Have We Lost the Abortion Debate

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I wonder if pro-lifers have already lost the abortion debate. The MSM, whether in fictional series or news stories, never depicts pro-lifers in a positive way (and rejects out of hand any expose of the abortion industry. In order to be seen as “moderate” candidate must appear to support abortion in the case of rape or when the mother’s life is at risk. Politicians say that “they’re personally opposed, but won’t force their morality on others.” Can you imagine saying that about slavery, rape, or child abuse? When I try to talk to people about it they think I’m a fanatic? How did the cards get to be so stacked against pro-lifers?😦
 
The wound runs deeper than just the pro-choice position–that is just a symptom of a much more diseased societal soul. Just pushing the culture of life will not achieve real results (although we do need to keep trying). We need to push a broader culture of eternal life. Only through evalgelization to the true faith will things change–this is how we ended the barbaric practices of Central and South America and the pagan Roman empire.

Debates will not win-over someone engulfed in darkness and enslaved to error. Only the true Light, Jesus Christ, and His holy Gospel can free people from that.
 
Nothing has been lost. The dilemma has always been that a group believes the embryo is just a bunch of cells, when science can and does show that everyone reading this began as an embryo. The bunch of cells has only one quality and one end result, a human being.

Politicians are another story entirely. They rely on money to win and do represent all of the people. Pray for them. God is our greatest ally.

We live in a culture that has succumbed to the world. Abortion, divorce, cohabitation, casual sex, profanity and partial nudity are all being promoted as OK. Look at the celebrities for proof. Jesus overcame the world.

Speak the truth about the Gospel, do not imitate the loud and shrill voices of the world, pray and witness. Just this week I received a Gospel tract from a salesman who came to my place of work.

God bless,
Ed
 
No I believe we have not lost the debate.

Look at an interesting fact. There are over a dozen Pro-Life Democrats in Congress now. Before 1998 there were none. What I mean by Pro-Life Democrats, is they have consistent Pro-Life / anti-abortion voting record.

If it was not for the 16 Democrats who voted against embroyonic stem-cell funding there would of been an easy over ride of the President’s veto.

The Supreme Court holding up the partial-birth abortion ban is another sign.

Now if we can also get our citizens of this great country to support life from all stages of life this would be truly God’s work. Sadly we as a society do not a consistent ethic toward life.
 
josephdavid said:
No I believe we have not lost the debate.

Look at an interesting fact. There are over a dozen Pro-Life Democrats in Congress now. Before 1998 there were none. What I mean by Pro-Life Democrats, is they have consistent Pro-Life / anti-abortion voting record.

If it was not for the 16 Democrats who voted against embroyonic stem-cell funding there would of been an easy over ride of the President’s veto.

The Supreme Court holding up the partial-birth abortion ban is another sign.

Now if we can also get our citizens of this great country to support life from all stages of life this would be truly God’s work. Sadly we as a society do not a consistent ethic toward life.
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I agree and thank you for pointing this out.

In addition, Hollywood, that great beacon of morality, has recently been producing films that depict women choosing to have their babies (Knocked-Up, Waitress). Granted, the movies themselves are a far cry from family friendly or highly moral, but for the last 20 years filmmakers have avoided portraying women choosing abortion in the movies. I came of age before Roe v. Wade and clearly remember the deluge of movies that were pumped out to support the radical feminist agenda to legalize abortion. Even if the media elites are not yet convinced of the evil of abortion, at least they realize Americans will not turn out to watch movies that glorify it anymore.
 
lucybeebee said:
I wonder if pro-lifers have already lost the abortion debate. The MSM, whether in fictional series or news stories, never depicts pro-lifers in a positive way (and rejects out of hand any expose of the abortion industry. In order to be seen as “moderate” candidate must appear to support abortion in the case of rape or when the mother’s life is at risk. Politicians say that “they’re personally opposed, but won’t force their morality on others.” Can you imagine saying that about slavery, rape, or child abuse? When I try to talk to people about it they think I’m a fanatic? How did the cards get to be so stacked against pro-lifers?😦
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The problem is that the debate is understood in terms of womens’ rights versus fetal rights, and women can whinge whilst foetuses can’t.
Actually the Catholic position is on the sancity of life, which exactly the opposite to a “rights”-based approach. If something is sacred then you have no rights over it, the rights belong to God. That’s why we are not winning this debate.
 
I think Galadriel was speaking for the pro-life movement when she said that the elves were fighting the Long Defeat. But sometimes the most important fights you fight are the ones where you know that you’re going to lose.
 
valient_Lucy said:
I think Galadriel was speaking for the pro-life movement when she said that the elves were fighting the Long Defeat. But sometimes the most important fights you fight are the ones where you know that you’re going to lose.
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The winds change every generation, so I say no. What was progressive in one generation, can seem like something that needs to be rebelled against in the next.
 
I don’t think we are loosing. More and more doctors are saying no to training or even being involved with abortion. We may never see a law that fully gets rid of it but there will be a day where there will be few doctors willing to perform it. Statistical fact. It is the biggest weak spot of the proabortion crowd. They say yes Doctors say no. 🙂

It is a place we should outreach more.

Gods humble servant
John A. H.
 
When my niece went to work at a medical center, they were referring women for abortion, including a couple of Catholic doctors. She took a stand and refused to have anything to do with women being sent off to have an abortion.

Now the practice offers alternatives but does not make referrals (necessary in NZ but really a joke as the reality is abortion on demand), and the Catholic doctors who had not thought to refuse to participate, have thanked my niece for what she has done.

Sometimes one person can make a big difference.
 
This is an exerpt from my prolife talk I have just finished putting together… let me know your thoughts.

The Worthland Polling Group reported that in 1980 that 50% of Americans thought that abortion ought to be lawful in the first trimester of pregnancy, by 1998 it rose to 61% in the first trimester, by Decemeber of 2003, Gallop polling showed that 66% supported abortion in the first trimester.

This is problematic because 90% of all abortions are preformed in the first 90 days of pregnancy in this country. Interestingly enough increasing numbers of Americans oppose abortion rights in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

We are winning the battle on public opinion on where it matters least but losing it where it matters most. The reason for this increase of support for abortion in the first trimester among Americans is that the public simply doesn’t believe that a baby is a baby in the first 90 days. They think the baby is a blob of tissue and so we have to persuade them on the babies humanity, most people believe that abortion in the first trimester is the lesser of two evils and that it is none of their business.
We are losing this battle for a variety of reasons but not least because the other side brilliantly and ingeniously stole the march for life on us in 1973 by framing this issue as a question of choice and unless we can reframe it to force the American people to confront what is being chosen and not simply the idea of choice we are going to continue to lose because we are losing the argument over choice. Americans venerate choice and when you make an argument against choice you are pushing a cement truck uphill but when you force the otherside to defend what’s being chosen, when what’s being chosen is an indefensible act of violence and the people who you are making that argument to are being forced to look at that indefensible act of violence that’s an argument that we can and will win the very same way that 200 years of social reform history indicates that this is the way forward in changing public opinion concerning an injustice before you have any hope of changing public policy.
 
You don’t lose the abortion debate until you quit fighting for what is right. Maybe the media will always paint us wrong, but we are not all media portrayals. We are people who interact with other people and as long as we look for opportunities for the Holy Spirit to inspire us to talk with friends, family, and coworkers about why we are pro-life, the truth will out. Many will still think us unintelligent fanatics just because of our opinion, no matter how much science we back it up with. There are still plenty of reasonable people who can be moved by a good argument. Pray for the wisdom and courage to speak with them and just simply pray for the Holy Spirit to open up the other kind of person’s heart to truth. Never give up! Never surrender!👍
 
edwest2 said:
Nothing has been lost. The dilemma has always been that a group believes the embryo is just a bunch of cells, when science can and does show that everyone reading this began as an embryo. The bunch of cells has only one quality and one end result, a human being.
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Actually, many pro-choicers will not debate that an embryo is a human being. Their position stands firmly on the notion that, regardless, a woman has a right to choose what happens to her own body – and anything inside it.

Peace,
Dante
 
I don’t think we’ve lost - yet. But we are marginalized when it comes to how pro-life people are depicted in popular culture. Look at any woman’s magazine - they are all pro-abortion (one reason why I never read them). Look at television programs - pro-life people are all fanatical women haters. Bill O’Reilly has some harsh words for popular culture. I agree. I can only hope the tide turns soon.
 
We have to focus on the very basic - that human life is sacred and we do not promote or support the destruction of that which is sacred. This removes the debate over when the new human life evolves to a point where society should care about it. Also, it cannot be scientifically denied that the embryo is human life because the DNA shows it is human, and it is neither dead, dying nor decaying. I have presented this argument to a few associates and they were absolutely unable to debate it.
 
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