OOOOooooh Baby, Baby! Ba-Baby Baby! OOOOooooh Baby Baby, Ba-Baby Baby!
I love babies. I wouldn't be a labor and delivery nurse if I didn't love babies. I love helping women bring these precious little bundles of joy into the world. It is an amazing blessing.
"Well, Whitney, that's just frickin' fantastic!!! So what?" Well hold onto your britches...
This blog was inspired by a Facebook post that my pastor put up. It was a question about Christianity and Abortion. The question was, "Can you really claim to be a Christian if you are pro-choice? And if so, can you back it up with scripture?
I couldn't help it. I was drawn to this posting like a moth to a flame. I ignore most "hot button" topics on Facebook, mostly because I don't care to argue with people who have their minds all made up and have everything all figured out (scoff*gag*hack*splutter). It would be like intentionally arguing with a two year old--and goodness knows, although I love babies, I can totally do without toddlers.
So why am I feeling so entitled to address this "taboo" topic of the big "A" word (abortion)?
I'll answer that in a minute.
First of all, this is NOT a blog on whether or not I think abortion should be legal. Why? BECAUSE IT IS LEGAL ALREADY! And no amount of pissing and moaning is going to fix/stop that!!!--So stop shooting doctors at the abortion clinics, and showing your awful pictures of what the dumpsters look like behind Planned Parenthood. If we wanted to see them, we'd go to Google Images! Or Facebook for goodness sake...
I was a teen mom. I could've opted out of the huge mess I created for myself back in the day by opting for abortions, but I didn't (DISCLAIMER: This fact does not make me high and mighty in any way, shape, or form). I almost did opt for the big "A" with baby #2, but my dad convinced me otherwise. I'm happy about that now, even though my son is going through his, "I hate you, mom" phase at the age of 19, and blaming every problem he's ever had in his life on me. He's still a brilliant creation. A brilliant creation with a huge mouth--wonder where he got that?
As stated before, I also happen to work in labor and delivery. It is AWESOME!...mostly. However, I work with a fair bit of welfare moms. And drug addicted moms. And moms who have 900 children that they can't take care of already. It makes it hard not to feel sorry for these babies.
This was everything that was racing through my mind when I read this Facebook post on Christians being less than Christians if they are pro-choice.
I hate the terms "Pro-Life" and "Pro-Choice". I'm pro having freedom to do whatever I want in this life because free agency was bestowed upon me by God. What I do with it is between me and Him. Nuff said. Unless you are there to do my bidding for me on the last day, kindly stay out of my beeswax.
It really rubbed me the wrong way when all these men were going off on this post about what women should do with their bodies with respect to sex and abortion. Excuse me? He who donates his penis for 30 minutes (if that) and has the option to bail does not get a say!!! That's just how I feel about it.
When a woman gets pregnant she commits her mind, body and soul to that child. I just don't get why men think they have such a huge say in this matter. Yes, I just "shushed" you men. You have no clue what it takes to carry a child, or deliver a child, so your opinion (in my opinion) doesn't count for much. PS I love you.
I am a Christian. Do I think abortion is hideous? YES! Is this because I'm a Christian? NO! Do I wish that we lived in a Utopian society where God would only release perfect eggs from our ovaries to be fertilized by amazing sperm IF AND ONLY IF/WHEN we wanted them to turn into amazing babies?? YES! Do I think that preaching abstinence in 2012 is a fabulous way to keep our children safe from premarital sex? NO! Do I think it helps? VERY LITTLE!!!! Do I think we need to get REAL about what is REALLY going on in this life. HELLZ TO THE YEAH!
I (sometimes) understand God's way. The bible says a lot of important things, and I get that we need to take that into SERIOUS consideration and apply it to this life. However, a lot of our society doesn't. We went through a series at church called, "Weird, Because Normal Isn't Working", and I totally agree that going back to biblical is weird sometimes, but that it's necessary. And that's not a bad thing!!!!!--unless you can't convince the rest of the world to live by your standards, and you get all bitter, jaded, high and mighty, and soapboxy about it. I get even more skeptical when Christians start kicking Christians out of the Christian club because of differences in perspectives.
We used to have this man up at the University of Alaska Fairbanks who would to stand in front of the student center on campus, on a soapbox, and shout out a bunch of crap "IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!!!". He called my best friend a slut on the way to class one day because she had the audacity to wear a skirt that wasn't an acceptable length in the Amish community. We didn't really look at him as a holy man of God. I'm pretty sure he never converted anybody by what he was doing. AND we all thought he was certifiably insane. Congrats, Soapbox Dork. You just condemned 1000 students in
-40F weather. Now what are you going to do? You're going to Disneyland? How about hell instead. It just froze over--after all, it was Fairbanks, Alaska.
I know it seems like I'm rambling. I have to say that one of the things I hate about my religion is how ridiculous and close minded we Christians sound sometimes. I'm not saying we have to be all liberal about things--but being narrow minded makes our Christianity sound like it's run by a bunch of uneducated rednecks sometimes. There's no way to sugarcoat it. It gets embarrassing to me, and it's made me not want to affiliate with organized religion because I feel like I'm too smart for that.
My proposal to save women from having babies that are a burden? Or to decrease the amount of "trash" behind Planned Parenthood? I propose that we educate our children. Educate them in God, and sex ed. DO NOT WITHHOLD INFORMATION!!! Teach them about the importance of being particular with sex. About respecting their bodies enough to save them for someone who is worthy to receive them. I have older children. We talk about EVERYTHING--and there is no topic off limits! I don't agree with their choices some of the time, but at least I know what is happening in their life, and I am available to them! Does this mean I condone everything they do? NO. But I am not going to turn a blind eye to them, ignore them, and hope that the situation will remedy itself.
Educate them until they cannot stand anymore sexual education. My children are going to go through the school of TMI (too much information) with respect to sex. I'm going to show them pictures of every STD out there. Let's not keep these kids guessing about all of the implications that being sexually active can have!!!
I appreciate that people have opinions about abortion. And sex. However, it's time to be real (and you can still be real and love God...it is possible). Going all biblical in 2012 on people with respect to sex does very little. Let's figure out a way to empower religion to educate our kids and inspire them in 2012.
I don't understand some of the people in my religion who were "born again", and all of the sudden condemn sex now that they are in committed relationships and have the "hindsight is 20X20" theory. I would bet that most of them were involved in sexual relationships prior to their conversion, and I don't see how you can now condemn everything in an effort to get kids to "benefit from the wisdom of your experience". Has that ever worked? In any kind of parenting?
Love your children enough to want to keep them safe, and healthy. Educate them. The odds are that your children are going to break your heart with respect to sex more than the broad, controversial topic of abortion ever will. And your child could have an abortion and you would be none the wiser these days. Would you condemn them if you knew? Would you stop talking to them? Would you shun them? How can you call yourself a Christian if you do?
Think about it.
