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summer_in_TX

(2,680 posts)
Sat Jun 23, 2018, 05:28 PM Jun 2018

Pro-life Democrats at Texas State Convention

My husband heard a news story on NPR this afternoon talking with a group of Texas Democrats at the Texas State Democratic Convention going on now in Ft. Worth who are pro-life. They mourned how militant the pro-choice left had gotten on that issue and how hard it was to find room to stay within the Democratic party.

Abortion has been very much on my mind in the last few weeks, after visiting our son and daughter-in-law and our two grandchildren. The last day of our visit, my husband raised the issue of considering voting for a Democratic candidate we consider a very strong candidate for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Col. Kim Olson, a retired combat pilot who served in Iraq.

“I could NEVER vote for anyone who supports abortion,” our son said. The Democratic party platform itself was enough to make him say that. He knows that any Dem no matter what they personally believe has to run on the party platform, which is correct.

We gently tried to point to other issues, but in our love and desire not to damage our relationship, we were fuzzy in what we said. We were sad and quiet during the entire three hour drive home and the rest of the day.

I’ve read the well-written Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Questions by Randy Alcorn too (in fact, I gave our son one of my two copies). But after much reflection and prayer, I couldn’t escape the understanding that God’s gift of free will was primary. I could not imagine God forcing a woman to carry a baby to term. I was convinced that God’s love was too great to compel someone to do that, no matter how much God loved the life created in her womb. If God wouldn’t, then God’s people shouldn’t either, no matter how much we want to leap to that unborn child’s defense.

There’s a line we should not cross. We can pray, offer support, create safe places where pregnant women could give birth, support economic policies that allow women to prevent unwanted pregnancies more easily, support adoptions, support programs that allow teenage mothers to continue their educations while their children are cared for at school, share our view that life is sacred from creation to death and provide information. However use of guilt would be going too far, and so would using legal or personal coercion. Ultimately I concluded we could not hijack the woman’s body to carry that baby to term because that would violate the free will God gave her - a respect borne of the deep love God has for her, as He does for all of us. He does us the honor of allowing us to make our own decisions, even bad ones, knowing that we will make mistakes but that we will learn and grow.

In wrestling with this issue, I’ve concluded that the God who created the cosmos out of nothing and is omnipotent (while choosing to not use that power to coerce) could be trusted with the immortal souls of those babies whose mothers chose to abort them. Though God had a purpose and plan for that infant’s life, God is able to achieve that purpose even when the original plan was aborted. And I trusted that the Holy Spirit would continue working in the lives of those women who made that choice. In fact, I know at least two women whose journey to God came about because of their abortions.

I asked a dear friend, the person with the most intimate and faithful walk with God I know, a retired nurse who had not been able to conceive and so had adopted a child, what was her belief about abortion. When she was a young nurse, she said, it had upset her when abortions were performed at her hospital, until she talked to a wise mentor. His conversation with her was much like my internal pondering. After that, she too trusted God with the issue.

That’s not to say I think abortions should normally be allowed late in a pregnancy. By the age at which the baby’s movements can be detected, most women will have had time to exercise free will. Even free will has limits. Limitations, however, should have a judicial appeal process that would allow a judge to permit it in rare circumstances such as risk to the life of the mother or to the physical safety of someone whose body isn’t mature enough to safely carry a baby to term, as could be the case of a girl pregnant through incest or molestation.

I honor my son’s desire to protect life. God’s creation is beautiful and praiseworthy, and I understand why he would conclude what he has.

It grieves me that he is appalled that we support a woman’s right to choose. He questioned whether I just had come to a belief that “seemed good to me.” But that sells me short. I genuinely want to want what God wants and to do what God would have me do. He is also mistaken to think that we think abortion is good, or just fine. We don’t. It’s a grievous act, but to disrespect the woman or family’s free will would be worse, in our opinion, because it would not follow God’s way.

That part of the conversation was not the only thing that made us sad, though. In fact, that was a minor thing because as I said we understand and honor his desire to protect life. What we found deeply troubling was realizing that to accomplish that desire, he was willing to completely ignore many moral issues important to us and that we believe scripture indicates are ones that matter to God too.

We assume that he voted for Trump for president from a number of statements he made during the primary season, although we didn’t want to know that he did. His wife couldn’t do it and voted for an independent candidate, and perhaps he did too.

I've read the very fierce remarks some have made here on the absolute necessity of being pro-choice in every aspect of the Democratic party platform, and I'm pro-choice myself obviously. But the tone of the comments doesn't allow for any dialogue or sense of inclusion, and I was saddened by what felt like a very hard rigidity.

My husband's question is how do we include people such as these pro-Life Dems. This election more than any other in our lifetime is about good and evil, and surely the stark immorality of this administration OUGHT to have decent people like our son and his wife voting against every Republican up and down the ticket. It's very hard to bear the thought of our son and his wife not supporting Dems when to me it's such a clear-cut issue of good vs. evil.

11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Pro-life Democrats at Texas State Convention (Original Post) summer_in_TX Jun 2018 OP
We are all pro life....our claim is freedom...for a person to make beachbum bob Jun 2018 #1
If they are going to be single-issue voters they cannot be included. bitterross Jun 2018 #2
Well stated. This is exactly where the nation is salvaged or not. Wwcd Jun 2018 #3
The problem is that anti-abortion people are totally 'my way or the highway.' bobbieinok Jun 2018 #4
Yeah then when called to the carpet they spout off that "all life is sacred" 47of74 Jul 2018 #5
Recommended. guillaumeb Jul 2018 #6
Thank you! summer_in_TX Oct 2018 #9
Freedom does not mean the right to kill Louis1981 Jul 2018 #7
Are you pro-life, or pro-birth? eom guillaumeb Oct 2018 #11
I know how it feels after choosing an abortion troyanos Oct 2018 #8
Simple it is not. summer_in_TX Oct 2018 #10
 

beachbum bob

(10,437 posts)
1. We are all pro life....our claim is freedom...for a person to make
Sat Jun 23, 2018, 05:32 PM
Jun 2018

A decision concerning their life free of govt interference...get fucking smart and use freedom as the basis and overt govt intrusion...make the debate about that. Why are democrats so ignorant in turning the tables.

 

bitterross

(4,066 posts)
2. If they are going to be single-issue voters they cannot be included.
Sat Jun 23, 2018, 05:37 PM
Jun 2018

That is just the way things are. If they are going to remain focused on the one issue of abortion and not step back to look at the huge amount of human damage the Republicans are doing to children and adults who have left the womb they cannot be included.

There are millions of children and adults who need our government policies to improve in order to remain alive. Far more than the ones who have not yet left the womb.

If they cannot grasp that, they cannot be included.

 

Wwcd

(6,288 posts)
3. Well stated. This is exactly where the nation is salvaged or not.
Sat Jun 23, 2018, 05:41 PM
Jun 2018

They learned NOTHING from 2016

bobbieinok

(12,858 posts)
4. The problem is that anti-abortion people are totally 'my way or the highway.'
Sat Jun 23, 2018, 05:48 PM
Jun 2018

They seem to believe it is immoral to co-operate with anyone who disagrees
with them the least little bit. (I base this on my discussions with anti-abortion people.)

Add to that that more and more of them want to outlaw contraception. This means that they cannot accept the solution that if everyone uses contraception 9o+% of the time there would be no desire for abortion.

Libby Ann's blog love,joy,feminism at patheos has several posts about these points. (She was homeschooled by very fundamentalist christian parents.)

 

47of74

(18,470 posts)
5. Yeah then when called to the carpet they spout off that "all life is sacred"
Wed Jul 4, 2018, 02:49 PM
Jul 2018

That's what one of our far right wing legislators say when she's called to the carpet about her reich to life activities. All while trying to make life unbearable for those who have been born.

guillaumeb

(42,641 posts)
6. Recommended.
Fri Jul 6, 2018, 05:28 PM
Jul 2018

My wife and I do not believe in abortion as a choice that either of us would make, but we do not believe that we have the right to impose our beliefs on others.


Very well written.

summer_in_TX

(2,680 posts)
9. Thank you!
Tue Oct 2, 2018, 11:14 PM
Oct 2018

Wish I could say we'd been able to finally at least talk to our son and daughter-in-law about it. But it did me good to share it here with you.

Blessings to you.

 

Louis1981

(2 posts)
7. Freedom does not mean the right to kill
Tue Jul 24, 2018, 12:22 PM
Jul 2018

I think people should be free to make their own choices.

Killing a baby is not one of them.

We protect bald eagle eggs more than we do children.

troyanos

(6 posts)
8. I know how it feels after choosing an abortion
Mon Oct 1, 2018, 05:29 PM
Oct 2018

I am 58 now, but when I was 17 , I had an abortion. During that time no one was advocating for my child even my own parents. So I had it and it never bothered me until I became a born again Christian in the 80's. I now live with the thorn in my side knowing that God has forgiven me for this choice. I would not want to laid this burden on any young woman. Now, I would advocate to keep the child. That being said, I understand the problem with young women,who are scared, may want to terminate.

Pro-life is both lives ,mother and child, and with the end of roe vs wade we could see many women and girls die in the hands of illegal abortionists. The fact is even legitimate doctors will perform this procedure and did so before Roe/wade. Ultimately, it is the woman's choice and she has to live with her decision just like I do.

summer_in_TX

(2,680 posts)
10. Simple it is not.
Tue Oct 2, 2018, 11:41 PM
Oct 2018

Thank you for sharing your perspective and wisdom. Thank God forgiveness is freely available for all those who are brokenhearted and contrite.

I am a good friend of a man whose college sweetheart got pregnant with twins. She decided to have an abortion, which at that time meant going out of state to get one where it was legal. He was not involved in the decision, and that was the end of the relationship. My friend experienced an overwhelming mixture of emotions: relief that he wasn't going to be a father and husband at age 18, guilt over that relief, and a broken heart over those twins he would never know. He carried an enormous burden of guilt and shame over her abortion and his part in that. It was only many years later that he was able to lay it at the foot of the cross and feel forgiven.

It's a costly choice and it hurts more than one parent quite often. Thank God for forgiveness and healing.

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