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Hambleden history

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There is an assumption in sections of our culture that abortion is progressive, that history is moving inevitably towards greater acceptance of abortion globally. But legalized abortion is not in any way a new or a recent phenomenon. Abortion was legal in many ancient societies, including that of Rome. Not simply abortion, but infanticide. The killing of babies was common.

An extensive study of a mass burial at a Roman villa in the Thames Valley suggests that the 97 children all died at 40 weeks gestation, or very soon after birth.

The archaeologists believe that locals may have been killing and burying unwanted babies on the site in Hambleden, Buckinghamshire.

At this particular site, Sheppard Frere claims in his work Britannia that these children were not only victims of infanticide but were the unwanted female offspring of the slave-run establishment. The site is now believed to have been a brothel. There are interesting parallels between these gruesome practices and those of today, as Roman infanticide led to the deaths of many more girls than boys, boys being considered more valuable. So to consider abortion as progressive, when it is a legislative regression to a time when the value of life was bound up with a perceived worth based on gender, wealth and power, is incorrect.

Infants were not considered to be human beings until about the age of two and were not buried in cemeteries if they were younger than that.

2.85 billion over five years

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Canada’s financial committment to maternal health rings in at 2.85 billion over five years. Government backgrounder here:

For mothers and newborns, Canada will focus its efforts on improving the services and care needed to ensure healthy pregnancies and safe delivery, while placing a particular emphasis on meeting the nutritional needs of pregnant women, mothers, newborns and young children.  To address child mortality, Canada will work to increase access to the high-impact, cost-effective interventions that address the leading killers of children under the age of five. 

See?

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…pregnancy doesn’t have to change your A game. In fact, it may just get you to the majors.

The stork can’t stop Ashley Crain.

Crain, 26, is 8 ½-months pregnant but that didn’t prevent her from teeing off Tuesday in a 120-woman field for the Toronto Star Women’s Amateur golf tournament at Weston Golf and Country Club, scene of Arnold Palmer’s 1955 Canadian Open victory.

The Toronto native, now living near Detroit, said her game has actually improved now that she’s expecting her first child, a girl.

She recently finished second in the Michigan Mid-Amateur tournament and has beaten her father, Paul Davis, a former Ontario amateur champion, for the first time.

Crain is playing so well, in fact, that her putting style, which she had to adjust, has actually been sharper, she said.

Something you’d want to be sure about

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The fetus doesn’t feel pain prior to 24 weeks, says the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecolocists in the UK. But the language in the media report isn’t entirely convincing, which leads me to believe the language in the report itself isn’t convincing:

This could mean that late abortions, which are permitted for serious abnormalities or risks to the mother’s health, may not result in foetal suffering.

Not exactly saying “Without a shadow of a doubt, the fetus feels absolutely nothing!”

Here’s the thing. With wanted babies, we are told science shows us that babies are learning in the womb. That prior to birth they are listening to their mothers voices. Responding to cues in their environment. This is a valid stream of secular, non-abortion related (therefore, unpolarized) science, too.

Something’s gotta give.

Ain’t I a feminist?

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We’ve been posting recently about what it means to be feminist, and ultimately, I believe the fundamental ideology is concerned with the advancement of the status of women. That can be defined more specifically by various feminist sects who may or may not oppose one another. It’s concerned with gender equality (which also means different things to different people). Many pro-life groups have associated themselves with the term, recognizing the need for a differentiation from other forms of feminism and feeling that they are pursuing feminist ideals by pro-life means.

The infamous Rebecca West wrote, “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is:  I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a door mat or a prostitute.” It is a term that has avoided rigid definition for decades, yet Gloria Steinem told us today who can and can’t use the word.

In an interview for @katiecouric, writer and activist Gloria Steinem responded to Sarah Palin calling herself a feminist, saying, “you can’t be a feminist who says other women can’t” have an abortion.

While I don’t say women can’t have an abortion, I’d prefer if they didn’t.

Steinem said of candidates like Republican Senate nominee Carly Fiorina: “I defend their right to be wrong.”

And I yours.

Strong opponents and strong proponents

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(Back to abortion and mental health, to include or not to include.)

You can say that again:

It’s very close,” said John Wright, senior vice-president of the polling firm. “This is an issue that has very strong opponents, and very strong proponents.”

For all the hoopla around the issue in favour of abortion, quite frankly, I’m surprised it isn’t more than 56 per cent in favour of funding abortions abroad. Us pro-life types must be greater in number than the media lets on.

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