Sunday, February 7, 2010

[ Kudos to CBS! ]

I know I'm about to open myself up to much criticism and opposition from some but I just have to say (especially since this is my blog and I can say what I want!) KUDOS to CBS!! I think I would like to actually be able to shake the hand of the man in charge of this network.

By now most have heard of the controversy surrounding the Tim Tebow ad sponsored by Focus on the Family. Their pro-life promotion has gotten nothing but negative feedback and response. Or at least that's all that is being aired through several media sources. From reading ads, discussion forums and watching several youtube clips regarding the commercial everything I have come across has been negative.

My first problem with this...... those that are ranting and raving about having a "choice" don't want others to have a choice of their own! Fortunately for us, we live in a country where we all have a choice about every blessed thing we do in our lives. It's a fine line to walk at times.

I wouldn't want any government entity trying to tell me as a woman what I could and could not do with my own body. Such as trying to mandate when or if I should have my tubes tied just to prevent me from having children. HOWEVER..... I'm a woman that would never choose to abort a baby either. To me the arguments for abortion just don't make sense.

My mother-in-law used to have a bumper sticker that said "American Abortion--Hitler Would Have Loved It". I remember the first time I saw it on her car when I was 15 years old. To this day, over 25 years later I can see that sticker plain as day if I close my eyes. I've tried rationalizing in my mind the reasons any woman (or young girl) would choose to have an abortion. I still believe with love and support, and most importantly with God.... all things are possible.

Even in the back recesses of my mind, in the most horrible of situations....consider rape....I couldn't abort a child. A child from a crime of rape never asked to be conceived either, but I believe God doesn't make mistakes. If the horror of that moment could not be erased and the thought of living with a child that would only bring memories of hatred couldn't be handled......there is always adoption. An abortion doesn't undo the pain and horror you've already endured. It will only add to it. I've yet to hear anyone that has had an abortion say they don't think of that child, that moment for the rest of their lives. It doesn't go away either.

What seems really sad to me, thinking this would be one of the major reasons for abortion, is that it's not! Rape is less than 1% of the reasons for abortions. *jaw dropping can commence now* This chart is a few years old but just look at it.
  • Someone feels unready for the responsibility..... you were ready for sex, therefore you are responsible. If you're not ready then don't have sex! (that's a whole 'nother discussion too!) If you aren't ready, there's someone who is..... ADOPTION!
  • You feel you can't afford a baby..... You know, if you wanted to keep it there are support options available, or you can place the child for adoption. There are plenty of people that aren't capable of conceiving that would give your child a home filled with love and support.
  • Has all the children she wants.... hello, then why weren't precautions taken before sex to ensure you didn't end up pregnant again?
  • Relationship problems/single parenthood..... again with the pro-adoption route! I'm a person that believes a relationship should be more than sex to begin with and we need to be teaching our sons and daughters the value of a relationship, the value of sex, the value of responsibility. Granted this is never a 100% guarantee but let's give it a shot shall we?
  • Feels she isn't mature enough.... I realize this can be a very relevant issue. More children need the support of their parents when an unwanted pregnancy happens. All too often we look for a quick fix. Parenting classes are available, support is there if you are willing to seek it. If you still feel incapable of the responsibility..... ADOPTION! =) (My a-word for the day).
  • It interferes with your plans..... seriously? This is just our own selfish desires taking control. If you have sex, there are plenty of things that can happen. A baby is just one. If you have big plans..... then plan better! It's called birth control.
  • Your parents or partner want the abortion. This one really boggles the mind. People can be pro-choice but they are letting others make the choice for them. The reality is that more and more teens are becoming pregnant. There needs to be more support systems for them. If there are support systems then they need to be more available or 'advertised' better to assist these young girls with their pregnancies. A parent cannot make that choice for their teenager, anymore than they made the choice for their teenager to have sex.
Then there's the 'hard cases' as they put it. (I'd think any case for an abortion would be a hard one but that's just me again....).

If the baby had health problems I wouldn't choose an abortion. I've seen enough infant death secondhand to picture the pain it brings to a family. If it's a wanted pregnancy, that pain will come from the loss of the child no matter when it dies. In your womb or after delivery. I'd choose to let God decide when it happens. Surely we've all heard the saying, "it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all". What if your child is that miracle baby that becomes the talk of the hospital staff, the nurses share your story with everyone they meet. Your baby beat the odds and grows up to be a world changer.

Believe it or not, Planned Parenthood made a video ad that depicts a 30-something man sitting on a couch, pot belly hanging out proclaiming to be a slob with no job, no promise, nothing to do but mooch off his parents and the end caption says "They don't all turn out like Tim Tebow".

Holy Crap! Seriously?! I'm sure that 'slobs' mother still loves him more than life itself!! That's an issue with a parent needing to show some tough love and telling him to get off his butt! Not an issue of whether or not she should have aborted him on the chance he would turn out to be a 'loser'. Seriously!........

Before anyone starts to leave comments that I have 'no idea' or I need to 'talk to a woman who has had to face these situations' let me tell you..... I have friends who have had an abortion. I remember the pain, the agony and the heartbreak that decision brought to their lives. I know it is something that lives on in your heart forever. At some point in their lives they always wonder what if. My child would be xx years old. My child would be going to school....driving....getting married..... I don't judge them for the decision. I surround them with love and cherish their friendship as much as my friends who have not had abortions. I don't judge anyone for their decision on this topic. God is my judge. God is your judge. Those are choices you have to reckon with God on, not me. If I were faced with someone asking me what would you do or someone scared and weighing the option of abortion I know what I would say to them. It wouldn't be about their 'choice'.

Did you know: An unborn baby can be considered the victim of murder or negligent homicide if killed by anyone other than the mother. But that same unborn baby can be aborted by her mother at any time during the pregnancy for any reason as her legal “choice.”


That's totally confusing to me.... someone can cause a car accident, run a red light, hit me, cause me to miscarry my baby and I can sue them and they will be charged and convicted of negligent homicide or murder. But if I chose to walk into a clinic and have a baby suctioned from my body with a vacuum and disposed of in a waste recepticle and walk away I get off scott free because it was my decision. If that child has a voice and is protected from an unsuspecting stranger, it should have the same rights from the woman it was blessed/cursed with calling it's mother.

There's no need to quote scripture or go into depth more than I have. It's like beating a dead horse. If you are pro-choice you may never understand my viewpoint. If you are pro-life I don't need to say anything at all. I pray that those faced with the decision of an unwanted pregnancy would be surrounded by love and support and God would touch their hearts and show them there are positive options to providing an alternative life for your baby. That He would heal their broken hearts and ease their emotional pain.

NOW..... on another note. Back to those 'commercials'. There is a website that shows commercials that were banned and not allowed to run by CBS during the super bowl. This is where I wish I could shake the hand of the man! lol

I watched them all. I would agree they were either not worth seeing or something I wouldn't want my children seeing. Everything from a man running over a woman with his car for a bag of Doritos, to a gay matchmaking website showing two men kissing while watching the football game. A direct quote from the site previewing these videos said, " the commercial being used as an example of CBS’s bias towards homosexuals and their support for not killing Football player fetuses."

I'm just a bit heartbroken today. Thinking that Christians have become a minority. That there are so many people seriously against a football player and his mother sharing their testimony of what their lives have been because she made a choice.

I've learned in the past few weeks and months who some of my true friends are because of the choices I make in my own life. The friends I've lost don't break my heart. I pray for them, I pray for their hearts. I thank God for the time it gives me to devote to my true friends and to nurture those friendships. I want everything I do in my life to be pleasing to God. I'm sure I fall very short most days, but it doesn't mean I can't keep striving to be better. To strive to share His good news. =) I hope I am raising my children to do the same.

And if you made it to the end of this post, thanks for reading. I'm going back to the tube to focus on the SAINTS!!!! I love football and all these commercials just put a sour twist to my sueprbowl Sunday! LOL =)

2 comments:

  1. I got a flyer in the mail this past year. In it there was a number listed of the number of abortions that occurred in my state for 2007 or 2008 (can't remember which now). It was something like 78,000 abortions. Then it listed the number of abortions in females under the age of 18 - around 894.

    jaw dropping numbers there

    I live in a CONSERVATIVE state too, a smaller population, Bible belt state...77,000 women over the age of 18 had an abortion. 77,000 women who were definiely mature enough to know what they were doing. It seriously makes my heart hurt.

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  2. Wow.... and that's just one state. :( It looks even worse when you put numbers to it rather than percents. Love you Carla! ♥

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