Smile, breathe and go slowly.
Thich Nhat Hanh
The War on Baby Girls
According to Wikipedia:
- "The selective abortion of female fetuses is most common in areas where cultural norms value male children over female children, especially in parts of People's Republic of China, India, Pakistan, Korea, Taiwan, and the Caucasus."
- " In 1994 over 180 states signed the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, agreeing to "eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child"
- "A 2005 study estimated that over 90 million females were "missing" from the expected population in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Taiwan"
- "Sex-selective abortion was rare before the late 20th century, because of the difficulty of determining the sex of the fetus before birth, but ultrasound has made such selection easier."
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world
Pretty yellow black and white
They are precious in his sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world
The most beautiful sight in China is a smiling baby girl.
For more information, go to All Girls Allowed
When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!" - Matthew 27:24.
Under Pontius Pilate, Roman soldiers executed Jesus Christ.
Under Planned Parenthood, doctors kill preborn children.
Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red. - Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2, 57-60
House of Representatives Fails to Reach Super Majority
Vote on Bill to Ban Gender-Selection Abortion:
Thumbs DOWN!
According to Fox News (my edits):
The final vote was 246-168. Though a majority voted in favor of the bill, this particular proposal required a two-thirds majority to pass -- supporters of the bill fell 30 votes short. The proposal would have made it a federal crime to carry out an abortion based on the gender of the fetus. The measure takes aim at the aborting of female fetuses, a practice more common to countries such India and China. The bill notes that countries such as India and China, where the practice has contributed to lopsided boy-girl ratios, have enacted bans on the practice. .The morally-unconscionable minority blocking the ban, of course, was dominated by pro-abortion choice Democrats. The principal question I have on the bill is the nature of federal involvement because I would think that policing actions take place at the state versus federal level; certainly this ban should be enforced on the state level.
I'll make this comment on the Obama Administration response (anti-ban): they are using EXACTLY the the same line of reasoning (concerns about doctor liability, etc.) that Obama used to rationalize his similarly morally bankrupt opposition to Illinois' born alive infant protection act.
The bill is not a cure-all: a predictable response would be for doctors and pregnant mothers to avoid any discussion of rationale behind the abortion in each other's presence, i.e., put the burden of proof on the state.
Parts of DOMA Declared Unconstitutional:
Thumbs DOWN!
I generally dislike how this issue has been covered in the media. First, let's point out there are separate legal threads going around: one is the appeals process for the federal district court judgment striking down California's Proposition 8, which restored the definition of traditional marriage to the California state constitution; the second is the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996. Today's court action refers to the latter.
Second, DOMA has two principal purposes: first, it establishes a uniform federal definition of marriage; second, it disallows a backdoor approach to undermine the states' historical regulation of traditional marriage using state reciprocity relationships (i.e., recognizing marriages across states). For instance, a Texas gay couple flies to Massachusetts to get "married", returns to no-gay-marriage Texas and then sues to get their marriage recognized in Texas, essentially stripping Texas of its right to regulate its own marriage policies.
Today's court action dealt with the first, not second part of DOMA. I've made my position perfectly clear: the traditional concept of marriage is not arbitrary but evolved over thousands of years. I am concerned about unintended consequences of changes to traditional institutions. (Obama doesn't recognize this evolution of marriage, of course...) I support voluntary competent relationships and state recognition of those relationships (i.e., domestic partnership/civil union).
I would hope, and expect, SCOTUS to confirm the constitutionality of DOMA.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Kinks, "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman"
