Abortion is typically a selfish act performed to erase a mistake. Exceptions exist, but they are relatively rare.
Society and government will never ambitiously pursue real solutions to the need for abortion as long as the "crutch" of easy-access abortion exists. Due to the underlying motivation of abortion, people will not easily be swayed to abandon the practice, nor will they desire to surrender willingly abortion as an option when nothing equally appealing exists. If the widespread practice of legal abortion is to be stopped sooner rather than later, it must be stopped legally, through the courts, just as it was begun. Only once the crutch has been taken away will a real incentive for improvement and progress exist, and only then will the underlying motives for abortion be exposed to the light of day and receive proper attention.
In the decision of Roe v. Wade and subsequently Doe v. Bolton, rights were allowed in absence of responsibilities. The Supreme Court, through its ignorance, laxity, or both, gave women, and those who might assist them, the right to terminate what the court admitted may be a human life, absent of responsibility for their actions.
For 36 years, this has been allowed to continue, reducing all pursuant debates over abortion and all of its related issues to time-consuming, non-productive, meaningless conversations and arguments.
The responsibility for this situation originated with the Supreme Court, but ultimately came to rest on anyone and everyone who has ever been exposed to and reached an understanding of the issue.
William E. Gladstone, who is regarded as one of the greatest British prime ministers, said, "Justice delayed, is justice denied," which in this matter seems particularly applicable.
We must get past our posturing, networking, marching, rallying, poster-posting, debating, lecturing, campaigning, and every other time-wasting device of procrastination we can hide behind, roll up our sleeves, and get to working on the task at hand. If we truly believe that abortion is murder and that murder is wrong, for whatever reason, we must either do something to stop it now or bear the responsibility for our lack of action, later. We must move beyond the discussions of rights and into the area where responsibility and accountability reside. We must expect of others that where rights exist, they be borne with an equal share of responsibility.
The Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade left unanswered the question of when or even if the unborn becomes a person within the meaning of the law. The court's statement in Roe that, "We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in ... medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer," should be unacceptable to any civilized society.
Legal action needs to be taken. A decision needs to be made. Inestimable hours and resources have been spent over the past 36 years whittling away on a piece of rotting wood. In recompense, we have no more today than we did on the day of the Supreme Court's decision in 1973.
Human rights for all living individuals must be established in the best interest of all concerned -- and if rights, or no rights, are truly due, then let it be proved beyond any reasonable doubt in a court of law -- for once and for all. Can we, or should we, ever accept less with regard to human life?
Our nation's founders, along with the framers of our constitution, were people who strove to be just and thoughtful to the limits of the human mind and spirit. They made hard choices, not without personal pain and sacrifice, for the benefit of the generations that would follow them.
We must do the same. How can we conscientiously allow any possible injustice go uncorrected? How can we shrink from risk while any suffer?
Human rights are not uniquely a medical issue, a philosophical issue, a political issue, a legal issue, or a theological issue. Human rights are a universal issue for every member of the human race. As stewards of ourselves and every member of the human family, we need to concern ourselves not just with rights, but also equally with responsibility.
For too long, the battle against abortion has been delegated to politicians -- servants of the people -- not champions of a cause. For too long, the unborn children have been mercilessly slaughtered while their defenders have failed in their efforts.
No longer should we abide such an atrocity as abortion. No longer should the cries of the innocents go unanswered.
The time has come to act.
In the words of Thomas More Law Center attorney, Robert J. Muise, "Indeed, there is no greater social issue that tears at the soul of America today than abortion. And the reason for that is simple: Abortion is intrinsically evil... Roe v. Wade was and continues to be widely decried by legal scholars on both sides of the issue as being without constitutional warrant. However, it cannot be denied that the essential holding of Roe remains the primary obstacle to any meaningful pro-life initiative that seeks to end abortion."
Of course, pursuing such a goal is expensive. Estimated costs for challenging Roe v. Wade typically range from $4-8 million, an amount most states are unable or unwilling to independently secure and/or allocate, but some groups could. For example, using an inflated estimate of $10 million to finance a state's case, let's take a look at a couple of groups in the United States who claim to have an interest in bringing the practice of abortion to an end and whose active participation in raising the funds could easily succeed with minimal impact on their individual members.
Evangelicals have about 80 million members in the United States. If just 13% of its membership gave $1 each, that would be $10.4 million -- enough to finance a state's case.
The Roman Catholic Church has approximately 70 million members in the United States. If only 15% of its members gave $1 each, that would be $10.5 million -- more than enough to finance a state's case.
The Southern Baptist Convention has approximately 17 million members in the U.S. If 6 out of 10 gave $1 each, that would be $10.2 million -- that would easily finance a case.
According to a Gallup Poll in May 2008, 71% of Americans in general oppose, and want illegal, either all or 97-98% percent of all abortions in the United States. If only 4.7% of those people gave $1 each, it would more than pay for a state's case.
Surveys show an overwhelming 40% of all Hispanics say abortion should never be legal. If 40% of the 46 million Hispanics in the U.S. gave 55 cents each, that would be $10.1 million -- more than is needed to finance a case.
Imagine a concerted effort among just those five groups and the amount of money that could be raised to finance the legal eradication of abortion.
Next, imagine the money spent by all the small anti-abortion groups in their individual efforts to make an impact in the battle against abortion. What might their combined resources mean to the initiative?
Finally, imagine what could be accomplished if all of the groups currently battling abortion would focus on collectively developing and implementing solutions to the underlying causes of abortion once the battle has been won.
All, for $1 or less per person.
Just yesterday, Representative Kenneth W. Sumsion of Utah, District 56, presented a bill to a committee in the Utah House that would establish funding for a challenge of the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade. The committee accepted the bill and endorsed Sumsion's proposal to create a legal defense fund. The bill was approved unanimously Wednesday, February 4, 2009, and will now be heard on the House floor.
House Bill 114 http://abortionabout.com/nb0114.pdf will create a legal fund that accepts private donations to help offset any legal fees the state of Utah would incur if it were to pass an abortion ban by 2014.
The proposal calls for the fund to be established this year and lawmakers to return next year or later with legislation to ban abortions except in limited cases to protect the mothers' life, prevent permanent damage to her physical health, or in cases of rape or incest.
This isn't just about Utah.
Utah's success in a challenge of Roe v. Wade would likely be the beginning of the end for the ongoing slaughter of our innocent unborn children. It would allow our country to begin to heal from a 36-year affliction, allow us to move beyond an old, barbaric practice, and motivate and empower us to find better, more humane and loving ways to solve the problems that for too long have sought abortion as relief.
Utah is going to need our support -- the support of every person in the United States who values life and longs to end our culture of death.
But this can't wait until tomorrow. We need to start building momentum for this challenge today.
Please take a moment to contact Representative Sumsion and let him know you'll be willing to help support this important initiative.
The future of our unborn children depends on you.
Contact Representative Kenneth W. Sumsion at:
Please spread the word and help gather support. Until Utah officially gets this initiative off the ground, we need to begin building momentum. We have created a few graphics and links to assist with this. Please feel free to use and share them or develop and spread some of your own.
We want Utah to know we're behind them!
We must get past our posturing, networking, marching, rallying, poster-posting, debating, lecturing, campaigning, and every other time-wasting device of procrastination we can hide behind, roll up our sleeves, and get to working on the task at hand. If we truly believe that abortion is murder and that murder is wrong, for whatever reason, we must either do something to stop it now or bear the responsibility for our lack of action, later. We must move beyond the discussions of rights and into the area where responsibility and accountability reside. We must expect of others that where rights exist, they be borne with an equal share of responsibility.
The Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade left unanswered the question of when or even if the unborn becomes a person within the meaning of the law. The court's statement in Roe that, "We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in ... medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer," should be unacceptable to any civilized society.
Legal action needs to be taken. A decision needs to be made. Inestimable hours and resources have been spent over the past 36 years whittling away on a piece of rotting wood. In recompense, we have no more today than we did on the day of the Supreme Court's decision in 1973.
Human rights for all living individuals must be established in the best interest of all concerned -- and if rights, or no rights, are truly due, then let it be proved beyond any reasonable doubt in a court of law -- for once and for all. Can we, or should we, ever accept less with regard to human life?
Our nation's founders, along with the framers of our constitution, were people who strove to be just and thoughtful to the limits of the human mind and spirit. They made hard choices, not without personal pain and sacrifice, for the benefit of the generations that would follow them.
We must do the same. How can we conscientiously allow any possible injustice go uncorrected? How can we shrink from risk while any suffer?
Human rights are not uniquely a medical issue, a philosophical issue, a political issue, a legal issue, or a theological issue. Human rights are a universal issue for every member of the human race. As stewards of ourselves and every member of the human family, we need to concern ourselves not just with rights, but also equally with responsibility.
For too long, the battle against abortion has been delegated to politicians -- servants of the people -- not champions of a cause. For too long, the unborn children have been mercilessly slaughtered while their defenders have failed in their efforts.
No longer should we abide such an atrocity as abortion. No longer should the cries of the innocents go unanswered.
The time has come to act.
In the words of Thomas More Law Center attorney, Robert J. Muise, "Indeed, there is no greater social issue that tears at the soul of America today than abortion. And the reason for that is simple: Abortion is intrinsically evil... Roe v. Wade was and continues to be widely decried by legal scholars on both sides of the issue as being without constitutional warrant. However, it cannot be denied that the essential holding of Roe remains the primary obstacle to any meaningful pro-life initiative that seeks to end abortion."
Of course, pursuing such a goal is expensive. Estimated costs for challenging Roe v. Wade typically range from $4-8 million, an amount most states are unable or unwilling to independently secure and/or allocate, but some groups could. For example, using an inflated estimate of $10 million to finance a state's case, let's take a look at a couple of groups in the United States who claim to have an interest in bringing the practice of abortion to an end and whose active participation in raising the funds could easily succeed with minimal impact on their individual members.
Evangelicals have about 80 million members in the United States. If just 13% of its membership gave $1 each, that would be $10.4 million -- enough to finance a state's case.
The Roman Catholic Church has approximately 70 million members in the United States. If only 15% of its members gave $1 each, that would be $10.5 million -- more than enough to finance a state's case.
The Southern Baptist Convention has approximately 17 million members in the U.S. If 6 out of 10 gave $1 each, that would be $10.2 million -- that would easily finance a case.
According to a Gallup Poll in May 2008, 71% of Americans in general oppose, and want illegal, either all or 97-98% percent of all abortions in the United States. If only 4.7% of those people gave $1 each, it would more than pay for a state's case.
Surveys show an overwhelming 40% of all Hispanics say abortion should never be legal. If 40% of the 46 million Hispanics in the U.S. gave 55 cents each, that would be $10.1 million -- more than is needed to finance a case.
Imagine a concerted effort among just those five groups and the amount of money that could be raised to finance the legal eradication of abortion.
Next, imagine the money spent by all the small anti-abortion groups in their individual efforts to make an impact in the battle against abortion. What might their combined resources mean to the initiative?
Finally, imagine what could be accomplished if all of the groups currently battling abortion would focus on collectively developing and implementing solutions to the underlying causes of abortion once the battle has been won.
All, for $1 or less per person.
Just yesterday, Representative Kenneth W. Sumsion of Utah, District 56, presented a bill to a committee in the Utah House that would establish funding for a challenge of the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade. The committee accepted the bill and endorsed Sumsion's proposal to create a legal defense fund. The bill was approved unanimously Wednesday, February 4, 2009, and will now be heard on the House floor.
House Bill 114 http://abortionabout.com/nb0114.pdf will create a legal fund that accepts private donations to help offset any legal fees the state of Utah would incur if it were to pass an abortion ban by 2014.
The proposal calls for the fund to be established this year and lawmakers to return next year or later with legislation to ban abortions except in limited cases to protect the mothers' life, prevent permanent damage to her physical health, or in cases of rape or incest.
This isn't just about Utah.
Utah's success in a challenge of Roe v. Wade would likely be the beginning of the end for the ongoing slaughter of our innocent unborn children. It would allow our country to begin to heal from a 36-year affliction, allow us to move beyond an old, barbaric practice, and motivate and empower us to find better, more humane and loving ways to solve the problems that for too long have sought abortion as relief.
Utah is going to need our support -- the support of every person in the United States who values life and longs to end our culture of death.
But this can't wait until tomorrow. We need to start building momentum for this challenge today.
Please take a moment to contact Representative Sumsion and let him know you'll be willing to help support this important initiative.
The future of our unborn children depends on you.
Contact Representative Kenneth W. Sumsion at:
Rep. Kenneth W. Sumsion
PO Box 1475
American Fork, UT 84003
Home Phone: 801-368-8299
Cell Phone: 801-368-8299
Email: ksumsion@utah.gov
Please spread the word and help gather support. Until Utah officially gets this initiative off the ground, we need to begin building momentum. We have created a few graphics and links to assist with this. Please feel free to use and share them or develop and spread some of your own.
We want Utah to know we're behind them!
just wanted to say- thank you for pointing this out. I will contact the Senator and share this link with all I can.
Looking forward to when the fund is established; I will contribute gladly. God bless Rep. Sumsion and all who support this initiative!