Category Archives: Religion

Hope Deferred : Heart-Healing Reflections On Reproductive Loss

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Hope Deferred: Heart-Healing Reflections On Reproductive Loss by Nadine Pence Frantz and Mary T. Stimming is a moving piece on the problem of the suffering of infertility. It, however, is as unsatisfactory as any treatise on suffering that has been written.

51BZN3501SLI admit that I may be too deep in the trenches of the hurt and pain of infertility – sterility, even – to appreciate the reflective nature of the book. My feeling that the book was not all it could be was confirmed when I learned one of the editors was suffering from secondary infertility. Fairly or unfairly, in my mind, I kept hearing the phrase, “she got hers.”

I do not believe I can give a fair review of this book. I will say that until the section on science – way out of date – I found the theology sound and not overbearing. Much of what has been written for the popular Christian press tends to press the author’s interpretations rather than the need for reflection and prayer for the individual involved. Very little in this life is black and white.

I wanted to like this book. I did like the book until the misinformation on science – too often seen in all writings – came up in the final chapter.

Since there are so few books written from a liberal Christian perspective on the problem of infertility in the age of reproductive technology, I will give a cautious thumbs up on this book.

The Lost History of Christianity : The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church — and How It Died (Audiobook)

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Read by Dick Hill, Philip Jenkins’ book, The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia–and How It Died I got to revisit one of my favorite historical periods – the growth and decline (and preservation) of the various Apostolic Churches.

First, I have one minor annoyance – Jenkins keeps claiming that this is a “lost” or “unknown” history. I don’t think you can spend any time studying the history of Central Asia, Turkey, China, or Russia without having had at least a passing familiarity with the topics he covers. There are even some historians who have argued that China would have been Christian save for the various competing creeds literally fighting in the streets outside the Forbidden Palace. The Chinese Emperor looked askance at a group preaching peace as they were engaged in mortal combat with their supposed brethren.

I forgot that most people are not used to dealing with large populations of Arab Christians as we do in the Detroit Area. Syrian and Marionite Churches exist here. Didn’t everyone know that Chaldeans are Iraqi Christians? Or that Armenians can trace their Church to Apostolic origins?

Sadly, I then remembered that the vast majority of people have little more than a passing familiarity with their own history – let alone the history of people’s who have all but disappeared from the planet. (And, in looking at some of the reviews on Amazon, it is apparent that many cannot differentiate between theology and history.)

The book, however, is an excellent survey of the history of the established Apostolic Churches and how they managed to survive – or not – in the Eastern theater. Though Jenkins emphasizes the decline into crypto-Christianity or complete disappearance, even he has to recognize the remarkable resilience of the surviving Christian communities when competing with the evangelizing of both Islam and Buddhism. Both Islam and Buddhism have a much stronger tie to nationalism than Christianity did in that area. (European Christianity – and by extension, US Christianity – have a much more nationalistic identity.)

Jenkins theses is that religions die. And that the study of how they die is vital to understanding how to safeguard against that happening again. He takes us through the ups and downs of the various Christian sects that did not necessarily report back to Rome. Many of these self-same sects held great political power under a variety of non-Christian governments only to find themselves later persecuted by subsequent administrations or sultanates. These Churches seemed to have been built on shifting sands.

He takes us through the many ethnic cleansings that occurred against Christians throughout the Eastern world. These were the blueprints used to carry out modern genocides. (Genocide is not new, only the word.) The Christians who lived and survived in these areas were truly living the warning Christ gave that we, as Christians, would be hated as much, if not more, than He was.

Jenkins takes us up into the 21st Century and the destruction of Iraq and its powerful Chaldean community. He touches on the integral part Arab and Central Asian Christians have played in the history of Islam and how it has come to exist in our world today. And shows once again how the ignorance of Western Christians has actively damaged their Eastern brethren.

lostchristianhistoryUltimately, Jenkins falls into the theory that it is geography that makes the difference in whether a population survives or does not. Isolated communities continued – mountain peoples, always a stubborn lot, held on to Christianity longer than others, save the Copts in Egypt. The Copts having their own unique geographic and geopolitical insulation that protected them from some of the worst horrors visited upon their brethren to the East.

For those unfamiliar with Central Asian, Asian, and African Apostolic Church history The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia–and How It Died is well worth reading or listening to.

Inner Christianity : A Guide to Esoteric Tradition (Audiobook)

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Inner Christianity : A Guide to Esoteric Tradition (Audio Edition) written and read by Richard Smoley is a meandering journey from the earliest unsanctioned spiritual teachings of Christianity to the late 20th century. His meanderings include the controversies surrounding the nature of Christ, the spiritual questions behind the debate of the Apostle’s Creed, and even touches on the symbolism versus reality of the transubstantiation that is at the heart of the divide between many Christian sects.

The one weakness of the book is that it sometimes assumes that you know the basic tenets of traditional “churched” Christianity, and this has become less true for the modern reader. These tenets are easily looked up, but may, without a guide, lead the neophyte seeker down the paths of various catechisms that only serve to hide the inner workings that a seeker seeks.

This book is aimed at the neophyte with some knowledge of Christianity. With that audience in mind, it does an admirable job of taking us through, not the chronological order, but the spiritual order of the history behind the various Gnostic thoughts and how they have manifested for either the good or the bad. (Sometimes, Gnostics seemed to be there to reflect the reality of those in authority being quite apart from the reality of the catechism.)

Gnostic Christians are equally at home with Sufi, Buddhist, Hindu, or any other seeker because they see that the tool used to reach spiritual enlightenment is just that, a tool. Christianity differs from some of its brethren in the emphasis on the personal salvation and connectedness to an overall sentient power.

51P54X7H09LSmoley touches on such controversies as the fall of SOPHIA and the DEMIURGE. Showing how these radical ideas challenged the early church. Many of the great thinkers of early Christianity were, in reality, Gnostics. The Gnostic schools spread throughout the Eastern part of the world – reaching as far as China. There are still wild monks in India who are Christian Gnostics of the Thomasine descendan.

This is a very good introduction to gnosticism. Smoley does not say, “trust this teacher or school of thought.” Rather, he implores the listener to seek enlightenment through study, prayer, and supplicance. He does point out that the Eastern Orthodox Churches – perhaps because of their lack of political power – preserved gnosticism much better than their Western counterparts. Much of Western Gnosticism is derived from the Reformation, but not all.

This is definitely worth a listen if you wish to challenge the depths of your beliefs.

Fall of Cthulhu Vol. 3 : The Gray Man

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51DezXRIj1LFall of Cthulhu Vol. 3: The Gray Man is a worthy addition to the astonishing series written by Michael Alan Nelson and illustrated by Mat Santolouco.

We find Lucifer, a Brazilian street kid who has followed the professor from the first volume to Arkham, Massachusetts, in custody of the Arkham police. She was followed.

The Gray Man followed her. Possibly based on the a horrible serial killer from the turn of the 20th Century, he has come to Arkham to kill as many as he can. First, however, he needs to find his knife.

The sheriff allies himself with Lucifer who tells him he must visit The Harlot, and pay her price. Lucifer will not go to meet The Harlot willingly as she made The Harlot extremely angry with her. The Harlot does reap a horrible price from the sheriff.

The creepy world created by H. P. Lovecraft is beautifully captured in this horror comic. This is one of the best tellings within the Cthulhu Mythos I have seen in ages. Updated in a way that is creepily well-done this is a series well-worth following.

A final note, Boom! is doing a miniseries about Lucifer called Hexed. I’m anxious to see how it ties into the larger landscape of the world they created. I have a hunch that it has to do with why The Harlot is so angry with Lucifer.

Blasphemy of Prosperity vs. A Promised Cross

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Somehow, we, as a society, have come to believe that anything we wish can come to fruition if we believe enough in it and work hard enough for it.

This has made the current economic downturn even harder. Instead of having compassion, we have blame. We find only pleasure in the downfall of the mighty. This is not a Christian perspective when so many claim we are a Christian country. (Of course, we aren’t. We were founded by secularists, but that is another issue altogether.)

Much of what happens to people just happens. No matter how much we want to believe we control our lives, much of it is completely out of our control. We have fallen for the lie that has been being peddled by those who want us to blame ourselves for things that we are not responsible for. This idea that if we envision something we can create that reality is damaging to all of us on both a personal and societal level. Whenever we separate ourselves from the reality that life is about limitations that sometimes can, and sometimes cannot, be overcome, we create pain for ourselves and those around us.

There has been a cruelty that has gripped much of the Western World – but especially the USA – in the last 30 years. There is a belief that those that are poor are poor only because they won’t work. There is a belief that those who are sick are sick because of something they have done. There is a belief that there is a reason for everything that happens to someone. This sickness has permeated our society in all kinds of subtle – and not-so subtle ways.

Make no mistake, it is a sickness to believe that someone reaps only what they have sown.

I sometimes wonder if anyone really understands the old saying, “There but for the grace of God, go I.” None of us know what has happened to someone else or what they are dealing with even when we are intimately familiar with them. If you do not carry the burdens of that person, you cannot judge their circumstances or their choices. Their choices may be limited in ways you can never imagine.

Our society does not do well with Christ’s principles that were taught during the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5:2-10 (New International Version)

2and he began to teach them saying:
3″Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Instead, we have embraced the Anti-Christ view of “greed is good,” and “might is right.” And, might, is not always about physical power. Might can be intellect, money, talent. Each of these things are things we are supposed to use for the betterment of all – not just ourselves. Perhaps we should meditate on each of these principles – and what they mean – in the coming year. When I read these principles, I do not see a promise of prosperity, I see the promise of a cross to bear, just as Christ bore his Cross.

Am I to deny the cross that He has laid down before me? What form will it take? Will I recognize it? Will I deny it? I don’t have answers for this. When someone is in the throes of pain – no matter its source – it is hard to be a Good Christian – though I know I always fail at being a “Good” Christian. I’m just a Christian who tries to be a good Christian. I hope I recognize and pick up my cross and do Him proud. I can only pray that I do.

The Year of Broken Promise – or Revelation

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This has been a very hard year. It did not start out that way. It started with joyful news. Even the loss of my job was joyful in many ways. I was not really happy with the turn the job was taking. My skills were already way beyond the job I had. It was being dumbed down further. It was not a senior level position even though that is the type of candidate they sought. If things had gone as planned, it would not have mattered. Joy was on its way.

I was finally pregnant. We saw this as an opportunity for me to start preparing for our new arrival. We had just started making concrete plans when tragedy struck.

I was showing, so I could no longer hide it. If I had had my way, I would not have told anyone even then – but my body showed the truth of that matter. Some of you know that we lost that very wanted pregnancy at 19 weeks near the end of June. I expect to run into people who will ask about our, now, non-existent, child. It is not a simple matter for us to get pregnant. Endometriosis has made sure of that. The inevitable, “you can always get pregnant,” can, unknowingly, cut someone deep.

While I was still pregnant, I lost my Great Uncle – who I had not been able to see for 5 years. I could not attend his funeral because I was pregnant and working at the time. A trip that long really was not feasible. I took comfort in knowing that I was not attending for a reason that he would have considered a good one. And, now, it just seems like life cheated me of saying good-bye.

Everyone told me how strong I was. How inspirational. I was not strong. Emotionally, I wanted the dead fetus out of me as quickly as possible. The cruelty of carrying a dead fetus was something I felt at a gut level. In truth, I just hurt and wanted to hide away from the world in my own way. This meant I had to take control in whatever ways available to me. I think it was because I knew I had to have a D&C right away. Intrauterine death is not something that always vacates the body completely and safely – especially if your family has a history of hemorrhaging.

If I had crossed the magic timeline that Michigan morons have set so they can torture women I would have made a trip to Canada. I had no desire to deliver a dead baby. None. And anyone who thinks a woman should do that just because of gestational age when other medical options are available should be shot. Such a person is a misogynist, plain and simple. (This law is a result of the Catholic Church’s involvement in Michigan politics.) Another might choose to deliver, that is her right, but to force it upon anyone is cruel evidence of misogyny.

I was so angry and so fed up at everyone – even God. I knew my family had a history of miscarriage. If you have not experienced this, I doubt very much you can actually relate. Granted, I did not know that the when of this history was unusual. Late miscarriages occur in less than 2% of pregnancies. Less than 2% . And the medical community knows almost nothing about the why when the fetus is completely normal.

I also felt alone. Many who I thought might notice and send support were not there. Many others I did not expect were very supportive. My family, knowing this pain, was very supportive. The most painful part was relaying what happened to those I knew who had experienced the same. I knew instinctively they relived their own experiences, and in some ways, that made it hurt even more. It did not help that this happened at a time when many were on vacation or otherwise occupied. I felt like I fell through the cracks. Some of you who knew were there, and you will never know how grateful I was – and still am – of that support. How I hungered for it at the time – while fearing I would offend, or seem needy, if I reached out wanting it. After all, I also had a husband who was dealing with this grief in a very different way.

Now, the obstetric surgeon who performed the procedure was incredibly compassionate. As were the nurses and anesthesiologists involved. My MIL was great as well. My heart ached for my husband. Did I feel guilt for the miscarriage? Eventually. Of course, I knew that was just part of the 5 stages of grief. I was still numb for awhile afterwards. The best thing to do when dealing with something so huge you don’t want to face it is to keep going with the everyday things – and occupy yourself with activities that use your brain in other ways.

That day I came home and baked cookies. For the next three months, I canned like a madwoman – everything from pickles to ketchup to jellies and jams. I don’t really know why. Maybe so I wouldn’t feel so empty. Maybe so I just wouldn’t be able to think about anything but canning – something that is very dependent on weights and measures if you don’t want to poison someone. Knitting was too meditative. It left too much room in my mind to think. To dwell on the pain that could, if I was not careful, consume me.

Our baby was chromosomally normal. DH and I immediately contacted our reproductive endocrinologist to inform him, asking how soon we could start again. Three months until my body would be ready. In three months we could think about starting again. This was a second trimester miscarriage. The vast majority of miscarriages occur in the first trimester – it takes longer to recover from a second trimester loss.

I decided that I wanted the full miscarriage panel and was very, very angry that when I had asked previously about that – mentioning the family history of miscarriage – I had been shrugged off. I had told the reproductive endocrinologists this. I had told the obstetricians this. I had even told the high risk pregnancy specialist this. It seemed to me that none of them heard me until after I lost the baby. I should say that all of the doctors – except, maybe, the high risk specialist – are doctors I trust and whose abilities I believe in. I was, once again, the statistical outlier. A family history of late loss (some with living children) is nowhere documented in the medical literature.

I had the miscarriage panel done and found out I had two blood clotting genetic tendencies. Now, I trust a reproductive endocrinologist to help me get pregnant – but they are not a hematologist. I decided to get a referral to the hematologist. I got more blood tests and he found another gene that read like my family’s medical history. It was fascinating in a morbid kind of way.

With this knowledge in hand, we tried again. We failed. I had to stop. The failed cycle was the definition of Murphy’s Law. All that could go wrong, while looking like it was right, did. I think my mind and body rebelled. I’m pretty sure I had messed up my medications. When the doctor went in for the eggs, there was one egg and lots of endometriomas. Endometriosis ate my ovary. By some miracle, we made it to transfer. I’m not sure how or why. Of course, the cycle failed anyway.

At this point, I was just numb, exhausted, and broken. I had been moving forward and moving forward because I couldn’t stop. If I stopped, I would feel all of it. The full weight of the disappointment and hurt of this year. A year that had started with such hope, only to have it snatched away by an ultrasound.

I achieved nothing that I set out to do this year. None of the challenges. I sought refuge in my urban fantasy novels and graphic novels. Vampire Urban Fantasy is mostly safe from pregnancy storylines. I couldn’t even handle historicals that were written by childless authors. Anything too close to reality caused pain. Surprisingly, even Battlestar Galactica – when I started rewatching parts of Season 3 – had a tone about reproduction that made me feel a knot in my stomach. If it wasn’t light and fluffy – except for Planet Hulk , I couldn’t take it. Movies that had never bothered me before, were too dark and violent to handle. Something inside me seems to have changed.

Our baby would have been born around Thanksgiving if all had gone as planned. We should have been celebrating with our baby this Christmas instead of being trapped in Michigan. Neither of us felt like going to any parties where there might be children to remind us of our loss. It was too raw all over again. The Holidays are hard for those who have had losses – and to expect people to choose to be happy is incredibly immature on the part of the other.

When the blizzard came, it felt like the world, itself, had turned on us. We had a short window to make a very long drive – if we missed it, we could not make our trip. A trip we very much wanted to make – or at least I did. (DH does not like long car trips. I don’t like plane trips.) The entire northern half of the continental US was under a blanket of snow and ice making driving treacherous – possibly deadly. When roads are being closed and flights are being canceled, it is wise not to try to make a trip happen.

I was going to knit a sweater and knit down my stash. The only thing left that I am knitting is a pair of socks. I started the socks before we conceived this year. I was knitting them while I was pregnant with the intention of having them for labor and delivery. As odd as it sounds, a part of me thinks that if I finish this pair of socks, it will be easier to put all the failures of this year behind me. Ironically, they are orange and green – the colors of fertility. Isn’t it odd how we relate unrelated things to events and tragedies? I do not want to carry knitting these socks into 2009. I am down to the edging and I have two days. I think I can finish. If you knit, you might understand what I mean. But, then again, maybe not.

Of course, there all of the things that I have been avoiding returning to – cleaning out our basement, organizing my craft supplies, and, various and sundry tasks that were being done in preparation of a new arrival. Many of which were not nursery based. They are still reminders of our failed pregnancy.

Believe it or not, I am not actually depressed. I am sad. I don’t like being sad. I keep reminding myself that, as a Christian, Christ did not promise this life would be one of prosperity and ease. No. He told us that to follow Him was to pick up our own Cross to bear just as He had borne the Cross and the Crucifixion so that He could be reborn and allow us that same opportunity.

I will not pretend that this year has not been hard. It has been incredibly difficult, physically and emotionally. How can I compare my trials to the trials of Christ? It sort of puts things in perspective. Will we try again? I do not know. I will not discuss that in a public blog. I chose to share this to show that despite some pretty difficult times, I can persevere.

In 2009, I am hoping that I can leave this hurt behind me and find new hope and new beginnings. Where they might take me, I don’t know.

Ezekiel 7:19

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They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumbling block of their iniquity.

Ever since the banker bailout started, this Bible quote is all that keeps coming to my mind unbidden.

When I listen to the U.S. Congress and the Parliaments of the World speaking of how they must save themselves, Ezekiel 7:19 comes to mind.

When I hear the conspiracy theorists speaking of the “safety” of gold – even prior to the gold and silver markets tanking – Ezekiel 7:19 forms.

I do not think we are in those times some groups believe hail the end of all things. But, there is, in all religious thought, an idea that cycles, at least, must end. Even in Hinduism there is a thought of Ages. Each Age must come to an end so that the new Age may begin. As with all births, it tends to be messy and painful.

And, then, I think of what I remember when I was indulging in eschatological studies. How little remembered Ezekiel 7:19 is among modern Evangelicals? Why do they encourage all to stock up on gold and silver when we are warned how useless the treasures of this world are?

I am in no way saying not to use your money wisely despite the markets attempts to destroy what we have. Rather, I’m saying that we, as Christians must never, ever, trust in money more than God. The Lord God will see to us all if we trust in Him.

To Trust in God does not mean not using the talents we have been given! Remember the parable of the talents! Rather, it means that though we live in this world, we never sacrifice what is stored up in the world to come by hoarding to the detriment of others. And, we must use those talents in service to Him. This does not mean becoming a nun, priest, preacher, or other religious, necessarily, but to serve one another in whatever way we can.

This does not include hoarding gold and silver – or any other monies for our own use.

Of course, if you believe these are the end times – end of this age, even – then why would you try to store up gold and silver when you have been warned that it will be worth nothing? That somehow, the metals that have underpinned economic well-being for millenniums is worth nothing?

I think that it is worth noting Ezekiel 7:19 whenever you start to think to hoard gold and silver because you believe society is going to collapse. What good will gold and silver bring if society collapses?

You cannot till gold and silver.

You cannot eat gold and silver.

Gold and silver are just metals that we have ascribed value to because it is pretty. It is better to invest in people and skills than in gold and silver. When societies collapse, it is those with the right networks and skills that survive – not those who have the gold and silver (or shells, or whatever else is the symbol of wealth.)

An Idea – A Group Reading of Job and Its Lessons for Today

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Pamela Jean over at Coming2Terms had an excellent post that got me to thinking about suffering and how society reacts to it.  Interestingly, I had just come from reading a rather vitriolic set of comments about victims of the banking industry – where they were blamed for what would have been illegal lending practices just a decade prior.  She was talking about the idea of the just world and how it damages the ability to feel compassion and empathy.

Pamela Jean’s article struck me with how many people of faith fall into this falsehood.  In the case of her blog post, she was talking about how many people judge those dealing with infertility as somehow being deserving of this fate.  Of course, these are the same folks who believe any disease or circumstance is a punishment from God.  Well, these folks are just plain wrong from a Biblical perspective. 

I believe both Christian and Jewish people of faith are familiar with the Book of Job and how he is visited with plague upon plague due to the adversary’s challenge towards God’s belief in Job’s faith.  I wonder if a read-along with discussion would interest anyone?  If it would, I would tend towards using the King James Version since it is:

If no one is interested, I may continue with my own navel gazing, but I would be really interested in a diverse group’s thoughts on this Biblical story.  It is considered somewhat controversial due to its scenes with the adversary and God – among other reasons.  It would also be interesting to try and figure out the culture(s) that influenced its present form, after all, it is the oldest known scriptural writing included in the Bible.

The Golden Compass (Audiobook)

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His Dark Materials, Book I: The Golden Compass written and read by Philip Pullman (with a full cast) is a dark children’s novel of the type more reminiscent of 19th century morality literature than modern children’s novels. The book captures attention, but the characters are not very sympathetic.

The Golden Compass (Audiobook)
I know this book is beloved by many, and I honestly enjoyed it, but I did not like any of the characters. They all came across as selfish, self-centered power mongers – even the main character of Lyra. Strangely, this did not diminish from my liking the novel – and being anxious to listen to the next two.

Lyra (and her daemon) is a wild creature – neglected and mistreated in some ways. Loved and doted upon in other ways. We learn how her life started and that she is a child of destiny – to even determine destiny. Some of the book actually made me cringe at the Lovecraftian references that may not have been intentional. There are parts of the book that make me think of the battle Lovecraft had against the Elder Gods in his own books. (I realize not many people will even acknowledge the possibility of the influence.) I do not see a major influence from Tolkien, more of a diatribe against C.S. Lewis.

Now, I am somewhat familiar with the religious rigamorale around the atheistic themes of the series, His Dark Materials. Perhaps I was expecting some great blasphemy in the book. The thing is, I started giggling when I heard the explanation of “Dust.” It is such an utterly immature and ill-informed argument about original sin, that I could not have taken it seriously when I was 10 years old. (I believe that is the target audience for this book?) The original sin argument is not an unfamiliar one to those who have read the Church Fathers, for that matter. (There is an actual theological schism due to the time when original sin comes upon human beings.)

Now, granted, I had an excellent religious education so I may be unusual, but if you are a Christian and your child can be swayed by such a ridiculously simplistic theological statement as the basis for Pullman’s anti-god theses, well, you have deeper issues. And since “dust” is the main characteristic within the series, well, if you cannot think of it as anything but something for which you must suspend disbelief, your own belief system is in no danger.

This is a major flaw within this book, after all, if he set it in an Asgardian or Grecian mythology / theology, it would not create anywhere near the controversy.

The book does not have a happy ending. It ends in an unintentional betrayal – and not the one I was rooting to have happen. It really doesn’t have an ending. It sets up the next book which, when I finally get to get home I plan on grabbing and listening to!

Idiots In Charge – Colorado and Fertilized Eggs

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RealTime: Colorado SC Affirms “Egg-as-Person” | RHRealityCheck.org

Ok, I’m flabbergasted.

I’m appalled.

I’m actually disgusted that the ignorant have so much power in this country. I mean what kind of idiot doesn’t know that the majority of fertilized eggs never develop past the first month? Miscarriage rates are something like 30% in the general population.

What am I talking about? There are people in Colorado who want to give fertilized eggs the legal status of “person.” That is so far into the idiotic I can’t even comprehend how someone would think this is a good idea – unless it is another tool to try and subjugate women.

As many of you may already realize, I despise religiosity and unthinking fundamentalism. I actually have no respect whatsoever for such nonsense.

This nonsensical ballot measure is a thinly disguised assault on abortion rights. In Chile, El Salvador, the Holy See, and Malta, where abortion is illegal at all times – even to save a woman’s life – the maternal death rates are incredibly high. These countries are all Roman Catholic. Even in Fundamentalist Islamic regimes abortion is legal in certain circumstances.

Planned Parenthood has an excellent article detailing the problems with countries where safe legal abortions are not available.

This will also cripple new reproductive technologies. This may cut off many couples from ever becoming parents – and this is just what the sponsors of this ballot measure want. They are zealots.

I know that many people think that SCOTUS will strike down any such law. This is simply not a given with a court packed with conservative Catholics.

I encourage everyone living in Colorado to do everything legally possible to prevent this measure from being passed and to show those sponsoring this unscientific nonsense for the fools they are.

Why A Fertilized Egg Is Not A Person:

The majority of fertilized eggs never implant inside the woman’s womb. Of those that do, the majority are either rejected for unknown reasons or genetic anomalies. Even of those that do take hold and start developing, a good percentage will never make it past the third month. And even those that make to month 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, a small but significant percentage will result in a stillbirth.

Do these irresponsible people plan on prosecuting grieving parents?