to stone her for committing adultery, (since she was pregnant w/out ever sleeping w/ him), this was based on the law that was given to the Hebrews way back in Exodus! In fact, by law, he was supposed to make it public, and have the community stone her, but because he loved her, he decided to do it privately, that's until the angel stopped him and communicated the situation. So in reality, not only was he gonna kill Mary, he was gonna kill the baby in her womb as well, BY LAW...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~In my personal life, I am very pro-life, I wouldn't want to ever experience an abortion, nor would I want any member of my family nor my friends to have to experience such a thing. Now, although that's what I believe, and though I would like that no woman ever do it, ever, I still don't feel it's my place to tell an individual how to make decisions like that. Not only do some of you believe that judging the decisions of others is your place, but you also feel that pushing for legislation to make it a crime is also your place. I'm consistent with my pro-life stance, I believe life is important from the womb to the tomb. And just as I don't believe abortions are "right", I also don't find it moral that in times of war innocent casualties are supposed to be acceptable deaths, or how later in a persons life people feel comfortable deciding someone should die because they committed a heinous act (allegedly or hard-proven). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Most of you anti-abortion people aren't truly pro-life. You simply want to control the rights of women, and the women in the pro-life movement are simply being used to promote this agenda which was formed by men. **How can one be anti-abortion AND anti-birth control??? ((you don't want a woman to abort a child, BUT you also don't want them to protect themselves when having sex.)) **How can one be anti-abortion, anti-birth control AND anti-welfare? ((you don't want a woman to stop the process of a child being formed/born, BUT when the child is born and the mom can't support the child, you're against her turning to the government for help with feeding the child)). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
****You guys like to pat yourself on the backfor being on "God's side" on this issue, but really you're just hypocrites, and it's sad that you don't recognize that.****

While America is founded by God Fearing individuals - it was created so that all would have the freedom to choice to believe in God or not to believe in God. With that freedom, comes the understanding that we should not as a nation push our beliefs on any individual, or group, or country. If you are "Pro-Life" you have to ask your self are you really? If so then you should also be anti-war, anti-death penalty" which would make you more Democratic than Republican.

If you polled the Majority of Democratic women in this country they would not have an abortion! We don't go around stating to individuals that you don't have the right to choice what to do with your life, or life style. It is the Democratic Party that believes more in individual freedom, lesser government involvement in our personal lifes, more compassion for thy neighbor, and the understanding that we will not always agree with each other, however, we do respect each others freedom in this country.

Please don't divide our country again, by having this issue as a Republican or Demcrate, but think through this as an American with the Freedom to choice how, where, and by what means you leave your life, because if you do believe in God - you only answer to him and him alone. We are on this earth for a very short time, make it peaceful!

Right to Lifers believe in capital punshment because those who get capital punishment exercised their right to life by choosing death through the commission of illegal acts clearly stated as "punishable by death". If you know the consequences of your actions, why the actions.

Please do not compare the right to life for an unborn child to that of a criminal.

Voting on the nation's (NOT only yours)future,is way more important thatn simply one issue!!I don't like abortion and would NEVER have one myself, it is however MY right to do as I choose with my body....NOT yours......Are YOU going to raise all these unwanted children?I believe that if someone is having unprotected sex they should NOT be allowed to have an abortion, but in the case of rape and incest I absolutely believe that it should be allowed and done!!!Have you ever been raped, especially by a relative?I am very close to a person who was and at first no one believed her and then they blamed HER and made her have the kid...the kid was born severly deformed and died a few months later> Why do you think that happened....the kid died?God?Nature?I always thought that the Conservative Repubs promote/claim LESS government interference in our peronal live, yet here you are ?!?!?Hypocritical don't you think?!ALOT of you are all for raising these kids up only to send them to fight an unjustified war. "You CAN:T have an abortion, but you better send them off to die when you get them GROWED UP!!!!!!RIDICULOUS!!!!

Good Lord, just what we need in a world where we can't afford to feed, clothe, and house all the people we have-45 million more TAXPAYERS so you can retire in style. You can't teach sex ed, you're not supposed to use birth control, forget about abortions, but when it comes to helping out "welfare moms", you guys are all "not my problem". It's about choice!!!! Education!!! Give women alternatives to abortion, but if you think taking away the choice is going to stop them, you are dead wrong. And by the way, techinically on the SC there are already 5 conservatives, and they don't want to touch RvW. Repubs just like to use it as a wedge issue come elections because it fires up the base...

Sure it no longer needs to be discussed for a person with no ethics.... Problem is it's NOT always all about the money, that the problem with this generation, we think of everything in dollars. What ever happened to our character, our morals, our patriotism, our love for "GOD" and "COUNTRY"?

Oh yeah, we liberated all the people who hate white, male, evangelicals.... the people who wrote the constitution and made the nation that Barack wants to socialize with Marxist doctrine and people like you want to make into "EUROPE II" ..

While we are killing unborn humans and saving polar bears, and legalizing marital "covenants" between same sex sodomites why not legalize polygamy, and drug use, and heck lets just drop our pants and go all out like Amsterdam.... and then wonder what the hell happened to our economy and our nation...

You, who never had an abortion, how would you know?????? i have had several abortions and I have no regrets.. Of course, they were done as soon as they could be done, so it did not affect me emotionally... It is the best descision I have made, ever !! You should thanks me, more natural resources for you !!

russian women used to have an average of 6 abortions during their life time.. I see absolutely no problem in having an early abortion.. and if it was banned, like everyone else who can afford it, I would fly to another country to have one.

I am all for population control !!

THIS IS NOT A MORAL ISSUE.. IT IS A MENTAL ISSUE AND ANYPROLIFE WHO IS A PRO GUN SHOULD CHECK HIM/HERSELF INTO A MENTAL INSTITUTION !!

THESE ARE THE DANGEROUS ONES !!!

Abortion is legal, learn to live with it. Is it murder? No, you are removing an embryo. When your daughter gets raped by a serial killer with the worst genes in the gene pool, make her have the baby. When your daughter gets pregnant, with a high risk one, or better yet, with genes that have a cystic fibrosis gene (expected to last 2-3 years, with juicy medical bills on top of it), for example, make her have the baby. To all the RETARDS that cannot accept that the nation and the world are evolving, it's OK, we're just waiting for the generation of ignorant people to die off, unless, yeah, true, you guys have 5-9 children to perpetuate idiocy..... Overpopulation is real, saturation of the natural and man made resources is real, this world has its limit, read about it. But Noooooooooooo, people praise jebus and somehow this ficticious god will come and save everyone.

What?? Unborn Fetus are tax payers?? Now that is the epitome of a Cold Hard Right outlook!

What if the pregnant girl was an incest victom only 11 years old!! Man take the blinders off!

jr7876, I know there's a difference between the acts committed by an embryo/fetus and a death row inmate. One of the subjects here is Catholic clergy telling their congregations how to vote and treating Catholic politicians differently based on the abortion issue. My point was that the Vatican also has made statements condemning the death penalty but I've yet to hear of a politician who favors the death penalty or using birth control denied Communion, as both of these fall under the same heading of "doctrine" . While what a religion's leaders can do as they wish, it seems a flaw in thinking to focus on 1 issue to the exclusion of another that they have also addressed in their doctrines.

It seems especially ironic that a member of any denomination of Christianity would be pro-death penalty, as their Messiah was a man executed by the state but was innocent of any state crimes. Given the alarmingly high incidence of people executed and later found innocent in this country, I would think this would be just as big an issue as abortion for Christians, opening the way to looking at more than a single issue that corrupt leaders can exploit to maintain control.

Many that live deserve death, and many that die deserve life. The rain will fall on whom it will. What is the definition of innocents? Sometimes I wonder if there is indeed such a thing.

When your time on earth is up and you stand before God, is he going to care about the economy or his preborn babies more? I can't imagine anyone who calls themselves a Christian cannot see how important it is to stop the murdering of preborn babies.

There is NO ISSUE more important than the abortion issue.

What about all the children that are brought into this world that is not want. Parents are on drugs, abusing children not feeding them or they get put in the system. What about all the children in the system in foster homes. Some children are stuck their for many years. People always talking about what wrong or right. Take some of the children in and do something. Don't just talk. Most of the children have problems later in life and turn to crime because of being in these places. Some people don't need children and giving children up for adoption is not always good. It to many not getting adopted. God made everything for a reason.Think about it

Not for you Annette: Just wanted to comment on Tom, but he doesn't have a way to reply on his comment. Please forgive -).

Tom-531893Sarah,

As far as the SC ruling on this, it is almost universally accepted by those who study such things that the Roe v Wade decision was one of the worst ever. It ranks right up there with the Dread Scott case in which the SC ruled that a black person was not a human. Bad decisions have been and should be reversed, including this one. = Please tell me where you found the information that the Roe vs Wade was universally accepted as you stated and who said it ranked right up there with the Dread Scott case. I would really like to know. And please do not tell me McCain and the Republican Party.

Killing 45 million potential taxpayers is one reason Social Security is in such trouble, to say nothing of the fact that abortion is murder. = Do you really want to use potential taxpayers as a reason not to have abortions and state that is the reason Social Security is in trouble?Then you need to go over to Africa and other countries who do not regulate a women's choice to abort and volunteer to take care of the millions of birthed babies that are now dying of starvation and tyranny or is it just in the United States that you are worried about?
Again, aborting a fetus is not murder, as it is not a living breathing being. This according to the Bible if you are a religious believer of which I am. Now common sense tells us that after fetus grows into a living breathing being, that is another matter, but until it does, it is just that MATTER, not human.

Abortion stills a beating heart and kills a tiny life. Here's a general rundown of the early stages of a baby's development:

Fertilization occurs within one to six days of intercourse. At fertilization the genetic composition forms and includes gender, facial features, skin color, eye color, along with influence characteristics such as intelligence and personality. Day 14: eyes and spinal cord are visible, a two lobe brain is developing. Day 18-21: baby is pumping blood through the heart to a closed circulatory system. Blood type is different from mother. 4 weeks: eyes, ear, respiratory system develop and internal organs can be identified. 6 weeks: glucagon, a blood sugar hormone, has been demonstrated in baby's pancreas. 6-7 weeks: muscles and nerves being working together. Thumbsucking has been photographed. Lips are developed and when lips or nose is stroked, baby reponds by bending it's bodyor moving its arms. Brain is fully developed into two hemispheres. In addition to positive stimulus, baby responds to pain. 8-9 weeks: more than 90% of the body structure found in a full grown human is present, complete with sex organ, fingers, toes, arteries, veins, muscles. The baby makes facial expressions and stretches arms and legs. The heartbeat can be clearly heard through an ultrasonic stethoscope. Baby is 2-1/2 inches long and has been sometimes observed swimming in its embryo sac. [abortionfacts.com and justfacts.com]

There's alot of FACTS on embryo development and abortion procedures on the web, along with some pretty straightforward pictures of fetuses at various stages of development, chopped up in pieces or with severely burned skin, depending on the abortion procedure used. When an abortion is performed, the baby developing inside its mother's womb is killed. Does a woman really have the "right" to do this? What kind of a society condones this behavior?

Although I am pro-life, I understand there are extenuating circumstances (rape and incest), but abortion shouldn't be the standardized approach. I personally know three people who are the product of rape - including my daughter - and they are wonderful, smart, loving human beings. I sometimes wondered what my life would have been like without them. Good things can come from bad situations if we are willing to make those choices.

That doesn't mean that in cases of rape, carrying the baby to term is right for everyone because there's often alot of emotional and mental anguish that sometimes takes a long time to heal. In cases of rape, there should be procedures in place at hospitals where biological samples are taken for prosecution evidence, and then a woman is thoroughly cleansed ... professionally.

Abortion is somewhat of a complex issue that does not come with one single set of answers for every woman and every situation. But the choice for life and if a woman doesn't want the baby, examining alternatives should be first choice over abortion.

The Bible was written by men and only certain books in the Bible were chosen by Constantine to be included in the Bible.  All men have different views or interpretations of history, whether they lived it or was a witness to history.  Each person has the right to his own faith and/or interpretation of the Bible or "God's law."   I do not believe in abortion but I also do NOT believe I have the right to force another to hold to my same beliefs.  It is a woman's right to choose.  Whether she includes the father or her religion in that choice it is up to her and not Joe Blow down the street.  She and she alone will face whatever consequences are out there.  Others need to mind their own business not mine. 

What sounds so hypercritical is for those out there that seem to be saying they alone talk to God and he tells them to say no to abortion EXCEPT in the case of rape or incest and Oh, by the way, capital punishment is a good thing. . . Where in the Bible does it say anything like that??  And, if the child is truly the innocent victim here, since when does a child of rape say that child is less of a human that a child of love and it is therefor okay to kill him.  You pro-lifers are taking the God given choice from a woman and claiming it as your own to use as you please.  

You want to stop abortion??  Take the stigma of blame from the woman who chooses to have the baby and then give it up for adoption!  Stop judging that woman by saying "How can a mother give up her child?"  and then damming her for her choice to not abort.

As I said I do not chose abortion, but that is MY CHOICE!! 

I will never vote for any politician who opposes a woman's right to choose.

These kill people too. And what makes alot of us laugh is that these so called "Pro-Life-ers" support the death penalty ?

There's a huge difference between a convicted killer who's acts were so horrible they justify ending his life and an unborn innocent child.  I wish pro-abortionists would stop with that line of reasoning because it's doesn't make any sense.

Abortion was originally intended to suppress the black community into oblivion by Margaret Sanger the founder of planned parenthood.  That fact has been portrayed many times yet it seems so many ignore it...can you explain to me why?    Anyone???  Can anyone Justify this? I know why....Abortion is such a convenient thing that erases responsibilities for so many men and women.  Despite what people tell themselves to justify they're way of thinking convenience is the main reason abortion exists.  You think overpopulation is a concern if we don't have abortion?  Maybe if we didn't have the abortion "choice"  more people would practice self control?   Pound the need for birth control and abstinence into our heads a little more maybe?  Hollywood portraying a better example instead of showing people hopping into bed together in every movie and tv show? 

"We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don't want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population. and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."
Margaret Sanger's December 19, 1939 letter to Dr. Clarence Gamble

Watch out anyone over 80, or with disabilities...with democrats in office, your next.

"Eugenics is … the most adequate and thorough avenue to the solution of racial, political and social problems.
Margaret Sanger. "The Eugenic Value of Birth Control Propaganda."

I have a friend in my church who just came from China with a baby girl named "Mia".  She was rescued from an abortion.  The mother illegally and secretly let her live and be adopted.

Scream louder little children...maybe someday you'll be heard.

The issue of abortion should be a NON-issue. It has NO place in politics. It's a RELIGIOUS issue attributed mostly to Christians and THEIR 'god'.  Pro-life Republicans only want more bodies to send to be killed in illegal wars and to pay taxes and  fill the Social Security coffers.

Sorry to say but you can't 'murder' a being that isn't able to sustain life on its own.  If you hypocrits don't believe in abortion then don't get one but keep your noses and your religious ideology OUT of other people's lives.  You sure don't mind sending your grown sons and daughters to be "murdered" with the help of the US Gov't.

There are matters FAR more important to be focused on during an election like the ECONOMY, EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, the ENVIRONMENT, the NATIONAL DEBT,  IMMIGRATION, RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT.   Anyone who votes for a candidate solely for a NON-issue like abortion and ignores the REAL problems that affect this government and our economy,etc should have their right to vote REVOKED.

Its a sad indication of where we have come as a society when we are more concerned with money than a child's life. May God have mercy on our country.

so a first term senator is the answer lol good one

McCain/Palin 08 not the right choice, THE ONLY CHOICE!!

Obama thinks he needs to call on the joint chiefs of staff to end the war in Iraq! Clueless. His economy will be an unmitigated disaster when he raises taxes and begins a massive wealth redistribution policy.

Not right for America-Tsarist Russia maybe

If you want lies and deceit. No Palin is a @!$%#, Mccain is an old idiot who would sell his soul for power. They are the worst ever.

They answer is not more government. Not more oversight. The answer is less government. If these companies were not protected by the government (our money) they would not have made such poor decisions to begin with. Also, it is not the responsibility of government to run the daily lives of people. Just about everyone who is in a real situation of despair have put themselves there (people getting into houses they could never afford). Socialism is not the answer. How dare anyone compare these times to that of the depression. The economy is not that bad right now. Just becuase you can't go buy a big screen tv or buy $150 pair of shoes does not mean that the economy is bad. It just means that you have been living way above your pay grade for far too long.

Larry,
Your ignorance has prevailed Sir! LOL Why is it that the Left-Wing / Democratic Nut-Cases turn to hatred and violence, or just flat out stupidity to get their point across. I find it sad actually. When was the last time you've ever seen a riot outside the Democratic National Convention! Think about it...NUT....CASES!!!
Good luck in November, the Left-Wing / Democratic / Socialist Party will need it!!!:)

How can democrats get us out of any mess when they are such a mess?

Think for yourself, I would just like to be able to keep my TV on and be able to pay the $150.00 to keep food on my table, don't you lecture me. I have been working for 44 years and this IS the worst I have ever seen. This "GIVE THE TAX BREAKS TO THE CORPORATIONS AND RICH AND IT WILL TRICKLE DOWN" IS A CROCK. The Corporations divide that money up and put it away for a "rainy day" for themselves NOT the people that have made them the profit. I am very lucky, I have Insurance where I work, but every year the company profits go up and so does my Insurance Premiums and deductibles, I have insurance but still can't afford to go to the doctor. I have lived in the same home for 12 years and my lifestyle has not changed. But now instead of putting money into my 401K I am taking money out just to pay my bills not to live over my means. If you are not feeling the affects of the economy you must be living at home with your parents.

Too late.....your Democratic Congress has already succeeded in doing that for us....Now we just have to stop them before it gets any worse

Its called an economic cycle (the mess the economy is in) Dems must not be to worried most dont even think we should drill for oil at home.

Are the anti-abortion activists counting individual stem-cell embryos in their figures? If only one out of 20 of the embryos made through in vitro fertilization are carried to term ( and I think it's actually fewer than that ) the rest are just tossed in the trash if they're not used in 2 years. I know it's not a dramatic as those lovely photos they use on their posters and signs but I'm surprised they haven't found a way to cross that line.

Personally, I don't see stem-cell research/medicine from these sources as being any worse than organ donation, but I'm surprised someone hasn't been "inspired" to start a campaign to give these frozen embryos a chance to come to term.

Of course, we could just ban in vitro altogether and the stem-cell issue would be dead in 2 years.

This is for Paul-246112

MARY WAS MARRIED BEFORE SHE WAS PREGNANT !!! Why is it that the people who go around talking about the bible have never even read it????

Luke, chapter 1:

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary." (26-27)

Matthew, Chapter 1, "And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ." (16)

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily." (18-19)

See that word..Espoused>>> that means married!
See where it says "before they came together"??? that means before they had sex....but they were married.

So the idea of poor Mary being an unwed mother is a false one!

Giving Oil company's more land to get wealthier is not the solution, they feed off the Federal, and Native American land as it is without compensation.

ts not for my soul, but for the soul of the murdered baby

Straight back to Heaven is what I believe for the soul of a baby. That's the only thing that gets me thru the day when I see a baby die of natural cause. I don't believe in abortion, but I do thinks it's a moral issue each individual has the right to make. My mother was born in 1922, her mother died giving birth to her, she was 22. She already had a son, and was told another birth would be very risky. I don't know if she had the choice of abortion, but I feel she did what she thought best, even though it cost her own life. I don't know. I think the Federal government needs to stay out of it. I think it's a crime against humanity when a government can kill innocent children thru the act of war and not be held accountable. Using abortion, Pro Life, or Pro Choice as a political means of being elected is a sick hypocritical joke.

I'm sorry... But I read and understand the bible... Mary was "Betrothed" to Joseph... not married. They were married after Joseph discovered that she was with child !

You better go back to Sunday school.

Ask your pastor ( if you have one)

There are hundreds of different versions of the bible, and they were all written by mortal MAN. Your comments prove the old adage, "Ignorance IS bliss!" And do you actually think you are going to "heaven" by acting superior to people? Once we are stripped of our gender, race, title, educational knowledge AND RELIGIOUS CREED we are ALL THE SAME IN THE EYES OF THE LORD!!

Sorry but the definition of espoused is married. You can try to interpret it to suit your particular need to believe something that you were taught improperly...but the definition remains the same.

And if you have read the Apocrypha, then you would also know that Mary was a very young girl forced to marry a very old man she did not particularly want to marry. But my guess is you have never read it even though those are works removed from your bible ( by Kings and Popes and others who thought you had no right to read them) . Perhaps you should read more about your own faith before you tell me to go back to sunday school.
Or just stick to what you already know.....it's easier to let others do the thinking.

My Bible says "engaged" in Luke 1:27. The only other word I've ever seen in the same place in other Bibles is "betrothed." Neither means the same as "married."

The second quote posted above has nothing to do with marital status or sexual activity.

As for Mattew 1:18-19 the relevant references state "...Mary was engaged to Joseph..." and "he decided to quietly call off the wedding."

Of course, this isn't in the original language. Anyone here know Aramaic?

sounds like a few people need to learn how to use a biblical concordance...

Just think if Gw's mother had had an abortion when she was pregnant with him, the country would have been spared the "Abortion" he has committed to the US!

I totally agree!!

Agree!!!Do we want to go back to back street abortions?I am a retired Nurse , If Roe is overturned, we will be back to coat hangers and woman 's health ruined.

While becoming pregnant IS a "personal choice" or sometimes an accident (which is how I came to be conceived) aborting an otherwise healthy baby is noting less than cold blooded murder. If "personal choice" were the real issue, shouldn't the father of an unborn baby should have the same right to choose as the mother? While I agree that unplanned pregnancy is often tragic especially for the mother, abortion should never be used as birth control.

Dottie - you forget - to anti-abortionists, having an abortion is a killing sin... they could care less if the sinner is going to die because they believe this life is short and transitory and that woman who is going to die will burn in hell forever after anyways...

The woman who has to seek a coat-hanger and ruined health is INCONSEQUENTIAL to them in the GRAND SCHEME of things and they probably think she deserves it - the old religeous right saying "YE REAP WHAT YE SOW" is their mentality...

I so agree with Paul statement. This is between the woman and God. She will have to answer for what she does with her body. The Government and anti-abortions should have no say.

Vote Obama!

There would not be abortions if the people who make the choice would chose before hand not to go into the act of baby making and than destroying their result. Responsibility is the issue here the result of someone not taking responsibility is the death of one who cannot make the choice or whether they want to live or not. Stop killing the innocent ones and start teaching the fact of reaping what you have sown. It really works if it is put into practice.

I agree as well. If I want to live in a country where the church leaders tell me what to do, I'll move to Iran, or even better to Vatican City. Oh, I forgot, the population does not increase in Vatican City because ALL THOSE MEN TOOK A VOW OF CELIBACY.

You absolutely do reap what you sow - either now, or when you face God. What woman is going to die? How many women die giving birth to their child in the U.S. each year? Two wrongs never make a right. Abortion is murder. Life begins at conception. Life is sacred. Stop the murder and vote McCain-Palin.

I do believe we need to have freedom of choice. But, I don't believe that only a woman should have the right to make a choice. It takes two people to create a pregnancy. If the embryo is allowed to come to term, you can bet your bottom dollar that the male partner is going to be held responsible. I believe that in cases of mutually consensual intercourse where a pregnancy occurs, that is not life or health threatening to the female, the male partner should have some say in what is going to happen before it does. We're talking about an event that will affect at least two people for the rest of their lives. I don't believe that it should be left up to only one of those persons to make a decision for the other. The situation was created by both people, it needs to be resolved by both people. If there is no mutual consent to the abortion the pregnancy should be allowed to come to term with the dissenting parent to accept all of the responsibility for the issue.

Should some one be allowed to kill you then? You think murder is acceptable? I don't agree. Why should someone have the personal right to kill another person. I think it's amazing that if a mother throws a one day old baby in the trash, she goes to prison for murder, but if she has an abortion at 9 months it's a personal choice.

Lanny and Kevin are missing one important point: the man doesn't have to carry the child, the woman does. Life isn't fair. If you don't want a baby and the woman who's pregnant is keeping it, deal with it. If you want a baby and she wants an abortion, deal with it. I'm sure most women would trade with men in a second if it meant THEY were the ones who had to go through pregnancy.

(And by the way, the man can use a condom, no matter what the woman he's with says about "I'm on the pill" or "I'm on the shot," and then he can never claim that he didn't realize exactly what he was getting into. The woman has a choice whether to terminate the pregnancy, but during sex--that is when the man can exercise HIS right to choose. He can choose to put on a condom. I'm so damn sick of hearing men whine about women who "trap" them with kids and how they don't have a choice. You do have a choice--you just don't get to choose at the same time a woman does.)

I don't know what country John McNeil lives in but I'm pretty sure ours does not allow abortions at 9 months!!!! I understand your side however making ridiculous statements that are completely untrue is not the way to make your point.

Nobody is having abortion at 9 months lets be real.! Unless something is very wrong no female can carry a baby for 9 months and walk into a clinic for an abortion. Its more complicated than that.

You are anti abortion but say McCain Palin they kill animals in the name of OIL or $.
They kill people grown people in the name of OIL and $

The only times the "partial birth" abortions were used by qualified doctors acting within medical guidelines were "life of the mother" situations where Caesarian wasn't an option or cases where the fetus was already dead. Anything outside that was civilly if not criminally actionable.

The whole "partial birth abortion debate" was yet another example of the Republicans trying to get more press and supporters with irrational hype.

I still see alot of "prolife" individuals working both sides of the fence - You can't not possibly be for life and vote for McCain, who will keep us at war. War = Murder plan and simple. If you truly value life vote Democrate.

I'm guessing John McNeil is also anti-war, and anti-death penalty, because those are also instances where one or more human beings decides who does and does not have the right to live.

And I believe a lot of states have adopted the law where just by being on someone's property basically gives them the right to kill you as a matter of self-defense, and I know a lot of people on the right defended the man in Texas who killed the two men by shooting them in the back b/c they were robbing his neighbor. People on the right think they should be the only people to decide when life becomes meaningless.

Lanny-

I understand your point, but the majority of women who have an abortion do consult the potential father before having the procedure performed. In fact, the father is, in one way or another, usually the reason a woman decides an abortion is either best or not an option. An overwhelming percentage of abortions are performed on women who have stated that the father is no longer around and that she is seeking abortion due to various reasons ranging from finances, not wanting to be a single parent, to image.

There's also a large percentage of women who say their reason for opting for an abortion is because the potential father has pressured her into having one through various methods such as threatening to leave the relationship, abandon the child, etc. Very few women want to have an abortion, and even fewer who have the procedure leave unscathed emotionally.

A lot of people resort to abortions because they feel there is no other option. There needs to be more information and help readily available to people who are pregnant. That's the tricky part, which exposes the hypocrisy of so called pro-lifers. When a woman does have a baby she can't support, people on the right complain that "She should have never had a child if she couldn't afford to take care of it. It's not the responsible taxpayers fault she had this child, why do we have to support it?" With contradicting positions like that it's not too hard to see why the stigma connected to being a single parent &/or a parent on welfare, why some young women feel it's easier to go through a quick procedure where no one will no, rather than spending years and years being looked down upon.

I agree with this summation. The majority of women who seek abortion do not haphazardly choose this option. Abortion rights are sound. It is an individuals right to choose.
The hardcore anti-abortion groups would better serve humanity if they would viciously attack child abuse, child neglect, predatory types and those who truly do not value human life.
All this ranting about "murdering babies" is not helping those children born to a world of pure grief.
I believe we have much better things to do than to chip away on an issue that does not truly solve a problem

It will not only drive it underground, but it will give rise to dangerous methods of abortion putting the health and lives of women seeking abortion at risk. It brings to mind the heart-wrenching movie "Vera Drake".

I also do not believe in abortion and have taught my familey how I believe, I think they would avoid such a choice . I think everyone should have this choice. I worked in a hospital for 18 yrs
starting in 1966 , abortion was not legal. We had ladies on the 10th floor with private doctors getting
a procedure , "D&C". The poor women and teenagers in trouble came into the emergency room with
butchered abortions that many times led to thier death. So If we were to revisit Rove v Wade and the right
wing nut jobs had thier way we would be right back to those same nut jobs losing thier own children because they couldnt go to thier parents with this problem. No I dont think children are a problem but a unwanted pregnacy is. You can not legislate morals or values , and if you think you can you think youre God.

I do not believe in stealing items from clothing stores, but this too has been common for centuries. Should we not have criminalized that? This argument makes no sense to me. If something is wrong, it's wrong. Just because it's "common" doesn't mean we shouldn't put an end to it.

Husbands killing unwanted wives has been "common for centuries" yet it's still murder isn't it? Unless a women is raped or her health is in grave danger, abortion should never be used as birth control!

Thank you Betty for being a voice of reason. When did criminalization ever rid society of anything? Criminalization leads to participation in underground and dangerous versions of activity that could be safe and monitored. There were abortions before Roe and there will be still be abortions if it is over turned.

Killing is adults is illegal too, and people still do it. Imagine if it were legal to kill adults?

Murder has been common for centuries too. How about rape? Stealing? Does that mean we should legalize rape because it has been "common for centuries", too? Or, maybe we should legalize it, and even pay for rapes with government money (meaning OUR money)?

Please, please, truly consider your position. If you think something is wrong, if you "do not believe in abortion", please stand by your belief and say so with your votes.

What makes you think making abortion illegal will end it? Besides, this is a fringe issue. How are we going to feed those babies that you want here so badly when many families (ones least likely to be able to afford birth control) are having to choose between gas and food. Or not going to doctors because they can't afford it. We are sending billions of dollars to Iraq when Iraq has a huge budget surplus. I hate the very thought of abortion. But I honestly think if the Republicans were all that against it, it would be illegal by now. Conservatives have had a long time to fix this "mistake", they haven't. Why would they. This is their "go to" issue. What would they use to polarize the voters if they could not bring up abortion and gays any time they start slipping in the polls. Wake up folks, you are being used.

If you use the "abortion for birth control" talking point all that tells me is you aren't comfortable with your own beliefs. What woman in her right mind would choose abortion as a form of birth control? This is one of the most asinine "talking points" anti-abortionists use. IMHO, abortion should be a choice made between the woman and her doctor. Period! End of conversation! What are anti-abortionists doing in another person's doctor's appointment anyway? IT IS NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS!!!!!!!

Morals cannot be legislated. If they could be, do you think we would have to listen to all the lies being told in the Republicans' campaign ads?

Killing adults *is* legal. George W. Bush continues to spend billions of taxpayer dollars for American soldiers to kill people, for no compelling reason. Where's the rightwing/Republican outrage on *that* issue? Hypocrisy runs rampant.

Since I cannot have children, I would prefer women give them up for adoption. There are so many options where the potential parents pay all medical expenses, so money doesn't have to be a concern.

HOWEVER, there are also circumstances where I do believe in adoption. The main circumstance would be in the case of a rape. Why should a woman HAVE to carry and bear a child that she may resent due how said child was conceived. Is it better to save that life, resent or even hate that life and therefore possibly neglect it, even to the point of an even worse death for that child?

It is easy for holy rollers and men to say that abortion is wrong. However, I wonder how any of them would feel if their wives, daughters or mothers were raped and a child was the result? Would they still hold that same view? And in regards to men, they cannot comprehend how this could affect both the woman and child(ren)!!

Think a bit deeper than what you are told to believe due to religion or what you "feel" is right and LEAVE THE CHOICE UP TO THE WOMAN!!!

In reference to ajb2662...you're completely right. Criminalizing abortion would not "rid society" of it. Just as criminalizing murder, rape, theft and a million other things didn't spell the end of those things either. But does that mean we shouldn't have put laws on the books against them?

OK..."abortion as birth control"...In most cases where a woman has had 3 abortions she is unable to conceive after due to scarring of the uterine wall. The "going several times a year for abortions" for birth control thing is yet another myth.

The flip side of it is that several women who've suffered this effect have shown up at rallies and on TV shows in support of the anti-abortionist position. While these women have more validity in speaking on the subject than most, I do not see it as cause to ban abortion. While tragic, the physical and psychological effects on these and other women are the consequences of their actions similar to any risky action we take that can affect our health.

I am a Catholic and I am not in favor of abortion. However, opposing the criminalization of abortion is not being in favor of abortion. There are other issues that should be important to Catholics as well. The church teaches that capital punishment is wrong. How many Catholics vote for a candidate who opposes abortion and favors capital punishment? The Pope spoke against the Iraq War, but how many Catholics voted for George Bush and intend to vote for Bush's disciple, John McCain, whom started or favor that war. What about charity to one's fellow man? Is it the Catholic position to favor huge tax cuts for the wealthest Americans and at the same time oppose help for the poorest of our American citizens? I am a Catholic; I am not in favor of abortion; and I intend to vote for Obama. I can square that vote best with my Catholic beliefs.

That's right and it is up to you not to have one. That's all. That's your choice. Last time I looked neither canidate is Catholic. McCain believes in public Execution. Again his choice. Catholics don't. That's their choice. Any way, My point is neither Canidate is forcing you to have an Abortion. One allows for you to choose what you do with your body.

Being Catholic is no different that choosing a political party. You don't have to agree with every position they take. You just have to weigh waht is most important to you and decided what you believe in from there. Don't tell me that because I may support a woman's right to have an abortion that I am not a Catholic. I was baptised Catholic, raised Catholic, and Confirmed as a Catholic and I support abortion, same sex marriage and embryonic stem cell research....and I am still a Catholic! My priest also told me that I can pick and choose which tenants to follow. It is my faith to do what I choose with it.

I absolutely disagree. People are not in favor of abortion, people are in favor of the right to chose. I am a life-long Catholic, I attended Catholic school, I am raising my children as practicing Catholics and I support every woman's right to make their own choices regarding pregnancies.

In this country we have separation of church and state and I extend that separation to my political choices. As a Catholic, I know that the church is against abortion, but not everyone in America is Catholic and I do not feel that I should force my religious beliefs on everyone else. That is the beauty of America! There needs to be room for both politics and religion in every home and everyone has to find that balance for themselves.

Why not the early church did when it picked and choose which book to put in the bible. To say today that it cannot be done is ....

Well said Carrie. No one wakes up one morning and says, "I'd like to have an abortion." No one advocates it, no one wants one, no one likes to know if one take place.

The sad irony is that not many uninvolved third parties like the alternative either. Responsibility.

Passing judgment on another is cheap, easy, free, doesn't burn any calories, takes 3 seconds at most.

There are plenty of people who want to live the lives of others, without any more responsibility for that, than what it takes to open your mouth.

Do you use birth control, amazonrefinance.com ? If so, then you ARE picking and choosing which tenets of doctrine to follow, as BC is not approved by the Catholic Church.

BC is approved in certain situations in the Catholic Church, read Humanae Vitae. It's not considered a mortal sin to use like murder is, but the church believes it is the cause for pre-marital sex, infidelity, and divorce so it preaches against it's use.

For amazonrefinance.com

You say "You can't pick and choose which tenets of the doctrine you are going to follow". I would argue that that this in fact occurs daily. Whether you call it sin or choosing which tenets you follow, we all make our own choices. Many Catholics use birth control and pre-marital sex is hardly rare. Human mortals have written and modified our religious doctrines over time and will continue to do so. Remember Priests were allowed to marry until the 12th century. Many of the modifications to these doctrines have been for less then "pure" purposes, generally to centralize control, wealth, and power. Denying that there is a split among Catholics on abortion or any of these other polarizing issues will just continue to push more people away.

You are seriously deluded if you believe there is no debate amongst Catholics on abortion and birth control. There are a great many Catholics who practice birth control quietly and for good reason. There are also a great many who have abortions quietly and for what they view as good reason. The debate exists!! Wake up!!

You have it right a
The point of the debate is not the right to choose, BUT MURDER you idiots. 40M plus and counting.
And some of u equate abortion to the war in Iraq (Dr Malloy) you are a very sick puppy.
Yes the Pope has spoken about the death penalty, BUT It Is Not Against The Catholic Church Tenants. Catholic Church teaching allow for the State to take a life. And yes they also allow for war folks. There b 100M of those idiots and they want ur head and mine.
McCain/Palin 08

You are correct. We are NOT the authority! We are created in the image and likeness of God. Catholics know this and are taught this, if they do not live this then... they are Not Catholic! We are called to protect our defenseless, unborn, young, old and those who cannot care for themselves.

Don't tell me I'm not a Catholic if I'm pro abortion. I am a Catholic and I'm pro choice. I as a Catholic cannot tell women of other beliefs not to have an abortion. That decision is theirs to make and it's between them and God. Not you, me or anyone else. Religion should not be part of this election. Change is government is what we need. Our economy is going down the tubes, crime is on the rise, the war is killing our sons and daughters and thousands of Americans have no health care. Those are the important factors in this election, not abortion. Vote change - Obama-Biden

Isn't the most important thing honoring and serving God the Almighty. He is a sovereign Lord. His Word is His Word. Sin is sin. Strangely not everyone has received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and that directly affects a persons convictions and attitudes when making choices. As children we are taught by our environment what to feel, how to behave, what is right and wrong. The only way to truly know which position to take, which position is right or wrong, who to vote for or not, is to pray with diligence and study the Word. Then make your choices, choose your behaviors, vote your rights.

Even though most people are uncomfortable with this reality, the bottom line is that we are not in control of God's will. If you are pro choice, pro life, Catholic, Protestant...run it by God first. If you prayerfully ask Him to guide you in your choices and you are obedient, then regardless of which side, it is between you and Him. (Shame on all who attacked others and behaved badly. It makes it embarrassing to support either side.) Only God knows your heart. Isn't it possible to receive God in your heart at your last dying breath? Isn't it possible to make a wrong choice, repent and be forgiven.

I always believed I was a hard core pro lifer. I get truly confused about my need to protect unborn babies but worrying that my choice to accomplish that may directly affect other persons, and myself, in having the government control my life. You know, there is no guarantee that us pro lifers could win and regain obvious "control" over abortions and with that may someday come a different group that believes in something just as passionately, and may just be, they take our right to read the Word or congregate in the name of Jesus.

I think what frightens most of us is we know we must coexist with others and different views, but it as scary to think that from Roe vs Wade we have evolved to the "Born Alive Bill". For us God fearing, Bible living people, the need for "self rights at all cost" is scary.
I am not judging or condescending, I am being heart-fully honest. I want God given boundaries. That's all. Peace.

No, but hell no ...I will never vote for that baby killer

AMEN !

If you tell your priest that you are in favor of abortion, or pro choice, you WILL be not allowed to receive Holy Communion. The bishop just did that yesterday to Biden. He can longer receive communion in the Catholic Church.

"...No such thing as a Catholic in favor of abortion..." because of the Church's doctrine? How many Catholics are in favor of the death penalty? How many Catholics favor the use of birth control aside from the "Vatican Roulette" method? How many Catholics out there are in favor of the war in Iraq though John Paul II spoke out against it?

Why is abortion more of an issue than war, anyway? My guess is it's because war is just violence against someone not like you. Abortion is directly tied into sex issues ( which the Church has been trying to direct for almost 2 millennia ) and easily distracts the common folk from looking at whether or not the useful application of violence on faceless strangers is just or moral.

There's a difference between doctrine and dogma. There's also a difference between being "in favor" of something and knowing it's not your place to tell others not of your faith what they have to do.

"Baby-killer"!!! Finally someone said it.

I'm sorry, the guy's not sitting there at the clinic with a catcher's mitt gleefully collecting the results of abortions. I'm so sick of that overly-dramatic b******* expression. I kept hearing people refer to John Kerry with that phrase.

Saddam Hussein used poison gas on Kurdish villages, killing civilians indescriminately. THAT'S a baby-killer.

Slobodan Milosevic ordered ethnic cleansing. THAT's a baby-killer.

The woman who strapped her kids into the car and rolled it into the lake years back. THAT'S a baby-killer.

A politician who says it's not their place to enforce his moral beliefs in defiance of standing law of the country he lives in IS NOT a baby-killer.

I say nobody is Catholic!! There is no one on earth who subscribes or follows every tenet of their religion. Heck, I don't know if there is anyone out there who actually KNOWS every tenet of their religion. Anyone who pretends otherwise is full of it.

Dry Gulch Dick/John Mc Neil
oh my! first off...last i checked BC is DEFINITELY "uncatholic" (i don't know what church YOU grew up in but whatever)
Life is a God-given gift that you should always welcome. The act of INTERCOURSE should MORALLY be considered an invitation for God to do as he pleases... oh and last i CHECKED (DGD) the Catholic faith is of NO RELEVANCE to what state renders lawful or not. so i can give two flying f**ks what they say. the point here is whether or not iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii have the right to tell yoooooooooou that you go to jail for doing with your insides as you please. We have freedoms in this country, insofaras, they do not hinder the rights of others. A woman having a child or sucking it out of her uterus (whether at 3 weeks or at 10) is NONE of my business and is DEFINITELY not affecting me. Morally I do not think i'd EVER have an abortion. But i am 100% for BC and will always be. Hypocritical people! And i call myself whatever the heck i WANT...i was raised catholic and have boiled it all down to believing in Christ as our saviour and believe in the TWO commandments initally given to us. Mind your business--i believe what i want and you believe what you want...it's America!

That's like saying if you're Catholic you don't use birth control. It may sound good on Sunday morning, but it isn't REALITY.

The bottom line is that people who vote based on one issue are ignorant. People who vote based on ANY social issue are ignorant. You must vote based on fiscal issues because in the long run, that is ALL that matters. If you cannot afford the gas to drive to work and thus feed and clothe your family, will you care if some 19 year old college student can get an abortion or not? IF the answer is YES... then you need to seriously examine whether or not you are intelligent enough to vote.

Uhm, for all you "Catholic", did you not hear when the Pope was here in the USA last spring that he forbid ANY priest or biship from REFUSING communion just bc they are pro-choice. The Pope PERSONALLY gave communion to Nancy Pelosi and Rudy Guiliani (both pro-choice). I wish "Catholics" would pay attention more to their leader.

PS I am Catholic and the Pope also added pollution and excessive wealth as sins

I am a Catholic. I personally oppose abortion and accept the Catholic teachings on when life begins. That is my CHOICE. My values are my values. They belong in my family. As a member of an open and free democratic society, not everyone shares my beliefs nor my values. Our laws protect our civil liberties regardless of whether or not I agree with them. In the end, God judges us based upon our actions. He determines final judgement; not I. Outside of my family, it is not my place to interfere with one's choices.

You have ever right to your beliefs, but please to not vote to impose them on others.

I wonder if this was told to anyone that supports the inexperienced Senator that has chosen to run for Leader of a whole nation that needs to be taken out of a mess that he feels can be changed by hiking up everyone's taxes. That is to help me HOW?????

How hypocritical is it to say that you are following the teaching of the church on this issue, yet you will support a political party that enthusiastically defends their position on assault rifles, hunting of endangered animals from helicopters, allowing concealed weapons in schools and bars, charging a rape victim for the exam kit, forcing a rape victim to bear the child of the rapist, and lying to the American people to invade a sovereign country and killing thousands of our soldiers and hundreds of thousands of civilians to help oil corporations and defense contractors make a profit. I attended a Lutheran school for nine years and I do not recall Jesus teaching any of these things. Republicans all have their one issue that they use to justify their vote guns, abortion, taxes, or 911. Please think of what is best overall for the country.

I cant believe you are bringing poor Terri shivo into the abortion discussion, I personelly
would feel terrible if had anything at all to do with putting government in the middle of a
terrible family ordeal. That is not governments place, especially after the courts had decided.

Kate quote a source before you spout an opinion.

My experience with Catholics, and I was baptized one, is that they pick and choose the church doctrines they want participate in. They will participate in medicated birth control, which is against Catholic doctrine, they believe it is okay to have children by In-vitro fertilization and divorce is now okay if your adult children are in a loveless marriage. But when it comes to abortion - they always vote Republican. Tell me one Pro-choice person that believes in and likes the idea of abortion. However, it is not up to any man to make a decision for another. We live in America where the freedom to choose is our right.

Doesn't the religious right know they are being used by the Republicans. Roe v Wade will never be overturned. Republicans know this is a hot button issue and will always want it to be a point to separate our county. Wise up Pro-Lifers - You are being used!!!

So you don't think the end of executions (murder) for heresy is a significant change in the teachings/doctrine of The Church?

How would the crusades fit into the teachings of The Church of today?

The Church is ever evolving because we and The Church are not perfect nor omnipotent...

To say it has not changed significantly in 2000 years is laughably ignorant.

That said I doubt The Church will ever change its view on abortion, but forcing religious views (mine or others') onto other people, to me, is wrong. You cannot legislate belief...

U.S. out of my womb

Kate - The Terri Shivo case is exactly what proves Anti-Abortionists and the Religeous rights are HYPOCRITS...

Keeping Teri Shivo on life-support was AGAINST GOD'S WILL considering the woman would have died YEARS PRIOR if the doctors hadnt ARTIFICALLY PROLONGED HER LIFE...

So on one hand, its okay for science and medicine to CIRCUMVENT God's will as to when a persons life should end, but its not okay for science and medicine to provide abortions, as anti-abortionists say that is against God's will...

??? what ??? seems your damned if you do and damned if you dont...

Do not let that be sole reason for your voting decision. Remember abortion is a symptom not the problem. Sex outside marriage is the problem and I'm pretty sure there is no political person or party who can force control on that. If you did judge on sexual morality then McCain committed adultery. But one should not hold that against him either. I hope your decision will be based on issues that not only affect you but those around you who need help. Health care for everyone, government oversight of business, tax breaks for the average family come to mind. Morality, is best left to spiritual entities. Thanks.

Not for a great speaker:

You said: That Senator Obama is for "hiking up everyone's taxes". You just told a lie and lying is also a sin. Senator Obama is not for hiking up everyone's taxes. I hope you are not a self-righteous hypocrite. :)

I agree, I will not vote for or against someone based on whether or not they are personally pro-choice or anti-choice, but I will vote for or against someone based on whether or not they think the decision to give women the choice, should be overturned.

That's what I was saying to myself. But I guess when you get everyone talking about their views on religion and politics...it always is a pretty big bang! (no pun intended)

Cosmic Light Show??? Righhht...... Just a hook to get you to be part of a survey........

" GREAT SPEAKER" I can actually think of more than one thing at the time, I can
think about abortion, religion, Terri Shivo,. I can also think about the economy, the war in Iraq, the lying republicians, Jobs. Energy. I do know what you mean its like the corrupt media talking about everything but what we need to talk about

Yeah man! I want to read about the cosmic light show. What the heck's up with the link MSN????

Catholic because that's what I was born into.

Do you believe in seatbelt laws, Paul? That to me is a personal issue.

Well Lanny - That's your opinion. The problem is that Republicans believe in small government because they don't want to protect the little guy from corporate corruption (can you say Enron). However, they want to be all over what goes on inside my home. Doesn't make sense to me.

You missed the point Christine, what goes on in your home, your car or your body, is none of my business unless I had something to do with it. Then it becomes my business. And just to answer Stephanie - men do have the choice to wear a condom and women have the choice to keep their legs together - if neither of those things occur then it becomes a mutual problem. Just because women are the carriers doesn't give them supreme rights and I expect there are a lot of men who would be willing to trade places if that were biologically possible.

Lanny...tell ya what. When you release the disability system ( which my taxes go into ) from any possible responsibility in paying for a spinal/brain injury that isn't covered by your insurance and could be prevented by you or your passengers wearing a seatbelt, I'll fully support that attitude. I'm all for your no-seatbelt personal policy if YOU are the only one paying for any injuries.

If you look at abortion from the "I don't wanna pay for someone else's" position, it actually would fit the Republican "lower taxes" goal to support abortion. There's certainly been no progress on helping the adoption option get any easier so if abortion were successfully banned either we pay for even more kids that are given up and drift about the foster care system or have more mothers on welfare ( and yes, I know that's not the circumstances for all women who get abortions, but it is for a significant number ) so continuing abortion policy as-is keeps the system and it's drain in the form of taxes lower.

Oh, but then you have the "morality" issue. That's simple, just enforce an abstinence-only society. Religions around the world have had great success with it over the past 5000 years.

Yosho - you hit it right on the head.

I'm all for personal responsibility - but I also recognize a need to a 'corporate' responsibility - from all to all. Feel free to give up your personal rights - but don't pretend to be acting in MY best interest when you are plainly not.

The government has - through Roe-vs-wade - recognized that women have the right to life, and should be the sole arbiter of their choice regarding their pregnancy - up to the point that the foetus becomes acceptably sustainable (ie. a child). Before that point, it is the MOTHER's life that is in question - not that of a presumptive child.

McCain and Palin would make it a priority to overturn Roe-v-Wade. McCain 'pretends' that handing the responsibility back to the states would make it fine. True, but only if you want to return to backroom abortions.

I don't care where your political leanings take you on the economy or healthcare or foreign policy. But if you have any real respect for LIFE you will vote for Obama and Biden this November.

Obama/Biden 08

I am a Bible believing Christian and a pro-lifer. I will preach what I believe till the day I die because I know it is right. I will vote for whoever best supports what I believe. Many will claim that I am forcing my beliefs on others in doing so, and to that I must simply respond that you should start up your own country as a dictatorship (where you are the dictator), because that is the only way you will ever live in a country where others beliefs are not forced upon you.

Just like many of you vehemently believe that a woman has a right to choose, I vehemently believe that life begins at conception, and to take that life is an act of murder. It is not that I have no compassion for the woman who has a pregnancy forced upon her, it is that I believe the solution that the world has come up with for that unwanted pregnancy (abortion) involves an act of murder. I do not claim to have the correct solution to that situation, or do I believe anybody else does... but if a law is to be made based off of the options we have on the table now, I would choose the social burden of a unwanted child and the inconvenience of the mother over the murder of that child. Based off of my beliefs and the currently available options, I believe the lesser of the 2 evils is what our society should choose.

You are welcome to disagree, and be hopping mad at me for expressing my beliefs. I expect nothing else...

John 15:18-20 (Words of Jesus Christ)
18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

I am a Bible believing Christian and a pro-lifer. I will preach what I believe till the day I die because I know it is right. I will vote for whoever best supports what I believe. Many will claim that I am forcing my beliefs on others in doing so, and to that I must simply respond that you should start up your own country as a dictatorship (where you are the dictator), because that is the only way you will ever live in a country where others beliefs are not forced upon you.

Just like many of you vehemently believe that a woman has a right to choose, I vehemently believe that life begins at conception, and to take that life is an act of murder. It is not that I have no compassion for the woman who has a pregnancy forced upon her, it is that I believe the solution that the world has come up with for that unwanted pregnancy (abortion) involves an act of murder. I do not claim to have the correct solution to that situation, or do I believe anybody else does... but if a law is to be made based off of the options we have on the table now, I would choose the social burden of a unwanted child and the inconvenience of the mother over the murder of that child. Based off of my beliefs and the currently available options, I believe the lesser of the 2 evils is what our society should choose.

You are welcome to disagree, and be hopping mad at me for expressing my beliefs. I expect nothing else...

John 15:18-20 (Words of Jesus Christ)
18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

And Bush hasn't been a dictator?

Please, believe what you want, but get a grip. Come out of the pews and into the light!

slick, believe what you want. I'm not "forcing" you to beleive anything. I'm just asking those who push for a ban on abortion to address the results of what they propose. To ignore possible consequences of the actions proposed is acting irresponsibly, no matter how "moral" one's intentions. If you mean what you say about supporting the extra children that would result from an abortion ban, along with the added cost to state-run prenatal care for the uninsured and underinsured mothers, please petition your elected representatives. That's how a republic works. We'll need to enact policies that will take care of the kids already out there and will then adjust to keep up with any future higher need for such care resulting from an abortion ban.

Of course, that means higher taxes and bigger government, but lets see those with "moral" motivations for anti-abortion put their money where their mouths are on this. Most that I've talked to respond to this challenge with either "it's someone else's problem to pay for" or "if this country was acting with the Bible we wouldn't have any of these problems."

The problem I have with such thinking is this, slick: too many people are voting on something that could be seen as a "problem" but are offering no viable "solutions." Abstinence-only doesn't work, the domestic adoption system's a bureaucratic maze to where it's easier to get a child from overseas ( doing nothing to reduce the domestic demand for abortions ), and it's hypocritically cruel to demand change that brings more lives into this world while making no provisions to take care of them. Waiting til after a ban is in place to set policy for these kids is unacceptable; our founding fathers passed the buck to the future when they deadlocked on the slavery issue and it took 90 years and a civil war to sort that out. We can't put things off like that with the additional people born due to an abortion ban.

As for the "if we made the Bible the law of State" argument, that's called a "theocracy" and I'm sorry, but the only difference in the long run between what people would do with a Christian theocracy and what happens in Iran is what book is being used. The atrocities in the name of God will be the same in the long run, once the denominations sort out who's right and who's to be eliminated as heretics.

Well said, Yosho. The only thing I would add is that the people who are so strongly opposed to abortion--and really, who likes it?--should support the most effective preventative: birth control. Fewer unwanted pregnancies means fewer abortions, plain and simple. But many of them oppose contraception, too, even for married people. That is not only impractical, and completely illogical if they really want to reduce abortions, but it is trying to impose one group's narrow religious views on the rest of us. As you point out, that is not what our country is all about. Slick, I hope you support contraception, or you don't have a leg to stand on.

I don't understand how people can't see through the weak candidacy of McCain/Palin. Poor McCain is clearly having a tough time even getting his speaches out. He has nothing to stand on but a recent grasp on being the "change" candidate and a maverick. There was a time when McCain could have claimed that name, but not in the last 8 years where he has begun to go against everything he stood. He used to apologize for not exactly telling the truth, but now he lies right on camera and it's a known fact he's lying and that Obama didn't advocate sex education for children or call Palin a pig. But let's move onto Palin - there are many Republicans that are very concerned that she knows nothing about the national scene and since no one can even ask the lady a question that isn't scripted and she was thrown on us in the final hours, none of us will really know what she's about other than her arrogance and doublespeak to walk away from Troopergate and yet talk of "transparency" - does this remind you of the last 8 years??? What kind of change is that? I have no problem with her having a pregnant 17 year old but I do have a problem with her saying her daughter "chose" to keep the baby when it's a known fact she is against choice even in the case of rape or incest. Woman are too smart for her kind - she may seem just like every other Mom, but Bush politicians wrote her speech for her and those weren't her words. The Republicans are afraid to let her use her own words for fear we will find out just how out of touch she is with mainstream Moms who don't believe in Creationism in our schools or that Iraq is God's war. She's been out in public now for 18 days and today was the first day that she took any questions and those were scripted and friendly. Hilary and Obama didn't get that pass and neither does Joe Biden - so why does she get one when she is the one we know the least about and with McCain's health and age, the one most likely to accidentally end up as president? Are we going to wait and let her give her first real interview when our country is suddenly faced with a crisis and she is sitting at the helm? Do Iranians, Georgians, and Russians get to ask her the first tough questions? This is unreal -

She only said her daughter "chose" to keep her baby and get married to try and get all the Hillary Clinton voters to think that one of the choices was to terminate the pregnancy. The choices probably were Keep and get married, or Keep and stay single. Which is a choice, I guess, but not all of the ones I would want available to MY 17 year old daughter if she got pregnant.

Note the first 5 words of your post. That is the crux of the issue. Is abortion murder? Many do not believe that abortion is the murder of a living human being. Both sides have legitimate arguments.

Amen.

I see prayer, in this context, as a political demand for conformity to the dictates of the Republican party. That may be fine for you; but, I, for one, demand that prayer be about God and not the power and greed of men.

Wow, so eloquent yet soo wrong. First, we ARE giving freedom From religion also. Not all are believers, sorry. Further, I would ask for those of you who do believe what makes you so sure that your god is the one which should be praised? How about the other guy who says you should bow to his god?

You must remember that there are OVER 3000 religious creeds in the world, to be equal under the Constitution one must honor all others regardless of personal opinion to be EQUAL under the law. That is why there is SEPARATION between church and state as no one religion should be held up above another in an UNEQUAL mannner. Pray at the football games or wherever you wish, but respect the choices and diversity of others.

Hey Lazer, You just stole my bumper sticker I had made last year. " Freedom OF religion not freedom FROM religion. " I've gotten a lot of thumbs up on it, and a surprisingly large number of comments on it in parking lots, all positive. Many also wanted to know where I got it. I had it made on an internet site

That made no sense. It is not about control it is about what is right. What makes you think abortion is ok in the first trimester but not any other time? The baby already has life, he or she has been conceived. It seems that no one wants to take responsibility anymore. Our society has a mind set that what ever is convenient is how it should be! This world is headed for trouble.

This world is already in trouble, not headed for it and Im afraid it is in large part due to religion. When it comes to abortion the religious types are trying to force their beliefs that "god is the reason for that zygote inside the woman." If so, then god is the greatest abortionist of all as a full 20% of all pregnancies end in spontaneous abortions. Now why would your god do this? Splain that one to me...

The president chooses who will be on the supreme court . There are a few hoops he has to jump through if his choices are rejected by those who oppose his choice but basically he chooses judges who could overturn or support roe vs. wade so yes it does matter who is president. What does it profit a country to gain the whole world and yet lose it's soul. God says that about each person but by killing someone for sake of selfish desires like our country is doing right now is more heinous than our economic troubles which by the way are not all Bush's fault. The regulatory system for our economy is 25 years old and needs to be changed. This trouble would have happened with a democrat in office as well. Obama will make things even worse by raising taxes and crippling our economy much like Carter at the end of the 70's. You think it's bad now. Elect Obama and see what bad really is. McCain will reform our regulatory system and keep taxes low so our economy can slowly recover making life better than it is now. And hopefully choose a supreme court justice who will help overturn the despicable Roe vs. Wade ruling. Remember at the end of this life we will be facing THE supreme court. Do you really think God will do nothing to those kill the people he loves. Better to die poor with love and hope than rich with evil and have no hope as those who murder have no hope after this life.

Chris - Such, piety. Anyways, do you really want to talk about "sanctity of life". Just how do you explain how our current leaders seem to value the life of the unborn more than the living, sending our children to die on foreign soils for the sake of fatter wallets. Oh, and you must make more than 250K a year as they are the only people who will see an increase in their taxes but I guess you keep missing that part of Obamas plan.

Lastly, we would appreciate if you would stop trying to force your religious beliefs into the lives of others. How you can say that a woman/girl raped by her father resulting in the possibility of a child being born with deformities is somehow the work of a god is sickening. Such a god is not benevolent but instead malevolent. Such a god you can keep.

Henry - I wonder if you are Catholic and pro-life. The Catholic position on embryonic stem cell research is that it is the intentional destruction of a human person and therefore must be avoided as it is objective evil. Only President Bush stood in the way of additional federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. The next president of the United States will clearly have the opportunity - with one quick sweep of his pen - to begin funding (with our tax dollars) the United Nations Population Fund which promotes abortion all over the World, increase federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research, including animal/human hybrid research, and will likely have the opportunity to nominate 1,2 or even 3 justices to the US Supreme Court.

So, if you truly are pro-life, and a Catholic, then how can you promote anything but a pro-life vote in this presidential election. Anything less would be remote cooperation in evil.
HW

Fellow Catholic and Henry... you hit that right on.

Vote for change in 08.

GO OBAMA GO

What about that baby's rights after this birth you have forced on the mother? He/She could be unwanted, poverty stricken, mentally or physically handicapped, biracial, drug addicted, fetal alcohol syndrome etc etc etc!! Will you adopt and take care of them or pay to care for them for life under government programs?

UNWANTED??? Do you not know that there are thousands of families trying to adopt who have to wait months and sometimes years to adopt a child, especially in the U.S.? Maybe the mother does not want the baby, but the baby is not unwanted. Abortion is not about choice but about convenience and selfishness. Obama puts a low value on human life. I do not want that kind of person making any decisions for me.

Your kidding right? Since when did a potential life trump an existing life?

If you or anyone else wants to adopt:

How many children were waiting to be adopted on September 30, 2006? 129,000

NOTES: Waiting children are identified as children who have a goal of adoption and/or whose parental rights have been terminated. Children 16 years old and older whose parental rights have been terminated and who have a goal of emancipation have been excluded from the estimate.

I have been on both sides of the fence. I am a mother of SEVEN children AND I have had 3 abortions. I want all these pro lifers to UNDERSTAND... it is never an easy decision, nor do you jump for joy afterwards, YES you feel bad, but sometimes its necessary... be it stuck with an abusive man or for health reasons.  I appreciated the fact that I COULD CHOOSE an option, instead of having the government decide FOR ME.

Obama is the only way for women to KEEP your rights! Vote Obama!

What? and "flock" you see thats the problem too many sheep. Not enough of us thinking for ourselves. Another word that is sometimes used is lemmings.

An interesting and worthwhile take on this issue. That is being poverty and the unplanned child.

Exactly- it seems they "care" for you before your born but after that, your on your own.

What "right to good health" are you talking about? What "right to a stable family, education and healthy planet"? Are you making this up as you go? Give me a break!

So, by your absolutely stupid statements, if a poor, single woman is pregnant, she should abort. Maybe the government should force it, huh? That way only those who will be born into a "good", "stable" family will survive? Sounds like eugenics - clean up the race by aborting all of the "defects" - those who would otherwise be born to broken families and uneducated parents. Its sad, but that's exactly what Margaret Sanger promoted while she was expanding her clinics throughout the country. Except she was a little more direct - get rid of the blacks and the poor. Don't dirty our race and our country.

The power of the "pro-life" perspective is that it is the embrace of a dignity and value of the human person - no matter the age (gestational or otherwise). At all stages of life - pre-born, elderly and every stage in between. Pro-Life isn't about republican or democrat - its about humanity.

HW

Well, I am sure that I speak for others when I say, "Who are you to take someone's life away by forcing them to have a child against their best interests?"

Warmonger, HOW UGLY YOUR COMMENT! Let me tell you this: YOU did not have a cold barrel at your head and raped in front of your kids and have cancer on top of it with biopsies every week not knowing whether an immediate procedure to take the baby to save your life from day to day for almost a year...YOU EXPERIENCE THIS PERSONALLY before you ever make such a selfish trash of a comment to me again as PER MY RELIGION, it is NOT considered a "life" but a cell...or blooding clot and many women abort yearly unknowingly during their monthly cycles. I know I am truly blessed so crawl back under the rock you came from because what comes around goes around, and it will definitely come back to you.

You GO kjacks!!!!