The Morality of Abortion

the Ironic Cherry reads...

Life's Work:

A Moral Argument for Choice

by Dr. Willie Parker

This is a book with heart.  It is a short book; I wanted it to go on forever, but I wanted it to end so I could sit here and write about it.  I want to take each one of you by the hand and bring you to the library to check out your own copy of it.  I want to read it out loud to you.  I know I am unable to describe it to my own satisfaction, to the point where you can't wait to read it yourself.  But I will try.

Dr. Willie Parker begins his story by talking about "The Women."  It is the women, us, to which he has devoted his life's work.  He is a man of faith, African American, raised in the South, in poverty.  He acknowledges his hard work and intellect, but appreciates the support of family and educators that brought him to the work he now does.

He is a physician who performs abortions, visiting clinics where there are no other abortion doctors, in states where legislatures have chipped away at women's right to choose to have an abortion.  He is an activist, serving on boards from Planned Parenthood to the Center for Reproductive Rights, traveling to D.C. and throughout the country to give testimony in support of women's reproductive rights.

In Life's Work, Dr. Parker takes us through the changes in his life's philosophy, in which he went from being an Ob/Gyn who avoided abortion to becoming one of the nation's foremost advocates and front-line abortion doctors.  He speaks from a personal perspective, telling how he began to question the rigid moralism of the scripture, and how he became a "born again born again" Christian.  He also speaks clearly from a medical point of view, describing the aspects of the abortion procedure, because he knows that too much myth and distortion controls the conversation.  He tells us to speak out, speak to one another, speak without fear.

Speak without fear.  Dr. Parker has lived, since he has made his decision to work in the service of women who seek abortion, with the knowledge of the risk he is taking.  Each and every day that he walks into one of the clinics in which he works, he has to walk the gauntlet of antis carrying signs and yelling to the women who are merely seeking to live their lives freely.

He calls them "antis."  He does not give them any more title than that.  He writes about and debunks the lies that have been perpetuated, that doctors have been forced by legislators to tell.  He talks about the TRAP laws, those laws that are created under the pretense of protecting the safety of women, but which sole purpose is to close clinics and to make abortion inaccessible.

He tells us about the women and girls who come to the clinics, and those who are forced to carry a pregnancy to term because clinics have closed down or rules about waiting periods run out the legal timeline.  He tells about how doctors have been threatened, how laws have made it harder to practice.  He tells about the terrorists who threaten and who have killed.  And he talks about people who use their religious beliefs to intimidate and to control, and of the people of faith who have stepped up to help provide access to abortions to women who seek them.

Dr. Parker describes the changes in language on the left, wherein sincere abortion rights proponents tried to compromise with the antis, by talking about how abortion was a bad but necessary option, and how we need to make abortion safe, accessible and rare.  And how this reframing actually worked to fuel the antis.  He states with medical authority that abortion is not a "bad" thing; it is a medical procedure, a simple and safe one.  It does not have the essence of evil with which the religious right has attempted to imbue it.

In 2014, in PRO: Reclaiming Abortion Rights, Katha Pollitt began the conversation we needed to be having.  We needed to hear that we have no need to feel guilt or shame, we have the right to medical privacy and medical choices.  The government needs to get the hell out of our reproductive lives.  And, as borne out during the Women's March, we women (and men) are beginning to wake up from that deluded sleep that since Roe v. Wade led us to think we would no longer have to fight.

And now, Dr. Willie Parker has added another strong voice to our fight.

I hope you will take the time to give this book a read.  It is not just an important book, it is inspirational. 

Prayers Not Required

Yesterday I was at Charleston's Blue Jamboree, where too few Democrats turned out to hear some very exciting candidates.  One young man was particularly stirring.  He is smart and heartfelt, and it would do us proud to elect him in November.  But he ended his remarks by asking us ALL to pray for him.  Well, I plan on doing my part, but praying is not included.  Many of you know that I am an atheist.  Over the years, as I have felt more and more bombarded with Christian "goodwill" I have felt it incumbent to let others know how they can stop treating us as nonentities.

So when he was done, I went to the young candidate and waited to speak.  He turned to me and went to hug me, a little, round white haired lady who surely wanted a hug.  I said to him, "I think you're great, and I hope you get elected, but I want you to know this:  I am a good person and a strong Democrat, but I am an atheist, so I won't be praying for you.  I hope you'll remember that next time you speak."  He recovered nicely and I patted his arm, and walked away.

I felt really good about speaking up for myself, and for those of us who are of the atheist "persuasion."  But when I got home, I began to feel... guilty.  I'm sure I put him on the spot, and I'm sure he misunderstood, and I could have just not said anything....

But here's the thing.  Even well meaning Christians, and you know who you are, often forget that the rest of us (non-Christian and non-religious alike) are out there.  Here in the south, I've gone to town meetings where they skipped the Pledge of Allegiance, but said The Lord's Prayer.  I know those blowhards in the Supreme Court believe they have gotten where they are through God's grace (How else would idiots like Clarence Thomas and Sammy Alito have gotten on the bench without a miracle?), but I maintain that I can get through a day without being blessed by the person at the Dollar Store checkout counter.

What atheists have that religious folk should aspire to is an awareness of our boundaries, and a respect for the feelings of others.  That tends to be our strength and our weakness.  Because of all things, I would feel guilty about informing this young politician that I don't pray.  And yet, had he not emphasized that he wanted ALL our prayers, I may well not have said anything.
But the fact that we atheists do not believe in god or gods does not mean we don't "believe" or "have faith."  I was disgruntled when President Obama, in a rather lame attempt to reach out to his atheist supporters referred to us as "non-believers."  We believed in democracy and in his goodness enough to get out and vote for him.  We had faith that once elected he would mostly work to do the right thing.

I am frankly tired of being silent while Christians assume we should have school prayer, and offer prayers at public meetings.  Praying doesn't indicate a good person any more than wearing a flag pin defines a good American.  We tolerate all the references to Christianity throughout our lives, and at the same time all the whining about how Christians feel left out.  But that minimizes us. Atheists should not accept being minimized by our teachers, our employers, our candidates, our government. 

Women and minorities are minimized in much the same way; our beliefs and needs are not seen as being equal.  When we confront those who neglect or control us, we are told we are overreacting.  We are not.

So with all due respect, you politicians need to find a different way to ask for our support than "pray for me."  I respect that prayer is an important part of your life, but it is not a part of mine.  That does not make me irrelevant or wrong.

When I first moved to the South, I was really thrown by people who end an interaction by saying, "Have a blessed day."  It made me angry that they would just assume I would want them to bless me.  Later, I tried to toss it off by thinking that I should reply, "Wow.  I didn't know you had that power."  But now I just try to ignore it, because I don't want to waste that emotional energy being outraged at someone who doesn't know any better.  But there are some who need to know, because in the end, they will make decisions that affect me.

So it comes down to the fact that I had to speak out and to this candidate I say:  I hope you are the person I think you are, and that my comment will give you a little insight into others who think differently about life than you.  And that you will recognize that we are all here, trying to do the best that we can.

Religious Intolerance of a Different Kind

Last week I took a break from reality to vacation on Hilton Head Island, still South Carolina, but with pools and spas.  Shortly after settling in the jacuzzi one day, however, I was cornered by a very nice couple who insisted on ignoring the Dortmunder crime caper I had been enjoying.

Of course we began by talking about the weather.  I fully expected the conversation to end with the condemnation of Obama and liberals because, obviously, global warming was a hoax.  To my pleasant surprise,  my new friends instead began to talk about how changes to the earth caused by things like fracking and oil spills would invariably affect the earth as a whole.  Aha, I thought, not from around here....

In fact, they were from Canada in Quebec.  But they had been here for a couple of months already, and had learned how to tread carefully where political opinion was concerned.  Once we had established that I too was of rational mind, they asked the inevitable question:  what's with the southern states?

After an animated conversation, we agreed that the opposition to health care and obstruction of voting rights was just not Christian, and just didn't make sense.

"However," my friend began somewhat sheepishly...

In Quebec, it seems that religious intolerance is actually intolerance of religion.  A proposed "Charter of Quebec values" would require faces to be uncovered, and no religious symbols displayed on a person.  This would apply to all public employees, and also to anyone who receives services from the state.

It may come as no surprise that the Parti Quebecois that is sponsoring this charter is about as radical as... Texas.  They actually support the secession of Quebec from Canada.  There is the Office quebecois de la langue francaise, which group of tyrants send out threatening letters to miscreant businesses who have English Facebook pages; last year an overzealous minister was forced to resign after fining a restaurateur for using the word "pasta" on his menu.

And now there is religion.  Which brings me back around to religious intolerance.  Here we are flogged by Christians who insist that they are being treated unfairly because they are not allowed to control everyone else's behavior.  In France and Quebec, it seems that the solution to being intimidated by religious symbols is to not tolerate any of them.

It seems that the religious intolerance of the U.S. and Quebec (and France) stem from the same thing:  fear of anything Moslem.  Here in the U.S. the majority feels perfectly comfortable banning minority traditions, while in our gentle neighbor to the north, the solution is to ban all religious symbols.

What we need is religion that is confident enough of itself that it does not seek to force its beliefs on others, and is content that all religions are free to express their beliefs.  Or not.

I would like to conclude by saying that I was very happy to have had this informative conversation with travelers from Montreal, although while I'm on vacation I would prefer not to make a habit out of it.  On the other hand, imagining Quebec as a place in which wingnut Rick Perry would feel right at home did give me a chuckle.

Pope Frank

When a priest in Italy tried to convince my imprisoned father to fight for Mussolini, he quit the Catholic Church.  My own break with the Church was far less dramatic and had to do with my father's insistence that I attend Mass even though he refused, and my unwillingness to get up early on Sunday morning.  I was also becoming more conscious of the hypocrisy that works its way through just about every aspect of the Church, most obviously the conspicuous wealth and power that seems to bang right up against the teachings of Jesus Christ at every turn.

The aspect of the Catholic Church that I am most proud of in fact is the ability of so many practitioners to reject what makes no sense.  Birth control?  Homosexuality?  Racial equality and integration?  The Church has been wrong before, and will be wrong again.  I think I'll deal with this on my own, thanks anyway.

So much to my surprise and wonder, this most conservative group of men select a pope that is very nearly an anti-pope.  The world -- my cynical self included -- is enthralled with this pope who does not just preach peace and love but walks the walk.  Fellow atheist Bill Maher fondly calls him "Pope Frank."

In a world in which reaching out is seen as weakness, inclusion as the work of the devil, and the poor and meek merely deserving of their bad fortunes, Pope Francis humbly disagrees.  He reminds us that he is not God, but attempts to represent God; perhaps the Church is infallible, but the man who represents the Church should not be one to judge.

So this new world leader rolls out some amazing comments.  Not only the predictable ones about the poor and war, but about gays and abortion.

That said, let me not appear unrealistically optimistic.  Pope Francis will not be likely to ever support a woman's right to choose to terminate a pregnancy.  But he will not presume to support laws punishing women for having an abortion.  He will not be likely to condemn gay men and women for marrying but won't in the near future offer to perform the ceremony.

In fact, hot off the presses, the Pope has just excommunicated a priest for advocating gay marriage and female clergy.  Apparently the wheels of the Catholic Church move slowly and this has been in the works for years.  Even so, he's the Pope, he could have figured out how to put the brakes on this.  But he's said he was fallible, so maybe this is the proof.  I don't know, this is a little too much like Obama not being willing to run up against the bad boys in Congress.

So here we are, lapsed and intact Catholics all excited about having a Pope who seems to really care about people and not just perpetuating the power and the holdings of the Vatican.  I'm going to keep my eye on him though.  The most difficult job he is likely to have will be retraining those who work under him.  Centuries of greed and narcissism don't evolve easily into, well, Christianity.

Godliness

Last night, I heard a woman who is running for local office give her pitch.  I had been looking forward to hearing her; from her emails and Facebook comments she sounded like an excellent candidate.

Then she began her pitch by praising God.

When I was once a religious person, which I am no longer, praising God was something we were taught to do privately, on our knees in our kitchen each morning, or in church with others of our faith.  While I try very hard to be a moral person, I no longer believe there is a God who condemns or applauds my behavior.

So when someone publicly is so presumptuous as to brag on their commitment to God, I turn away.  I find it insulting, and in a time when praising God is as easily done as voting against food stamps for the poor, meaningless.

There are politicians who wear their flag on their sleeve while voting against the citizens of our country, and there are politicians, often the same ones, who fail to apply the principles of Christianity while condemning those who do not have membership in that faith.

So prove your belief in Christian principles by your actions, not by your public pronouncements.  Because I believe that the moral principles by which I have attempted to live my life may just happen to be the same principles that you, as a follower of the Christian faith, adhere to.

On God and Wall Street

We're hearing a lot from our elected officials about our values, actually, their values, because it is safe to assume from listening to them, that ours suck.  We have heard about what needs to be done to prevent gay marriage, a woman's right to choose whether she needs to have an abortion, and the decay of American civilization by allowing in the creeping scourge of immigrants and other religions.

But I never did learn in church about Jesus speaking out against love for one another, in fact, he lectured his apostles about their judging of a prostitute.  I never heard that Jesus spoke in favor of killing our enemies; in fact, he taught that we should love our enemies, which I find difficult to do when they are telling me the world would be better off without the likes of us breathing its air.

In fact, Jesus' message really was about looking inside ourselves, not about judging others.

The thing that drove Jesus crazy, though, was moneylenders, the ones that plied their trade in God's house especially.  The thing that Jesus spoke up against most was greed, the greed that hurts the poor, the children, the sick and the old.

So I applaud the Occupy Wall Street movement in this country and across the world.  Can it be that we are finally speaking out against greed instead of humanity, and beginning to work together to hold the wealthy and powerful accountable?

I believe Jesus would have been in that crowd.