Pro-Reality…more than pro-life & pro-choice
I had a conversation about abortion with a some great thinkers last night. We came to the conclusion that there is a new group of people called Pro-Reality, which is in between the pro-choice and pro-life standpoints. Now Christians (and pro-life friends), don’t get upset at me – hear me out and then please share your views. There are many people who don’t see this topic as just black and white. There’s a shade of grey here.
- Pro-lifers believe conception starts at birth. Most of these people are also Catholics who are against using contraception and giving out contraception to teens.
- Pro-choice are Roe v. Wade supporters and believe it’s a woman’s right to choose and that a fetus is not a child.
Then there are a group of us who we decided to called Pro-Reality. The Pro-Reality group isn’t just liberal people reinterpreting Biblical law. Many of the people in this group are Catholics and Christians. Many who have children understand that they have a responsibility to teach their teen children about relationships and that a condom is necessary if someone is engaging in a sexual relationship. Sex before marriage is a reality in today’s world. Many Catholics will argue and say that we need to teach abstinence and although I would love to live in that bubble and agree with them, I know the reality of life.
Pro-Reality supporters are also people who will show their children pictures of what an abortion looks like. Seeing an aborted fetus is part of the Reality – there is no doubt that a fetus is a child when you see pictures or video of it. No one would want to have an abortion after seeing the results of an abortion. If you have never seen an aborted fetus, you could go to You Tube and search for ‘the hard truth’.
So although Pro-Reality supporters looks very liberal supporting pro-choice, Roe v. Wade and Obama, we are actually individuals who have done a lot of thinking and praying in our choice. Strong Catholics/Christians will tell us we are sinners and are go to burn in hell. But before you thump the Bible at us, think about….maybe we are just the type of people who will help bring about change in society.
FOCA (the Freedom of Choice Act also called H.R. 1964 – ya know I love the law) is one of the biggest problems in this election. Obama says that he will pass it and pro-lifers point out that every restriction on the abortion will be removed. Most importantly certain late term abortions will be allowed. Pro-Reality supporters are against this and hope that another regulation will be put in place to stop late term abortions, as well as protect surviving aborted fetuses (By the way, no one is pro-abortion and most people support this). There will also be a repeal of the Hyde Amendment which will allow federal funding for abortion. This of course, angers Pro-lifers because their tax money is going towards things that are against their beliefs.
As for me, personally I am pro-life, but I support every woman’s right to choose because I am not here to pass judgment or my religion on anyone. This makes me Pro-Reality. My religious beliefs extend into many areas of my life. For example, as a Catholic, I am against divorce for myself, but as many Christians believe, if a marriage isn’t working out, then it’s okay to divorce. Christians believe that God understands that the marriage just didn’t work out.
Over a decade ago, I used to be a conservative. Many people who know me today would be surprised to hear this because I am pretty liberal these days. Yet, back in the day I met Conservative writer, Kathryn Jean Lopez of the National Review (ulta conservative) online. We were just teens then and she was just as fiesty back then as she is now. Back then, her views and mine were identical. Kathryn Jean Lopez says that Catholics can’t vote for Obama because of his views on abortion (Dr. John F. Kane has the answer for you Kathryn Jean) . For centuries, the Catholic Church didn’t support Darwin, but in the last few years, evolution has been accepted. God expects us to continously think and question prior thought.
I’m glad to Conservative Catholic law professor, Douglas W. Kmiec write about Catholics for Obama as the Pro-Reality movement is happening. Catholic Online even allowed Kmiec to express his views at their site. (Disclaimer: Kmiec does not use the term Pro-Reality because that’s our word here in Brooklyn).
Hugs,
marlene
Topics: Politics | 6 Comments »
October 20th, 2008 at 2:36 am
Thanks for this post – not defining that third group creates so much animosity that really stems from misunderstanding. I am definitely in your camp on this.
October 20th, 2008 at 6:44 am
Thank you for having this debate. I appreciate forums where both sides can express their views and where I can comment on your post.
Just because the reality of society makes it very difficult to not have sex before marriage it doesn’t mean we give up the fight by giving in and essentially saying, “I might as well teach about protective sex since it is too difficult to teach my children (or society) to not have sex before marriage”. I believe we should teach God given commandments to our children and if they make a mistake, well there are consequences for our mistakes. We should first off, teach abstinence, second teach our children about the dangers of sex before marriage and all that comes with sex.
I would rather offend man (society) than offend God with the way I teach my children. You mentioned you would “love to live in that bubble and agree with them, I know the reality of life”. The reality of life is what you choose. I’m not sure if that makes sense but for me personally, the reality of my life is that I chose not to have sex before marriage and my wife chose the same way.
Just because the overall view of society concerning–this topic–is moving farther away from God’s view doesn’t mean we give in. We must fight because in our life there is a great battle. That battle is righteousness (God) vs. evil (Satan). We must decide which side we will fight for. You being Catholic, I know you want to fight for God’s side. It just gets difficult when Satan puts into society all of these conflicting views. It is very hard, but it is up to us to discern right from wrong.
Now concerning your view on abortion. I agree with your Pro-life view points. This is my belief:
“Human life is a sacred gift from God. Elective abortion for personal or social convenience is contrary to the will and the commandments of God.”
Now concerning the paragraph of your post where you basically said you are Pro-life but that you want others to be able to choose for themselves, I completely understand what you are saying. I have the same conflict, however…
I believe one of the greatest gifts from God is our ability to choose for ourselves. This is actually one of the reasons why I do not agree with Obama’s socialistic viewpoints. I believe socialistic countries are less generous. Currently, America is one of the most generous country on earth; if I’m wrong, it might be to our eternal detriment, individually. I believe we are our brothers keepers and we should CHOOSE to serve others ILO of the government FORCING us to serve others. I believe these type of forcing policies do not encourage hard work but I digress.
Back to my point….this great gift from God, freedom to choose, does not mean we can murder an adult. We would both agree murdering is not right and when an act occurs the perpetrator acts as if he/she is God, by taking ones life from this earth. The judgments of God will be on such a person and hopefully he/she can repent but that is not up to me.
This goes back to the whole conception idea, when?, etc. I don’t pretend to know when life exactly starts, but I do believe that our Spirit joins the little bitty body of a baby earlier than most of us think. In this sense, we do not have the right to choose to take away the life of a child. We do however have the right to give it up for adoption.
Thank you for reading and I hope you did not ramble.
October 20th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Hi,
I am from Brooklyn too, but I live in Boston. Pro-Reality is the way to go. The crazies on both sides are very inflexible and dogmatic. My rules of thumb on this topic are.
1. I can’t get pregnant (I’m a guy) so I’ll never COMPLETELY understand.
2. Never disrespect a woman for her choice…..
3. Never question a woman about her choice……
4. If you know a woman who decides either way (to abort versus) carry, support her. Either decision carries a significant emotional and physical burden.
Hope this helps
Frank
Franks last blog post..Frugal Ways to Reduce Your Wireless Telephone and Cable Television Expenses
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I agree that defining the third group is an important step towards understanding. Good job there.
I have two daughters and my wife and I intend on teaching them core principles and common sense. After that, we will trust that they learn from the consequences of their actions.
For example one thing I want to teach them is that sex is for married people. I thin the evidence is on my side here. Sex outside of marriage has a fairly obvious track record.
One of the best ways I heard it described goes like this. Sex is like fire. God made fire. Fire is good. But fire can be bad. Fire in your fireplace is good. Fire in the middle of your living room floor will burn down your house.
God made sex. Sex is good. But sex can be bad. Sex within marriage is good. Sex outside of marriage can burn down your emotional health.
I’m not saying all sex in marriage is good, but good sex can be difficult enough to achieve when you have the advantage of practicing over and over again with the same person, let alone swapping out players randomly and hoping for a winning team. Let alone the way a sexual relationship can impact your emotional well being.
Another thing I want to teach them is that a person should only have unprotected sex if they are trying to get pregnant. This conversation will be separate from the other. Whether or not a person is married is irrelevant, really. My girls can work that out on their own. Unprotected sex is for baby-making. Period.
So that’s it.
1. Sex is for married people.
2. Unprotected sex is for baby-making.
They will know that my wife and I think this way, and why we think this way. Ultimately though, it is up to them. We’re going ot love them no matter what.
peace|dewde
http://dewde.com
dewdes last blog post..I wrote the Constitution
December 4th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
COLUMBIA, S.C. – A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and
April 13th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
great post, but for me, i dont agree with abortion, after all, it is still a human being