A "National Conversation" ..."We Can Do Better Than This"

Our hearts of sincere prayer, love and respect go out to all of the families whose children and loved one's were victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school slayings. We are praying for the community and extended family as well. As a parent of 2 children and as one intimately involved in the public school system trying to make it better for all children, my heart is overwhelmed, but we are in expectation of a blessing of comfort from and out of all the pain. 

Last Friday 12/14/2012 morning, a demon possessed man entered a lower grade elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut with the intent on killing as many children and school personnel as he possibly could. Although it was a cowardly act, unfortunately he was successful in taking 26 bright and beautiful lives out of our midst before even more cowardly turning the gun on himself and taking his own life. Authorities are yet searching for answers or the "reason" why a man could do this, especially to children and those otherwise defenseless individuals. In all 20 beautiful children and 6 adults charged with caring for the children lost their lives. It appears that the murderer began by taking his own mother's life before embarking on a killing spree that will always be known as one of the nations worst. Needless to say, countless others and even a whole nation are directly effected by these events. 

The "National Conversation"

These events have sparked a new buzz word among media professionals. It is called the "National Conversation" Using this phrase, and an agenda focused on laws and cultural standards, all kinds of individuals and institutions claim to be framing what America should talk about in light of this tragedy. 

In the effort to come to an answer that can be understood, some have claimed that:

1- We need tighter gun control laws & screening procedures. 

2- We need better funding and services for mental health recipients.

3- We need more and better security at our schools.

I'll add this one...

4- We need more MEN in the school educating our children. (The presence of men itself is good for children and could be a deterrent to illegal activity by itself. It seems that there is currently no national conversation regarding this one, at least as it pertains to this issue.)  

While all of these things may be true, and certainly notable, what, if anything will any of these things do to remove the evil from the hearts of those who think to commit such atrocities? We should also ask, are these things the only things that should be talked about in light of these events?

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Late Term Abortion, Is The ELCA Responsible For Dr. Tiller's Death?

"This is an area that we just don't know much about,"..."The information just isn't available." Stanley K. Henshaw, a senior fellow at the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research group that has the best available data.

Since the death of Dr. George Tiller and his relationship with the church, one thing is clear, the church is conflicted over this issue as great as anyone. Why? I suppose it's because of the nature of abortion and especially late term abortion itself, and the seemingly inconsistent way that Dr. Tiller approached his profession over the course of his lifetime.

As recorded in This Doesn't Fulfill The Mission Of Christ, We decry abortion in all of it's forms. We believe that the unborn have a right to life. We also don't believe that Christians or otherwise should take the law in their hands and kill medical professionals who provide such services. However, and this is where it gets sticky, We believe that the already born have a right to life also.

In this article I intend to look at some of the facts that we should know regarding these procedures and the the thoughts of some of the medical professionals who perform such procedures? Are they whimsically recommending procedures based on their own thoughts and libertarian attitudes towards life? Are the women wantonly using late trimester abortions as another means of delayed birth control with the endorsement of the state? Most importantly, is the church, in particularly the Evangelical Lutheran Church In America (ELCA) responsible for Dr. Tiller's death in a vicariously strange manner? It's worth taking a look at and discussing so that those of us who oppose abortion will better understand the processes behind these types of actions and attitudes, and filter out some of the noise regarding the issues.

What We Do Know?

According to a 6/5/09 article by Rob Stein at The Washington Post, more than 88 percent of abortions are done in the first trimester, and most doctors will not perform them beyond 22 or 24 weeks because of moral qualms, social stigma, legal concerns, inadequate training or lack of experience. Barely 1 percent of procedures are done after 21 weeks. At 37 weeks, a baby is generally considered full-term. 2001 data from 15 states and New York City indicate that perhaps as many as 2,400 abortions were performed after 24 weeks in the United States that year, most of them probably in the 25th or 26th week. Late term abortions represent roughly about 1% of all types of abortions performed. It is estimated that 400 procedures per year beyond 24 weeks were performed at Tiller's clinic. Those figures would place Dr. Tiller's clinic at about 7.7 late term abortion procedures per week over the course of a year. The figures at his clinic represent about 16% of all annual late term abortions performed in the country.

Since proper records are not gathered as to the necessity of abortions, abortion rights advocates often contend that the only necessity for late term abortions are when the fetus is maldeveloped, in danger of suffering from a painful death itself or when the life of the mother is in danger or she is at risk from suffering a devastating health condition or problem. Under Kansas law, an abortion can be performed after a fetus is viable only IF the doctor performing the procedure and an independent physician agree that the woman's life is at risk or that continuing the pregnancy would cause "substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function."

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