Life

Just in case you wonder what moms do... We don't just sit around watching soap operas and eating bon-bons. (I'm still not sure what a bon-bon is.)

No, we watch c-span. At least this mom does. This election has gotten me pretty interested in American politics, and now, more than ever, I am interested in what our government is doing. Maybe I want to keep my eye on them because I have more mistrust in our government than ever before.

Today we mark the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling. Also, today is the March for Life in Washington D.C. I know that several students from Eden are there today participating in the march.

With all these thoughts on the right to life, I turned on c-span, where I was happy to find Senator Sam Brownback, a Republican from Kansas giving the most wonderful and heartfelt pro-life statement. Here are some bits from his address to the Senate:

• He estimated that approximately 40 million abortions have been performed since 1973 and that one in four pregnancies in the U.S end in abortion
• 80-90 % downs syndrome babies are aborted even though the quality of life and life expectancy is better than ever for a downs syndrome child
• He mentioned the March for Life, which he acknowledged will get little if any press coverage
• Below age 25 is the sector of the U.S. population with the largest percentage of people who are pro-life
• It seems a sure thing that Obama will repeal the Mexico City Policy which will allow taxpayers' money to be used to pay for abortions world-wide (this leads to so many other blogs...)
• He said that there is dignity in every human life
• Some say that quality of life is the measure which determines whether you will be given the gift of life, but in a dignified culture, every life should be celebrated. That is real change. That is what people really want their country to be like. (Liked his use of the word change here...)
• He also cited a statement issued by mental health professionals about the impact of an abortion on people who had them. Abortions can lead to severe depression and loss of self-esteem.
• He and another senator have worked to establish a list of people who want to adopt down syndrome and other special needs children.
• He said that each of his four children is such a precious treasure and that to imagine any one of them not being there would be tragic.
• His heart was really into everything he was saying, as he was near tears once or twice, especially when talking about his own children.

What followed next was pretty interesting. The senator noted a lack of quorum and asked for a quorum call, at which time the audio on c-span went out. So I guess we're not allowed to know who's in attendance and who is not. This controlling of information - is this Orwell's 1984 or what? Yesterday Obama urged government to be more transparent and present more information to the American people, not to use their legal right to withhold information. Just thought that was interesting.

But I was encouraged by Senator Brownback's statement, that there is still a reasonable voice in Washington, although a very small minority.