Big D   And if that's not enough, there are the hundreds of thousands of dollars required to adequately raise and educate a child, and the countless days and hours of tedious labor involved, not to mention that some women are required to give up their life's dream simply because they were pressured into sex that they didn't want by someone they really didn't care for that resulted in a pregnancy they were completely unprepared for.

Is it not obvious that pregnancy and potential motherhood are incredibly personal, private, religious and medical issues that should be addressed by the woman herself, within the context of her own needs, desires, conditions, and circumstances and with the support of family, friends and with the guidance of her medical and spiritual advisors.

Why could anybody with any common sense and with even the slightest bit of concern for the pregnant woman's health and well being propose anything else?

T.L.C.   They wouldn't!      So  Then who would and why?

Big D   I’ve already answered that question  -- the forced motherhood promoters.   Why?  Because it's someone else who is paying the price and the leaders are raking in billions of dollars by peddling forced motherhood.   Their true Intention, (their hidden agenda) ***ps-7-1  is to create a Christian theocracy in America, ***ps-7-2  but that’s another story for another time.

T.L.C.   Are there any other ways to look at this issue?

Big D   Of course!   If you look at this from a reincarnationist’s perspective, there are no innocent victims.   We talking about a co-creation between two eternal beings one in non-physical form choosing to enter Earth life in a human body and the other, presently living in a human body and choosing to create an additional physical body for the other entity to enter into and use while he or she is here on Earth?  How, when, and under what circumstances does society get the right to interfere with that kind of divine creation?***ps-7-3       We’ll get into these and dozens of other similar questions later.***ps-7-4        

.

T.L.C.  Are you saying that forced motherhood is a business tool for sustaining and maintaining the power and prestige of Fundamental Christianity?

Big D   What does the evidence tell you?  Of all issues used by the fundamental Christian leaders for manipulating the public, the forced motherhood issue is, without doubt, the most powerful and the most lucrative.   It brings in more money and creates more publicity for the fundamentalist Christian leaders than all their other issues combined.   

The ultra-conservative Christian leaders  are noted for a history of racial bigotry and for  being anti-sex,  anti-sex-education,  anti birth control,  anti-stem cell research,  anti-gay rights,  anti-women’s rights,   and a few dozen other anti-what-ever-attracts-a-crowd.   But the forced mothehood issue out strips them all.   

T.L.C.   Why do you say that?

Big D   Because it strikes human emotions to the core.   It combines sex, motherhood, and babies, and no one will ever find a more powerful tool for manipulating the public.

It's such a powerful tool that the no-choice leaders are willing to deny the irrefutable evidence that tell us their entire program is based on an unprovable, Medieval religious fairytale.   That fairytale was created by and handed down to present-day society, generation after generation from men who believed the Earth was flat.

It's such a powerful tool that they are willing to continue their  absolutely essential  and  totally unprovable claim that a human being is his or her physical body and do so in the face or the latest scientific evidence which tells us that it's actually impossible for a human being to be his or her physical body.***ps-7-12    It's such a powerful tool that they are willing to deny religious freedom to literally billions of their fellow humans. ***ps-7-13

And it's so powerful that the anti-choice leaders are even willing to defy God's words in their own Bible.    ***ps-7-14   It also gets them away from a long list of very real, very relevant, and vitally important questions which are either unanswerable or can be answered only by arbitrary choice.***ps-7-4^ 

            They use one of my master tricks of illusion called  “diversion of attention.”   Have you ever watched a TV program where they demonstrate and explain how a magician or a con artist can distract your attention with one hand and steal you watch or wallet with the other?   

T.L.C.   Yes.  

Big D   But you’re probably not aware that diversion of attention is also a great political tactic.   

T.L.C.   How so?   

Big D   Here’s an example.   Politicians will sneak a bill through the legislature while attention is distracted by some emotion-laden social event?***ps-7-15

T.L.C.   I was not aware of that. 

Big D   Well, you are now, because diverting attention is exactly what your no-choice friends are doing. 

T.L.C.   OK, please give me some examples of the questions they’re avoiding? 

Big D   Here’s four.   First, if the Christian Bible is the literal word of God, how can it be wrong?   Genesis 2:7 says that life begins at first breath.   Ecclesiastes 11:5 says that humans cannot know how God works.   If the anti-abortionist’s conception magic act story is correct, then the Bible is wrong.   If the Bible is right, then the anti-abortionists are wrong.

            Second, where’s the proof that God performed an instantaneous, supernatural transcendental magic act and converted the combining egg and sperm into a new, never-before-existing human being?

            Third, why don’t those who do not believe in the Fundamentalists’ version of religion have the right to practice their own religion?  

            Fourth, “When does the developing life form actually become a sovereign, separate, individual human being?”***ps-7-13^   The no-choice advocates cleverly ignore all of these questions by simply declaring that God made the egg independent, and He did so via His magic act, at conception.   

T.L.C.   That’s like saying water is water because its wet and it’s wet because it’s water; therefore, abortion should be illegal.   Their argument completely defies logic, reason, and common sense.   

Big D   Stoney, get real.   The forced motherhood campaign has nothing to do with logic, reason, or even common sense.   It has everything to do with what the public will buy, and what they’ll buy is controlled almost exclusively by emotion, not reason.   You should also be aware that a persons emotions are based on his/her underlying beliefs.   Just look at some of the things people will pay money for.   

T.L.C.   Like what?

Big D   While knowing full well that cigarettes deadly, thirty-percent of the people in the United States buy and smoke them.   Millions have bought the cash-back money scam, and religions that peddle albatrosses of mindless, medieval, religious dogma still have vast followings of devotees who pay the religions leaders mountains of money.   Selling the anti-sexual, anti-abortion package to that type of audience is just a matter of putting the correct spin on the issue.   

            You also need to keep in mind that selling their program also has a lot to do with tapping into the pre-programmed conditioning and beliefs in the minds of their followers.   The no-choice promoters are selling their beliefs primarily to people who have been taught that questioning the correctness of a religious authority figure is an act of blasphemy punishable by expulsion from the flock and condemnation to eternity in hell.   

            In addition to that, most people are trained not to think for themselves.   As long as we’re going in senseless circles, I’ll share two Bible passages with you that they use to support their claim. 

T.L.C.   Whoa!  Wait a minute.   They could have a hundred, or even a thousand Bible passages supporting their beliefs, and that would still be religion.   They’re proposing secular, governmental laws — laws to be enforced by mindless men in uniforms who simply follow orders — laws to be enforced by men with tear gas, guns, and helicopters — laws to be enforced by courts, lawyers and prisons.   

Big D   Apparently you don’t know that God needs their help to punish the unfaithful.   

T.L.C.   They believe God is that weak and that stupid?   

Big D   They don’t say that.   

T.L.C.   There’s a well known response to such behavior:  “What you do speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say.”   

Big D   Would you like to hear their Biblical substantiations?   

T.L.C.   Sure, why not?   

Big D   Here’s Jeremiah 1:4-5.   

"Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 
before I formed you in the belly, I knew you."   

T.L.C.   How’s that proof of anything?   It doesn’t mention any time frame.   That knowing could have come ten seconds or ten billion years before the body’s formation.   The passage could very easily, and even more logically, be interpreted to support the reincarnation belief and to support the belief that humans are not their physical bodies. 

Big D   That brings us, once again, to the question of interpretation and to the ever-present problem of figuring out whose interpretation is the correct one.  

T.L.C.   What’s the other verse?   

Big D   Ecclesiastes 11:5, RSV,   

"As you do not know how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of the woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.”   

T.L.C.   That supports their “life-begins-at-conception” belief?   

Big D   Yup.   

T.L.C.   You’ve got to be kidding.   In direct repudiation of their claim that they are their bodies, here’s God telling them there’s a distinction between body and spirit.   Here’s God telling them they don’t know how the spirit comes into the body.   Here’s God telling them that they don’t know how God works.    They can’t possibly claim this Biblical passage as evidence to prove life begins at conception.   I don’t believe you. 

Big D   Good job, Stoney.   Don’t believe me.   Make me prove it.   

T.L.C.   OK, Big D, prove it!   

Big D   Look behind you.   

I turned, and, about three feet behind, me I saw the edge of a book sticking out of the sand.   I reached back, picked it up, brushed off the sand and read the title, I’d Speak Out on the Issues if I Only Knew What to Say by Jane Chastain       (Regal Books, Ventura, California, 1987)  

T.L.C.   Where did this come from?  

Big D   I’ll explain that to you later.   For now, read page 65.   

I opened the book and read.    

T.L.C.   Yup, you’re right. There it is in black and white.   She's saying that Ecclesiastes 11:5 supports forced motherhood.  Wow!   If she’s speaking out for the anti-abortionists, they do have a problem.   I’ve always been told that if I don’t know what to say, it’s best I keep my mouth shut.   

            OK, I’ve got another question.   What is the embryo without the God's conception magic act?  

Big D   It’s embryonic tissue, then fetal tissue in the process of evolving into a physical, human body.   This brings us to another of their unprovable assumptions.   These people claim they are their physical bodies. ***ps-7-12^  This I-am-my-body claim fits in perfectly with their assumption of being created by God at conception.***ps-7-16

T.L.C.   If I’ve got this right, their logic is:  1)   God changed the combining egg and sperm into a new, never-before-existing human being, and  2) the resultant, developing tissue  is  a God-created human being; therefore, 3)  it must be held as sacred, as independent and be accorded all the rights of humanity.   

Big D   That’s their reasoning, but their conclusion is only valid if both assumptions are true.   What you just said is typical, no-choice logic.   Your statement began with two unprovable assumptions, followed by a “therefore” and ended with a conclusion which is to be accepted as fact.   

            Are you aware that in a typical anti-choice presentation, there is an additional series of assumptions and the “therefore” conclusions that come after the ones you’ve just said?   

T.L.C.   No.   You mean there’s more? 

Big D   Actually two more.   Here’s the next one.   The fertilized egg, having been proclaimed a full-fledged human being, is then declared to be an innocent victim of the combined demonic team of a “baby-killing mother” and an “evil, death-peddling, pro-abortion, money-worshipping doctor.”   Therefore, we, the good guys—“the champions of pro-life and divine justice,” are stepping in to rescue that innocent victim.  

T.L.C.   I can see the Lone Ranger riding in now on his white horse, wearing his white hat, but what you just said is not only flawed reasoning, it’s also a derogatory putdown of those who support freedom of choice.   

Big D   Stoney, I didn’t make that up.   That’s the language they use and the image they’re selling.    Have you read any of their literature?  ***ps-7-17 

T.L.C.   No.  

Big D   I suggest you do so.   You’ll be amazed at how un-Christ-like some of those who call themselves Christians can get.   

            This brings up another issue that may as well be laid on the table right now.   The no-choice advocates have full intention of using highly inflammatory emotion-laden language at every opportunity, ***ps-7-18  but if the pro-choice leaders use that kind of language, they are  labeled as  hypocrites because they have proposed clear unemotional language while doing otherwise. ***ps-7-19 

T.L.C.   How do I respond to that?   

Big D   Let me give you an analogy.   Would you propose that the United States, unilaterally destroy all of it’s nuclear weapons?   

T.L.C.   Given the present state of world affairs, only a fool would suggest that.   

Big D   Well, in the abortion war, words are the equivalent of nuclear weapons.   

            For example, in the 2000 Republican primary, John McCain unilaterally stopped using negative campaigning and called for his opponent to do likewise.   Bush refused, and then Bush and his anti-abortionist buddies simply slaughtered a defenseless McCain with derogatory rhetoric.   

T.L.C.   Are you suggesting that if one side insists on using slanderous rhetoric, the other has no choice but to do likewise? 

Big D   You’ve got it.   

T.L.C.   You mentioned an additional step.   What is it?   

Big D   I’ll give you a hint.   It begins with “M.”   

T.L.C.   It must be money.   

Big D   It is, and here’s the line in its most basic form:  Our cause is wonderful;  we’re the only good guys;  therefore, help us;  join us;  send us money.   

T.L.C.   I know that the followers of many other religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, don’t believe either of those Christian assumptions.   

Big D   Neither does a growing independent movement of spiritual-minded people who live God-centered lives outside the confines of any specific religion.   And then there are millions of Christians who believe that the Christian Bible is correct in Genesis 2:7 where God says that life begins with the breath   There are also millions of other Americans who simply say, “I don’t have any beliefs about  ‘when life begins’ or ‘what is the true nature of a human being’  because I don’t have evidence upon which to base a belief.”   

T.L.C.   You are referring to agnostics?   

Big D   Yes, and there’s also all the atheists who do not believe in souls or God or any of the Christian theology.   

T.L.C.   What about the Jewish faith?   

Big D   Again, there are differing opinions depending upon the sect of Judaism and upon the degree to which believers adhere to the teachings.   Conservative, Reconstructionist and Reform Judaism formally oppose government regulation of abortion.   Some Orthodox authorities support this position. 

            The Jewish sacred text, called the Talmud, contain discussions and analysis on Jewish law and how it is applied in everyday life.   The Talmud considers birth as the point where a separate independent human life begins.   Specifically it says a fetus becomes a person when the forehead of the fetus emerges from the birth canal.   In the case of a "feet-first" delivery, it happens when most of the fetal body is outside the mother's body.***ps-7-20

            With all these divergent beliefs, is it any wonder why there’s so much fighting and arguing.   The anti-abortionists are attempting to force millions of non-believers to practice an ultra-conservative form of the Christian religion. ***ps-7-13^ 

T.L.C.   What about the death of the physical body?   How can the anti-abortionists be their bodies and still go to heaven after the body dies?   If they are their bodies, how do they account for all the Biblical references distinguishing body from spirit such as Genesis 2:7,  James 2:26,  Ezekiel 37:1-10,  Genesis 7:22,  Ecclesiastes 12:7,  or Ecclesiastes 11:5, RSV, which you just mentioned.   These verses sound to me like clear distinctions between the body and what is referred to as the being, the soul, the spirit, or the life force.   

            If there is both a spirit and a separate physical body, this is in direct conflict with the anti-abortionist claims that they are their physical bodies.   What is this non-physical stuff, anyway?  

Big D   The Eastern religions say this is a portion of the True Self coming into the physical body where it dwells for the life of the body and then leaves when the body dies.   The Christian Bible calls it “the spirit” or “the breath of life” which comes from god and gives the body life and then returns to God when the body dies.   

T.L.C.    How do the Anti-abortionists deal with this distinction between spirit and body?  

T.L.C.   They conveniently ignore this issue because to address it would require either denying the truth of the Biblical passages which distinguish spirit from body or acknowledging that there is a distinction between the two.   Either way, their forced motherhood campaign would be seen as seriously flawed.    

T.L.C.   But either way, that leaves their anti-abortion campaign seriously flawed.   Whether you examine this issue or not, it’s still seriously flawed.   

Big D   But if the public doesn’t see the flaw, they’ll still buy the product.   

T.L.C.   So you’re telling me that those promoting forced motherhood know the truth but are simply ignoring it.   

Big D   Examine the evidence.   What does the evidence tell you?   

T.L.C.   That the anti abortion leaders know the truth and are simply ignoring it.   

Big D   The Roman Catholics have devised a great way to deal with such matters.    Any time they need to defy logic, ignore reason, contradict common sense, or deny scientific evidence, they simply announce a papal decree which they call “An Article of Faith.”   Since, in matters of the church the Pope is considered to be infallible, whatever he says, no matter how absurd or ridiculous it is, it’s to be believed by the followers as God’s truth.   

Chapter References       

***^ps-7-1     http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/trp80y-glossary.html
#HiddenAgenda°

***ps-7-2    See the section titled:  Creating a Christian Theocracy in America:  
http://www.pro-truth.net/72-creating-christian-america.html°

***^ps-7-3    See Book One, Section #103 — Birth—A mutual Co-Creation.

***^ps-7-4   See An interview with the Devil 
Part 4, Ending the Abortion War - An Analysis Of A Possible Resolution, Section 115   Step Five - Define and Clarify the Issue
Twenty-seven of the most obvious universal questions 
Twenty-three tough questions related to abortion.   (not yet on line.) 

***^ps-7-5    The following quote is from Margaret Sykes’ Website, prochoice.guide@about.com:°  " Asking a biologist when a human life begins is like asking an astronomer where heaven is located."

***^ps-7-6    http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/m033-hermetic-principles.html°

***^ps-7-7   When cells group together in a collective physical form, they also create a collective consciousness — a consciousness which is more than that of the cells themselves.   For example human consciousness is more than that of the individual cells.   Likewise, when people gather in a group, they create a collective consciousness that is more than simply the sum of the individuals.    

When you study the Hermetic Principle, “As above, so below.   As within, so without,” you’ll have a better understanding of that significance of collective consciousness.   

***^ps-7-8    When does day become night?   Where does the sky begin?   How high is up?   At what exact moment do the ingredients of a cake become a cake?   At what point does a caterpillar become a butterfly?   When does an individual human life begin?    The only answer to these questions is, “Whenever you say it does!”

***^ps-7-9    See the page titled:  Universal Spirituality.   http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/m075-universal-spirituality.html°  

The title "Universal spirituality," in its religious context, refers to a way of relating to the unknown and unknowable source of the universe which is commonly called God.   Most of the people who hold this perspective do not participate in the rituals, trappings, or dogmas of the traditional religious organizations.  

***^ps-7-10  God's Conception Magic Act  http://www.choice101.com/17-conception-magic.html° 

***^ps-711    http://www.choice101.com/14-win-with-losing-issue.html°

***^ps-7-12   http://www.religionandreality.com/64-body-proclamation.html °

***^ps-7-13  See the section titled:  Why Abortion is a religious Freedom Issue:   http://www.choice101.com/77-religious-freedom.html°

***^ps-7-14  See Genesis 2:7 and several related Biblical passages.
http://www.pro-truth.net/30b-bible-psgs.html
#PhysicalVersusSpirit°

***^ps-7-15    For example, the Federal Reserve Act was passed into law on December 22, 1913 by a small group of dedicated proponents  after most of the non-supporting  legislators had gone home for Christmas.   

As another example:  The So-called "Patriot Act" was railroaded through Congress Shortly after the 9/11/01 attack on World Trade Center.   Several times prior to 9/11 this  law had failed to pass.   In the context of this highly emotional  event, scrutiny about the sweeping powers it gave to the executive branch of government were simply overlooked.

***^ps-7-16   Readers are directed to Chapter six, in this book -- Life begins when ???°  and the supporting web page at:  
http://www.choice101.com/17-conception-magic.html°  

***^ps-7-17  The quote below is from page 43 of Abortion Questions and Answers by Dr. and Mrs. J.C. Willke, (Hayes Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1985)   

Dr. Willke, is an adamant believer in forced motherhood.   In this quote, he  is  declaring that a human being is his/her physical body.   The  statement is also  of one the unprovable,  core beliefs of fundamental Christianity:

"Did you 'come from' a fertilized ovum?   No, you once were a fertilized ovum who grew and developed into the child or adult you are today.   Nothing has been added to the fertilized ovum who you once were except nutrition." 
[italics added for clarity and ease of reading] 

The same belief is repeated in a slightly different words on page 245.

If Dr. Willke had proof of his declaration that a human being is his/her physical body, he would have a good case for outlawing abortion.   Unfortunately for him, he doesn't.   He also makes an excellent argument for those who support women's reproductive rights.   Here’s another quote from the same book: 

What is important is that in our secular nation, no one’s religious, faith belief can be imposed on others through force of law.   Therefore, we cannot use a religious definition of when life begins as the basis for making laws.   

And another quote from page 42 of the same text:  

. . . confusion of  provable natural biological science  with  value judgments based on non-provable theories and beliefs  must be shown at every opportunity to be two entirely different ways of reasoning.  
[italics added for clarity and ease of reading]  

Readers are directed to what the official Roman Catholic Encyclopedia has to say about what life is and when it begins:  http://www.choice101.com/74-what-is-life.html° 

***^ps-7-18    http://www.lifecoach4vip.com/trp80y-glossary.html#SpinDoctor°