"Are you pro-life because of the unborn or because of God?" - Episode 41 Excerpt

[redeemerslove]

Cary is beautiful and Pro-Life. Wow! She wins the woman of they year in Media award. She should go teach some Hollywood actresses a thing or two.

[HumanRights4Everyone]

When discussing abortion I've always found it unnessary to defend the position that humans are more valuble then other known animals.

Abortion is more then a moral issue its also a legal issue. I strongly support some behavoir I find to be immoral such as prosititution and use of street drugs being legal.

It is strongly rooted in our legal system that humans are more valubale and are to be treated differently then other animals. It makes no sense to make an exception for abortion.

[Nulono]

I'm glad us pro-life atheists are getting some mention.

[kelincihutan]

If you are ever asked by anyone why one you would value human lives over animal ones, you might point out that it only makes sense to value the lives of members of your own species more so than you would the lives of non-members. Granted, I am a Christian, so my morality comes from God and the Bible, but I think most atheists would not find that statement terribly objectionable.

[LifeReport]

Some might find that argument effective, while some refer to that as "speciest." (Discriminating against certain species.) Since that has nothing to do with my real reasons for believing humans are more valuable than animals, I would probably avoid using it myself, but it's up to you. Thanks for commenting! :)

[cmadison93]

@kelincihutan

Not only do we simply abuse and exploit animals, it is simply pointless to do those things anyway.

If we all stopped eating meat and animal by-products, if only a fraction of us did, then guess what? Everyone on Earth would be fed.

So veganism isn't merely an animal-rights issue. It's also a human-life issue as well.

This is where the term "pro-fetus" comes in.

[daleksith]

is this filmed at a college?

[LifeReport]

No, it was filmed in the library of a church. We're now moving into a studio, where we'll consider releasing video excerpts again. I just hated the non-professional look of the library, so I've just been publishing the audio episodes lately at our website. (Link in video description.)

[daleksith]

But the library is a good look. It gives an intellectual feel.

[LifeReport]

lol, thanks. A few other fans said the same thing. It just felt a little too cluttered. We stopped recording in that library anyway, and the new studio isn't ready for video. Blank yellow walls. Yuck. ;) We might paint the walls and add some memorabilia from "The Office" since we refer to that show so much on the podcast...

So you would watch the videos even if they don't look really nice and professional? Do you listen to the podcast as well?

[daleksith]

I would watch the videos so long as they are riveting and interesting. But I don't listen to the podcast.

[LifeReport]

Gotcha. Ok, well we'll probably get the videos going again in a month or so. Thanks for the feedback!

[icimblind]

Laws came from, and are still today mostly based upon, Judeo- Christian values, e.g. The Ten Commandments, and biblical teachings. The Founding Fathers knew Judeo-Christian principals and values even though some of them weren't Christian.

[Beskargam]

The Ten Commandments? Funny, I don't see a law forbidding me from worshiping gods other than that of the Bible in America. Nor do I see one forbidding me to covet my neighbor's wife. I also see no penalty ready to fall on me for failing to honor my mother or father. One need not be even remotely Christian to be in favor of valuing and protecting all human life.

[MrAbolitionist]

God commands us to love Him and Love others. This combination of love is and must continue to be the driving force of the Pro life Movement.

[jag305]

You don't need to have 'god' in order to have a foundation for moral behaviour. A simple recognition of 'self' and 'other', which fortunately our species is smart enough to have, is more than enough to go on. Removing 'god' from the picture does make these issues more challenging to think about...but reality based greys are better than fantasy based blacks and whites. The fact that the pro-life movement is almost entirely populated by religious types does nothing but reduce the chance of change.

[goochieguy]

i know what you mean! i can seperate my political and my spiritual motivations.

and i care more about the unborn than i do some vile bloodthirsty god.

[Alcavexus]

the problem i have with this video is the fact these people are using god to guide them through their views and what they think should be done about the topic at the expense of other people and wha they believe in...that's what bothers me.

[LifeReport]

I can definitely understand how you would come to that conclusion. I don't think it's necessarily wrong for peoples beliefs to be fueled by their religious and moral beliefs. In fact we would probably agree that just because a religion holds to a point of view, that doesn't make the point of view correct. (For example, some religions encouraged sleeping with prostitutes as worship. Doesn't make it right.)

[LifeReport]

However I'm not just pro-life because I think it's consistent with a biblical world view. I'm pro-life because I think the unborn are alive, (they're growing,) I think the unborn are human, (they have human parents,) and I think human beings like you and are valuable. What do you think?

[forjustme]

to myxomarit who said: answer me this: are women human beings too? or are we just incubators for the church/state hodge podge you so love?

Answer:

We have absolutely no interest in controlling women's reproductive lives. However, the biological reality is that when a woman is pregnant, reproduction has already occurred. If that were not true, there would be nothing for the abortionist to kill.

[myxomarit]

non-moralistic sex education would make sense of course, and prevent abortions, but why would the anti-choicers want women to be empowered to make their own decisions anyway? ah yes, we remain in their eyes brood mares for the state, in the words of the late great bill hicks. all this stuff is blasphemy in the eyes of god. i see. mr. life report, answer me this: are women human beings too? or are we just incubators for the church/state hodge podge you so love?

[LifeReport]

Of course women are human beings, as are the roughly 650,000 female babies being aborted every year. I dont think anyone really things women should be reduced to incubators or brood mares. Its a caricature of an extremely misogynistic idea that is forced in pro-lifers as if that is why we think abortion is wrong. That would be like me suggesting that you want to personally kill unborn babies. Of course you dont. 99% of people are more reasonable than the extremists on either side of an issue.

[LifeReport]

Your question implies a much more important topic though: should women have more rights than the unborn? But the comparison between a babys rights and a mothers rights is unequal. What is at stake in abortion is the mothers lifestyle, as opposed to the babys life. In nearly all abortions, the womans right to live is not an issue, because her life is not in danger.

[LifeReport]

The mother does have the right to the preferred lifestyle of her choice as long as that choice does not rob other people of even more fundamental rights, the most basic of which is the right to live. Regardless of the challenges, one persons right to a preferred lifestyle is not greater than another persons right to a life.

[steven1steven2]

i have an idea, pro lifers should shut up about "baby killing" and start promoting safer sex methods and other contraception.

just flat out banning abortions isnt gonna stop abortions, its going to create an illegal market for "back ally" abortions, which is dangerous.

[LifeReport]

It occurs to me that the most important question is whether the fetus in question is a living human being. If it's not, I think you're right that abortion is no big deal, and it should be readily available to all who want it. If the fetus IS a living human being, then abortion is wrong because it unjustifiably takes someone else's life.

Can you make a scientific argument that the fetus is not a living human being? If so, I will happily "shut up" about "baby killing."

[steven1steven2]

pro life is anti choice!

it sickens me to death to see such chauvinism when a male says he's pro-life

[LifeReport]

Thank you for your comment, Steven. Arguments dont have gender, people do. Instead of attacking myself, could you instead attack the argument that abortion unjustifiably kills an innocent human being?

[LifeReport]

Do you think it would be foolish for a single person without children to object to child abuse? I do. I objected to child abuse before I had children and that hasnt changed. So if abortion is taking the life of an innocent human being, then that would be wrong,and it doesnt matter if a mother says its wrong, or a father says its wrong or women who dont have babies say its wrong or if men who dont have babies say its wrong. Its still wrong to kill innocent human beings, isnt it?

[steven1steven2]

so instead of talking about how abortions are evil, maybe you should try to prevent the need for abortions by distributing condoms, teaching about safe sex, ect.

and when people get abortions, they don't think of it as killing, they view it as a chance to get rid of a problem. I was supportive and helpful to my girlfriend when she had our fetus aborted. We are not ready for a child and are thankful we had access to safe and affordable abortions.

[LifeReport]

How's it going, Steven? We did an interesting video about whether more access to birth control would reduce abortions as much as Planned Parenthood says. Our conclusion was pretty surprising seeing that we only used pro-abortion-choice sources for our research. If you're interested in another perspective, check it out. It's called "Debunking Birth Control Myths."

Thanks for taking the time to dialogue about an important issue, Steven.

[HowardSternn]

Good luck with your Pro-Life agenda. Don't forget DRUGS and Prostitution are illegal. And i know a boatload of people that do DRUGS and pick up Prostitute's. Argentina has 40Million people and over 500,000 abortions. X Argentina's population X 8 and they would have 320Million people exactly what we have, X there Abortion X 8 they would have 4Million abortions three times what we have.

Bababooey

[LifeReport]

Hey Bababooey. We agree that if abortion was ever made illegal in the U.S., there would still be some people trying to get abortions. I think the vast majority of women would obey the law, as the vast majority did before Roe vs. Wade. (The abortion rate went up 10X after Roe.)

[LifeReport]

More importantly, it is trivial to claim that because the law cannot stop all abortions, prohibitions should not exist:

- Laws against rape do not stop all rape, but no one is arguing that we should repeal these laws.

- Laws against drunk driving do not stop all drunks from driving under the influence, but its hard to imagine someone arguing, People are going to drive drunk despite the law, so lets make it safe and legal for them to do so.