Maybe we can't all just get along, but can we sit down and talk?

Again the issue of Abortion/Sanctity of human life is front and center with those of us who take the teaching of God's Word seriously.  Some things are abundantly clear, but that doesn't mean knowing what to think, what to say, and what to do is easy.  It's not.

First, after all these years, why are we talking about this distasteful concept again?  We've got dead babies, women wrestling with horrendous life and death decisions, politicians being politicians, and people screaming at each other.  Can't we just agree to disagree and all get along?  I'd love to get along, but we can't simply ignore a horrendous moral ethical issue and pretend as if this doesn't matter.  Many of us believe that human lives are being lost.  Even many, perhaps most, of those who declare themselves to be pro-choice no longer try to deny that what is being removed from a woman's body is a human being.  Sophisticated ultra-sound and late-term abortions have made it harder and harder to deny that this little creature who looks every bit like a little baby is indeed a human.  For now I'll let others present the scientific evidence.  I'll just function in the realm of the obvious.  This is a baby.  I'll come back to that in a moment.
As I write a debate rages.  I recently wrote to my congressman, and one of my senators.  I'm working on the letter to the other senator.  My congressman, Morgan Griffith, who voted for the bill defund Planned Parenthood (There are an abundance of articles about this bill, spun in various directions, here is one that has a pro-life perspective: http://video.foxnews.com/v/4496835232001/gop-bill-to-defund-planned-parenthood-passes-in-the-house/?#sp=show-clips) included this in his carefully worded reply:

The House Energy and Commerce Committee, of which I am a member, continues to investigate Planned Parenthood aggressively. I joined several members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in sending a letter to the President of Planned Parenthood requesting a briefing for committee staff that includes information on several pressing issues raised by the disturbing video, such as Planned Parenthood's consent procedures for fetal tissue sale and the price paid to the organization for fetal tissue. The Committee has held interviews with and continues collecting information from Planned Parenthood officials and tissue collection organizations to uncover more about these practices. 
     Other House committees with jurisdiction are also conducting a review of Planned Parenthood's alleged acts, probing whether relevant federal laws have been properly enforced, and scrutinizing fetal tissue collection practices. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has requested more information on funds that Planned Parenthood receives from the federal government and documents illuminating the process by which tissue collection organization StemExpress obtained fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood. In addition to examining the Department of Justice's enforcement of laws related to fetal tissue collection, the House Judiciary Committee is holding a series of hearings entitled, "Planned Parenthood Exposed: Examining the Horrific Abortion Practices at the Nation's Largest Abortion Provider." 
     House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) also announced their commitment to uncovering more information about the claims in the video.  

The internet and other sources have an abundance of material about the development of life in the womb.  Even if we are not sure, should we not give the benefit of the doubt to these amazing little creatures that grow inside their moms?  All kinds of activities are restricted because the result of those activities might lead to the death of a human being.  Can we be so dedicated to protected the rights of the expectant mother that we neglect any protection for the life of the unborn child?

Any time we are dealing with an unborn child, we are dealing with the life of a woman.  The chosen titles of the two sides in the argument reveal each sides particular focus.  Those who identify as pro-choice emphasize the importance of caring for the woman in whose body the child is growing.  Those who call themselves pro-life focus on the need to protect these most defenseless of humans.  Each side has driven its stake in the ground on what it sees as a slippery slope--going down-hill and opposite directions--put on their badges, picked up their banners and pretty much refuses to hear anything the other side has to say.

I'm pro-life.  I believe that life begins at conception.  That being said, let me see if I can encourage us--all of us--to pursue a course that might actually lead to a solution.  I hope you'll be interested enough to stay with me and join the conversation.  I'm planning to continue it for a couple of posts.  I have already shared some other thoughts over at STTA.   I promise that if you'll be respectful, I'll treat you with respect.  Can we at least talk?  If you'll leave your campaign posters at home, even politicians are welcome to join us.  Unfortunately, the medium won't allow me to offer you coffee.  You'll have to bring your own.

More to come: