Proof Of Life X Krishna On The Q Train

Earlier this week, it was announced that Henry Hyde, the conservative representative from the state of Illinois had passed away. Now I pay no mind to all the gutless praise laid upon this most godawful beast of a man by his spineless colleagues on both sides of the aisle, they are politicians, being spineless is their job. I am however, most offended by the media's praise of this foul man. A man who was a leader in the anti-choice movement since it's infancy. A man who saw no contradiction in referring to himself as proLIFE while at the same time supporting a laundry list of legislation that ensured socioeconomic failures of the poor, that funded a bloated military who sole purpose is to kill and a rather self-explanitory stance on the death penalty. This man, like so many of his conservative brethren, was unable to reconcile a belief in the sanctity of life with a voting record soaked in the foul blood of death. These men and women of the social conservative movement drape themselves in the message that life trumps every other issue while supporting an agenda that would make Marat blush. I believe that a time has come for us as democrats to say enough is enough. It is time for us to define the terms of this discussion. I am pro-choice and pro-choice IS ProLIFE. I believe in the sanctity of life not in spite of my belief in a woman's right to choose but because of it! I believe that all life is sacred, including that of the woman's. A fetus is not a life it is the potential for life. For that reason I believe that we must air on the side of the life that is over the life that might be. I am not pro-abortion. I am pro-choice and there is a world of difference between the two. I look forward to a day when no woman conceives a child that she is not ready and willing to care for. However, it cannot be understated that taking away a woman's right to choose is not a fast forward button to that day. It is a fact that in every country where a woman has been stripped of her right to a safe and legal abortion the number of abortions performed has increased not decreased. If you take away a woman's right to safely and legally terminate an unwanted pregnancy you will not only see an increase in abortions but also an increase in dead women. Furthermore, the poor will be the ones hit the hardest. The wealthy among us will be able to pay a doctor to ignore the law where as poor women will be forced to put their life on the line at the end of a wire hanger. Those who perform illicit back room abortions aren't legally bound to inform women of the other options available to them. The Path to a day when no pregnancy is unwanted and thus no abortion need be performed is paved by three steps. The first step of The Path is paved with free and equal access to neo-natal care, because science has shown that early access to neo-natal care significantly increases a child's intellectual and social development so that fifteen years later that child is thinking about college not sex. The second step on The Path is lit by free and equal access to quality Pre-K education. Because children who are taught the value and joy of learning at the earliest possible age are less apt to develop the low self-esteem that leads an adolescent to the type of self-destructive behavior that often leads to unwanted pregnancies. Lastly, The Path culminates in accurate and honest reproductive education. As long as we continue to pretend that an abstinence only education actually works we are going to continue to produce yet another generation that is absolutely ignorant to basic reproductive biology. There will always be some kids that are failed by the first two steps of The Path. We owe them the tools of knowledge so that they don't find themselves in a situation where in abortion is the only way out! If life actually is sacred, and I believe that it is, then we must devote ourselves to realizing a future when all living things reach their potential!