By VictorM: Starting about 30 years ago, the involvement by evangelical Christians in every day politics has dramatically increased. This group has joined forces with more conservative Catholics on the issues they have in common to forge a formidable political force:

By some measures, the change among evangelicals has been dramatic. A generation ago, leaders rarely spoke out against abortion; even the Southern Baptist Convention voted in 1971 to support making it legal under conditions including rape and "severe fetal deformity." Today, Americans who identify themselves as evangelical are the most opposed of any faith group to abortion -- far more than those who identify themselves as Catholic -- even in cases of rape or danger to the mother's health, according to a new survey by Baylor University.

What changed? Did a new revelation occur? A new Bible verse discovered? No. Then what? I have maintained for many years that the change had nothing to do with religion; all to do with politics.

After getting beaten for decades, conservatives, after many years of studying and organizing, recognized that their best bet was dividing the American people. With the Democrats losing the south over civil rights, Republicans went from a Darwinist party to just about all-religion. Abortion being their golden goose. And so the rolling out of a strategy to divide was carried forward.

This kind of transformation is very easy to do using the Bible. All you need is an eloquent speaker who introduces his interpretation of the words of the Bible, and henceforth the word "up" starts meaning "down". How? Well, by explaining that "up" based on the root Greek word, when compared with the Hebrew word, and analyzing the etymology of the Latin word, really means "down". And presto! -- Mission accomplished. Who in the flock is going to question this PhD guy with the fancy suit and the sharp tongue? No one. So abortion goes from being supported in 1971 to being the work of the devil in 10 years. Same Bible. Same God. Same Jesus. Same word. New guy with sharp suit... and millions from conservatives donors.

Labels: abortion, bioethics, catholic church, evengelicals, religion today

By VictorM: Because less than 50% of the voters showed up to vote on a referendum, a strict anti-abortion law in Portugal remains despite 60% of the voters choosing to relax the law. Prime Minister Jose Socrates said he will introduce legislation to change the abortion law to reflect the will of the majority of those who voted. The opposition claims that the majority who didn't vote, by doing so, expressed their desire for keeping the current law. I don't buy this conclusion at all. I'm more inclined to believe the reluctance to vote is more for fear of the church than conviction on the issue. The Prime Minister should press forward with his plan and introduce a law that reflects the will of those who voted.

Labels: abortion, catholic church, jose socrates, portugal

By Jessica: South Dakota is at it again. A new abortion ban bill is expected to be revealed today at the state Capitol--and this time around it will have exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the woman. (So generous, I know.)... this is going to mean a change of fighting words on our part. After all, a lot of what pro-choicers talked about when trying to defeat the last ban was the lack of exceptions...

Labels: abortion, feminism, sexism, south dakota

By Jill (follow Jill's link for many more reasons): I am pro-choice because it’s the pro-choice movement that has advocated for policies which actually decrease the need for abortion, and which make it easier for women to have children: comprehensive sexual health education, affordable and accessible contraception (including emergency contraception), pre-natal and well-baby care, social support for pregnant women and women with children, affordable child care, fair pay for working women, supporting pregnant girls, and gender equality. Comparatively, the “pro-life” movement* has no interest in actually lowering the abortion rate; their ultimate goal is sexual control of women, evidenced by their opposition to contraception and their belief that there is only one singular way to live: abstain from sex until heterosexual marriage, and then have as many children as God gives you.

Labels: abortion, pro-choice