Tag Archives: abortion

When Taking A Stand Isn’t Easy

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Mary| 4 Comments

Raise your hand if you saw or re-posted the link to Google’s “End Piracy, Not Liberty” landing page (or something of the like) yesterday.

*raises hand*

yay!  Isn’t taking a stand for something you believe in fun??  As young people, we seem to have this natural itch to be involved in some sort of activism.  We do crazy things like participate in protests, participate in awareness campaigns, or join the Peace Corps.   And, usually (though definitely not always), doing such things amounts to a good and productive use of our time.

But let’s get real for a second.

To be clear: I’m glad so many people are against SOPA—it’s a scary bit of legislation.  I’m even glad so many people took a stand against it and (hopefully) called their congressman/congresswoman to make sure SOPA/PIPA don’t get passed (because if all you did was post the link, you missed the entire point of the exercise).  …And if there were no one at all re-posting the links, awareness wouldn’t have gotten around.  I get it.  Re-posting is good.

Is it bad, then, that I’m a little annoyed with the tendency to pat ourselves on the back for “taking a stand” when it seems to amount to nothing more than following the crowd?  If you stand up in a football stadium when your team scores a touchdown, are you really “taking a stand,” or are you just caught up in the moment with everyone else?  …Who doesn’t like a touchdown?  Especially when the other team winning means you essentially lose your right to free speech?

My point?  Good job for taking a stand against SOPA/PIPA.  It was the right thing to do.  But there’s more good to be done.  You just may not get as many “likes” on Facebook for standing up for it.

Example:

39 years ago this weekend, it became legal for a woman to take the life of the baby developing inside of her.  And around the country this weekend, hundreds of thousands of people will participate in peaceful protests against that law—mourning the loss of over 50 million lives taken since 1973.

You probably won’t hear much about these protests in the news.  Unfortunately, standing up for life hasn’t proven quite as popular as standing up for free speech has these past couple of days.  But if you re-posted the anti-SOPA/PIPA links yesterday, why not re-post this?

 

Posted in Other Rants, Pop Culture, Stuff Catholics Do

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Blue is the New Pink

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Mary| 4 Comments


If you have gone outside in the past 11 days, you may have noticed that things are a bit more pink than normal.  Maybe the yogurt you bought at the store last week had a pink lid.  Or maybe the coffee sleeve offered to you at Panera this morning was pink.  Or perhaps even some of your friends on Facebook have changed their profile picture to an icon of a little pink ribbon (I guess you don’t even have to go outside to notice the pink anymore!).  What gives?  As I’m sure you already knew, we are now living in a sea of pink because October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Every year during this month, a handful of companies give a portion of the profits from their “pink” merchandise to Susan G. Komen for the Cure in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Unfortunately, Komen for the Cure gives a portion of their profits to Planned Parenthood—the nation’s top abortion provider.

For this reason, I cannot in good conscience participate in the Race for the Cure, or buy any “pink” merchandise during this month that gives money to Komen for the Cure.

You may be thinking that this is a bit of an extreme stance to take.  Komen for the Cure has made great strides in breast cancer research, and it is true that none of the funds they give to Planned Parenthood are used directly for abortions.  Shouldn’t the good they do far outweigh the minor fact that they give money to Planned Parenthood?

For two main reasons, I really don’t think the Pros outweigh the Cons here.

For one, Komen even acknowledges that there has been no conclusive evidence that there is not a link between breast cancer and abortion (and in fact, there have been many studies implying that there is in fact a link).  Dr. Janet Daling, a leading cancer epidemiologist, and pro-choice advocate, is quoted as saying:

“I would have loved to have found no association between breast cancer and abortion, but our research is rock solid, and our data is accurate. It’s not a matter of believing, it’s a matter of what is.”

Secondly, even though none of the Komen funds are used directly for abortion, giving money to Planned Parenthood for a specific service just frees up other monies to be used on abortion.  There’s no getting around it.  Giving money to Planned Parenthood will always help, in some way, fund abortion.

I don’t find it coincidental in the slightest that October is also the month that the Catholic Church has traditionally dedicated to the Holy Rosary.  I can’t help but wonder: What would happen if we gave the fight against breast cancer over to Our Lady, rather than giving our money to foundation that supports taking the lives of her children?

Here is a brief statement from the Archbishop of Baltimore, which goes into a bit more detail about why Catholics should refrain from supporting Susan G. Komen for the Cure

 

 

 

 

Posted in Pop Culture, Stuff Catholics Do

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Change – How Long Can We Wait?

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Katie| Leave a comment

——Guest Post Written By Katie Mueller ———

 Me and all my friends
We’re all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There’s no way we ever could

Now we see everything that’s going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don’t have the means
To rise above and beat it

So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change

It’s hard to beat the system
When we’re standing at a distance
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change

 

Waiting on the World to Change – although not the worst song I have ever heard, it might be one of the most misleading.  The song insists that we are victims, with no power to change or influence our world, and that our best option is to idly let the world change itself.  It’s much too hard to make a difference, so let’s not try at all?

Let’s face it, as young Catholics we have more than a few topics to choose from, but there is no point in beating around the bush.  I want to talk about abortion.   Anyone who has seen my facebook knows that I am pro-life, and also knows that I use my facebook as a tool to spread information about the reality of the abortion industry, the effects of abortion on mothers and families, and current events relating to the pro-life movement.  Do I do this because I enjoy debating my friends on ethical issues?  Well, yes :)   but also because I know so many people who are simply misinformed.  They believe the people who tell them that it’s not considered abortion if there hasn’t been implantation; they believe the people who tell them abortion is safe and is a fundamental right; they believe the people who tell them the baby isn’t alive until the heart beats; and they believe the people who tell them that it is okay to end a life if it isn’t convenient for the parents.  Why do they believe this?  Maybe it is because no one has told them otherwise.

Ignorance is one of the greatest disservices to our world, and to our Church, and to ourselves.  As Catholics, we are obligated to engage in a never-ending pursuit of truth and to share these truths with our fellows.  The fight for life is our duty— a mission entrusted to our generation.  If we are not educated ourselves, how can we defend our stance?  This is a plea to young Catholics to get involved first by understanding the battle, and second, by using your knowledge to educate others.  This will set the foundation for change.

Every day on our Facebook pages, we share with all of our “friends” how bored we are at work, what we made for breakfast, or a funny cat video we found on YouTube.  If this is worth our while, then surely protecting the dignity of every human life can also be a regular part of our lives.

Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director (now pro-life advocate) said something to the following, “If you aren’t doing anything to stop it, you are supporting it.”  Our generation must take a stand; we must be active in our battle for a culture of life.  The first part of this is educating ourselves and our world.  I will not tolerate having people I care about be hurt by abortion because they didn’t understand the decision they were making.  I will not be comfortable in silence and let the pro-choice movement do all the talking and mislead my generation to hurt and regret.  We need to show the world that we do “stand for something” and we are willing to fight for it.

At the end of the song, good old John Mayer tells us, “One day our generation is gonna rule the population, so we keep on waiting, waiting on the world to change”.  Well guess what folks, NOW is the time for our generation to rule, and we can’t wait on “the world” to give us the go ahead.

Lord, please use me today as tool to spread your truths and to evangelize.  Your will be done.  Amen.

Need help getting started?  I’ve got you covered:

- Katie

Katie Mueller recently graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she earned her BA in Legal Studies.  {She’s also my cousin! :) }

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Posted in Other Rants, Stuff Catholics Do, Youthful Antics

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What do you think?

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Mary| Leave a comment

This controversial Pro-Life ad in Soho, New York was taken down the other day.  The group who put up the ad stands behind it, saying that they expected and wanted the ad to cause controversy:

‘Our message is one that’s provocative,’ Reverend Broden responded via the New York Daily News. ‘It’s true and it’s accurate and it’s real.’

What do you think?  Should the ad have been taken down?


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A Challenge for the Weekend

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Mary| 1 Comment

Here’s the deal:

This weekend I am going up to San Francisco with a group of college students from my school.  I have a favor to ask of all of you beginning now up until the time I come home on Saturday night.

The reason I am going to San Fran is for the 7th annual Walk for Life.  Now before you tune out because you think I’m am just going to rant on for the next few paragraphs about the injustices of abortion, hear me out.

Yes, I do think abortion is wrong and I am going up to be a part of the Walk for Life for that reason.  But there is something else going on that I think people on both sides of the abortion issue can agree is wrong.  I am talking about the issue of extreme media bias when it comes to coverage of Anti-abortion events in the news.

In recent years, as many as 300,000 pro-life advocates have shown up at the March for Life in Washington D.C. in peaceful protest of the abortion laws in this country.  Following on the heels of the success of the DC March, the west-coast Walk for Life was started in San Francisco seven years ago.  Last year, an estimated 30,000 people were in attendance.

These are both obviously huge events.  So why don’t more people outside of those in anti-abortion circles hear about them?  It’s simple, really.  The media chooses not to cover them (or to falsify accounts of the truth of what actually happens).

There are numerous examples of this media fraud.  As stated above, in 2009, there were over 350,000 people at the March in D.C.  However, USA Today reported the number in attendance simply as “thousands”.  Most news sites that covered the March gave protesters on both sides (Pro-Abort and Anti-Abort) equal billing.  This seems to imply that there was equal representation from each side present at the March, when in reality the number of those present that were against abortion far exceeded the number of those in favor of the current abortion laws.

In my opinion, the most telling example of media bias when it comes to coverage of the Anti-Abortion events in January came from a Newsweek.com blog last year titled, “Who’s Missing at the ‘Roe v. Wade’ Anniversary Demonstrations? Young Women.” The article simply lies about the lack of women present at these events  (in reality, women make up the majority), and even makes the claim that the majority of those in the walk are over 60.  The truth is that these events attract throngs of youth.  The Youth Rally following the March in D.C. is so successful they have had to turn people away because it got so crowded.

Clearly, this is a problem.  A massive protest is held and, if it gets any media attention at all (big “if”), it is usually reports of lies or misleading information.

How You Can Help:

Here is the good news: We are no longer living in the days when the media was run by a few top papers and news channels.  With social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, the real voice of the people can be heard.  So this is where I need you.

I am bringing my iPhone with me on the Walk for Life.  I will be updating my Twitter feed with pictures, quotes, and any other news from the Walk in San Francisco.  If you have a Twitter account, retweet my posts to all of your followers.  If you have a Facebook or a blog of your own, share this link so that others will hear what the mainstream media refuses to talk about.

Surprise your Facebook friends and Twitter followers this weekend.  Instead of posting about what your plans for the night are, I challenge each and every one of you reading this to speak up.  It doesn’t matter which side of the abortion issue you may find yourself on; this is an injustice we can’t stand for.

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