God is pro choice!
by guest blogger buddhaofhollywood
I have a very good and dear friend. I can’t use her name here but let’s just call her Beth. She is a lovely lady, blonde, blue eye, a perfect poster picture of an American woman. She met this handsome man, lets call him Bob, a country boy, hard working, honest, and a bit religious, if being born again Christian can pass for “a bit”. He tried to push his beliefs on me once and the discussion went way out of hand. In the heat of the argument I shouted: “Are you a true Christian?” “Of course I am” he shouted back. I took a long, deep breath and very gently asked him: “Do you love me?”
He didn’t speak to me for a week after that, but then he came back and apologized for losing his temper. I apologized to him for being an asshole, and after that we became very good friends. But I digress.
The one thing Beth wanted more than anything in this world was to have a baby, and after getting married with Bob they did the sex thing and she got pregnant. Everything was going perfect. She was a radiant pregnant woman, and her joy could be read in her omnipresent smile. But something went wrong. Before the delivery date she started having contractions, this was in her 6-7 month I believe. Bob took her to the hospital and in spite of all the doctors efforts the fetus died. I don’t have to tell you how devastated they were. They tried again and again. Same result.
Neither prayer nor science would help them. Finally she gave up. Her body was beat up and she couldn’t put up with the emotional wreckage the losses were creating. God just didn’t want them to have a child and they had to leave with that. The thing that bothered me even more is that they took the blame on themselves and the marriage was falling apart. It took a lot of convincing from their family and friends to save the marriage. Even their priest was on the same page but he stopped short on admitting God was pro choice.
I don’t have any statistics about how many babies are aborted by God every year but I’m sure this story is familiar to a lot of people out there. So I say on to you my Christian friends, lets boycott God or even better lets bomb some churches! Let’s send him a message we wouldn’t put up with his pro choice position any longer!
Be loved! BoH
Miscarriage
During the second trimester the chance of miscarriage drops again to 3%. After you’ve reached 20 weeks gestation, it is no longer considered a miscarriage. The statistics regarding miscarriage vary widely depending on the source. Here are some of the basic numbers:
- Almost 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, with the majority occurring during the first 12 weeks
- There is a 75% chance of miscarriage in weeks 1-2 of pregnancy, when you do not know you are pregnant
- There is a 10% chance of miscarriage in weeks 3-6 and this number drops to 5% during weeks 6-12
For repeat miscarriage the statistic are as follows:
- If you have had a miscarriage during your first pregnancy, your chances of another miscarriage are 10-13%
- If you have had one or more live births and one miscarriage your chance of another miscarriage is around 10%
- There is a 40% chance of a repeat miscarriage if you have had two pregnancies and two miscarriages
- The chance of multiple miscarriages is lower, at around 13%, if you have had one or more live births
- If you have had three pregnancies and three miscarriages there is a 60% chance you will miscarry again. If you have had four miscarriages with no live births your chances of a healthy pregnancy drop to 0-5% Source
Statistics USA
Pregnancy:
There are approximately 6 million pregnancies every year throughout the United States:
* 4,058,000 live births
* 1,995,840 pregnancy lossesPregnancy Loss:
Every year in the United States there are approximately 2 million women who experience pregnancy loss:
* 600,000 women experience pregnancy loss through miscarriage
* 1,200,000 women experience pregnancy loss through termination
* 64,000 women experience pregnancy loss through ectopic pregnancy
* 6,000 women experience pregnancy loss through molar pregnancies
* 26,000 women experience pregnancy loss through stillbirthPregnancy Complications: Every year in the United States:
* 875,000 woman experience one or more pregnancy complications
* 458,952 babies are born to mothers without adequate prenatal care
* 467,201 babies are born prematurely
* 307,030 babies are born with Low Birth Weight
* 154,051 children are born with Birth Defects
* 27,864 infants die before their first birthdayReproductive Health:
Every year in the United States, there are 60,000,000 women in the childbearing years of 15-44 :
* 70% of these women are sexually active
* 64% use a form of contraception
* 3,000,000 use NO form of contraception, accounting for 47% of unplanned pregnancies
* 6,000,000 women deal with infertility
* 2,000,000 married couples are infertileCurrently there are 68,000,000 individuals with an STD:
* There are 15,300,000 new STD cases each year
* 3,000,000 teenagers acquire an STD each yearPregnancy & Social Concerns: Every year in the United States:
* 468,988 babies are born to teenage mothers
* 11% of pregnant woman are diagnosed with Post Partum Depression
* 820,000 woman smoke cigarettes while pregnant
* 221,000 women use illicit drugs during pregnancy
* 757,000 woman drink alcohol while pregnant
* 240,000 pregnant women are subject to domestic violence* 40% of domestic assaults begin during the first pregnancy
* Pregnant women are at twice the risk of domestic assault than non pregnant women are SourceRelated posts found in this blog:
Oct 31st, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Wow! I had no idea it was that bad.
These statistics are unbelievable.
You did a phenomenal job in gathering all that information.
I’m impressed!
Oct 31st, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Miscarriages are tragic for all involved…I am not personally a Christian, but I am open minded. I found the religious twist to your post interesting in that if children are the blessings from God that I have heard them described as, then it would make sense that people aren’t able to just go around creating their own blessings. I think in an already overpopulated world, it’s important to consider more than just the personal tragedy.
Nov 1st, 2008 at 12:44 am
Well written post but i gotta say something..
Your faith is the greatest divine..
Nov 1st, 2008 at 6:00 pm
@Caf
Yours is an interesting observation. Thanks for sharing it. Best wishes for happy blogging. :)
Nov 1st, 2008 at 6:02 pm
@dosox
I do NOT believe in a supernatural creator being as portrayed in the Judeo/Christian traditions as “god”. IMO the myth that a non-existent big guy in the sky created all there is including mankind declared them very good, and later condemned all mankind to the hell fires of damnation (original sin), just so he could appear on earth as his own son born of a (cough) virgin (possibly impregnated by another non-existent supernatural being called an angel) to fulfill the role of savior, and rescue a select few from the same hell fires of damnation at end times, if and only if they believe in him, is beyond ridiculous. IMO it’s delusional.
I do NOT believe that God (in the form of a singular or a three in one supernatural being ) has ever existed, and I do NOT believe that God (in the form of a singular or a three in one supernatural being ) exists at this time either.
When I sit to meditate and my individuality, personality, and ego are entirely extinguished I experience — pure consciousness — all the things associated with my “self” like greed, anger, hate, etc. dissolve and I become am keenly aware that there really is no self; there is no distinct individual being that is separate from the universal stream of pure consciousness.
Neither male nor female, neither good nor bad, neither light nor darkness but containing all there is: the universal stream of pure life giving consciousness flowing through all is what I call “god”. Hence, the god of my experience is found in everyone and in everything; god just keeps on is-ing.
Nov 2nd, 2008 at 8:05 am
I am not a Christian, although I do believe in a higher power that is very personal to me (not associated with any organized religion, btw). I believe a higher power exists in each of us–and since we are born with free will, choice seems a natural option.
Miscarriages are very heartbreaking. I had two, when I was a junkie living in San Francisco. I was nowhere near ready to be a parent (and was not trying to get pregnant). I was so messed up at the time that I am sure I would have never gotten it together to have an abortion so I would have likely have given birth to an addicted baby who might very well have a multitude of behavioral and physical health maladies. The miscarriages I had were difficult–but I thank whatever force that caused them to happen because if I think I am racked with guilt about my past now–then I just can’t imagine how horrible I would feel if I had caused an innocent child to suffer for a lifetime. I simply cannot imagine it. God, in that case, was certainly pro-choice–and that choice was the right one for that time.
Another thought provoking and informative post, TT–thanks for all your great research.
Melinda
Nov 2nd, 2008 at 9:54 am
This guest post of buddhaofhollywood’s brought forward is indeed thought provoking. I don’t think that most Americans are aware of the numbers of miscarriages nor the numbers of infants that die every year in their country. I wasn’t aware of them until I did the research.
Nov 2nd, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I’ve sometimes considered this among my random musings. Why pray for the sick? Is it not also god’s will that they die, too? It seems that the church is more anti-death, sometimes, than pro-life. But that’s slavery for you…
Nov 2nd, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I had a very dear friend who had two miscarriages before she had a successful pregnancy. After that, the next pregnancy she had was successful also.
There were so many ups and downs. Her husband didn’t know how to deal with it either, I guess because he felt powerless. In the end you could say they were lucky because that period in their lives is over. They DID consider adoption at one point…
Nov 3rd, 2008 at 11:00 am
@Lana
Exactly. If there is a God and he is truly in control of everything then current conditions reflect his will being done. That means that the concept of “free will” is null and void. It also means that praying for his will to be done is futile and serves no useful purpose.
Nov 3rd, 2008 at 11:03 am
@Scott
I’m glad things worked out well for your friends. However, it never ceases to amaze me how many women feel that they are defined by their ability to procreate and raise children. I am an independent person who was not looking for either a husband or for children to complete me. I am complete, beautiful and whole just as I am.
Nov 12th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I recently wrote about this and you may or may not find it interesting.
http://jasonthebaldguy.blogspot.com/2008/10/gods-will.html
http://jasonthebaldguy.blogspot.com/2008/10/gods-willfrom-other-bald-guys.html
I think that many “christians” have rested on rhetoric and assumption for too long and have- like the pharisees- presumed to know the mind of God. Modern Christianity is extremely flawed and irrelevant as a religion. thats why we cannot just accept the current interpretation of what is true. we need to seek out the truth.
the universe is designed for cause and effect and has proven the point in every instance up to this moment.
There is no question that we are free to make choices. but our freedom also dictates that we endure the consequences whether good or bad.
Dec 21st, 2008 at 4:35 am
There is a lot of good info in this article. I think its and interesting thought that either these pregnancies are either aborted by god or that it takes divine intervention to create children, therefore some of the pregnancies do not come to term. I am not christian by any means but its an interesting concept. It would be well if these statistics would be show to teenagers coming into their sexually active years. It might shed some light on their stupidity so kids wouldnt be having kids. prolly good for ANYONE to know this stuff. give them perspective.
Dec 30th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
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