I agree with you and I think we are saying the same thing, but maybe I'm not good at the wording. We judge the 'action' but not the person's heart. Or in other words, we judge the sin but not the sinner. And maybe 'judge' is a poor choice of words on my part. Perhaps I should have said 'acknowledged' instead.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Clergy has no business blessing place where abortion is performed
The March 16 Viewpoint, “Planned Parenthood has clergy’s blessing,” by two members of the clergy affiliated with Planned Parenthood warrants response from clergy who are unaffiliated. After all, the authors are stakeholders and advocates for Planned Parenthood’s business, and have a vested interest in its success. They seek to mask the reality of abortion behind softer-sounding, easier-selling terms like “family planning” and “reproductive health care services.” Abortion is not family planning — it’s precisely the opposite. It’s the intentional destruction of innocent living members of the human family. Neither is abortion a health care service — it’s a disservice to the mother, forever scarred by the experience, to the innocent child, whose vast potential will remain unknown, and to our society, becoming ever more coarsened to the value and dignity of human life. The destruction of innocent life at any stage is unthinkable and should never be celebrated or blessed. It’s something always to be mourned. Likewise, the location of such horror — the Planned Parenthood clinic — should never be considered sacred or worthy of “blessing,” when abortions are performed hourly. How unworthy of a blessing they are, and how absurd that anyone in the name of God would bless an establishment, so against God. Abortion proponents and politicians alike say they want to make abortion “rare,” yet they build new structures in which to destroy innocent infants and “bless” them as “sacred.” How hypocritical it is for Planned Parenthood to strive to be seen as a holy and positive addition to the community when, in fact, they are foremost in the destruction of our community. RICHARD CARLINO Schenectady The writer is pastor of St. John the Evangelist and St. Mary’s Churches.
First, being a woman, I really don't care who blesses Planned Parenthood. They are not the plumb line for my life. And just because a person of faith "blesses" something or someone, does not mean that God has actually given it His "Seal Of Approval".
Second, I believe that women have rights to their own bodies. They have the right and obligation to society to be responsible for their actions that they take with their own bodies. They have the right to feel safe, and are protected by law, from rape and abuse. They have the right to say "Yes" or "No". They have the right and access to birth control and sex education. They have the right to exploit themselves in strip clubs as well as the right to wear burkas.
And they also have the right, by law, to kill their unborn baby if they so choose. Babies are not conceived out of thin air. Some are conceived within a marriage. Some from a long time partner. Some from a one night stand and sadly some from rape or incest. And each one has to know their own plumb line in life to make not only a choice on abortion but on any other issue that should arise in their life. Choices within the boundaries of the law. Choices that will better society. Choices they can live with. And this goes for men too.
No matter what the 'penis' gets a pass in the whole scheme of things of procreation----the woman(in past) got sent away, was an 'embarassment' to the family, maybe even made to give up the child(hormones raging and all), had a surgical procedure done to her body, taking chemicals that (change the WHOLE body-dont think it doesn't)prevent pregnancy.....etc
now the 'penis' is looked upon as having-------scored, made it, boys will be boys, was taken, and left without the marks of torn hymen,good game......
So it is better to live in America as a woman rather than the middle east or some other back-asswards country,,,,but the burka still exists as an invisible veil.......
where is the penis burka??????
The scales are unjust for the consequences......where is the snip-snip of the gonads???? In the middle east a woman is raped and she gets stoned to death. In America a baby is born and the women is cut,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,?????? The penis is where----
G-entlemen O-nly L-adies F-orbidden
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
I don't think the 'penis'/men control anything anymore. Just ask Mr.Spitzer. It took just ONE female to bring down the governor of the most powerful state in the country. 'The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world'. Now ain't that the truth?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
As far a Spitzer is concerned - his " indescretion " pales in the light of David and Bathsheba s hanky panky
EXACTLY!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I don't think the 'penis'/men control anything anymore. Just ask Mr.Spitzer. It took just ONE female to bring down the governor of the most powerful state in the country. 'The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world'. Now ain't that the truth?
It doesn't control everything but the social scales are tipped toward boys will be boys,,,,,,,,,
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
It doesn't control everything but the social scales are tipped toward boys will be boys,,,,,,,,,
Unfortunately, until we have preventive training for boys growing up, men will continue to be boys. Boys have to be taught that it is not alright to cheat, and it is not alright to john.
As long as Dads make jokes around their sons about sexual improprieties, boys will continue to grow up believing that it is ok as long as you don't get caught.
Religious groups shouldn’t be so sure about what God wants
In response to Richard Carlino’s March 22 letter criticizing the blessing of a Planned Parenthood facility, which conducts or facilitates abortions, which he says are “so against God.” Many religious groups claim they alone know the truth about the creator of the universe, and what he requires of us. Not surprisingly, these “truths” and requirements are all different, contradictory and not provable. In that context, it seems arrogant to apply one’s own religious judgment to another religious group’s blessing of a facility, when such blessing was presumably consistent with their different — and more tolerant understanding of God. There are plenty of rational, logical points to be made in the arguments for and against abortion. Injecting religion, which by nature is subjective and belief-based, into the debate serves only to muddy the waters and can do nothing to resolve the problem. And the larger issue is this: To insist that your religion has the only true knowledge of what God wants can send you down a dangerous road of intolerance, along which can be found the Inquisition, religious wars, and abortion clinic bombings. It leads directly to Osama bin Laden’s cave. TOM KELLER Clifton Park
A bill ratcheting up abortion strongly supported by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer is quite likely to go away with him. State legislators need to make sure that it does. The proposal is commonly referred to as the Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act (RHAPP). It was introduced as a governor’s program bill before Spitzer’s resigned, but remains in the Senate, where it has sat in the health committee since Jan. 9. If committee members decide not to move it, it’ll die there at the end of the session. Death would be appropriate for this terrible bill. Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome, who opposes it, says Spitzer’s reasoning behind the measure was to further strengthen New York’s abortion laws in the wake of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Such a measure would be significant if Roe vs. Wade ever was overturned, and abortion law was left to the states. RHAPP states that abortions may be performed by “a qualified, licensed health care practitioner,” but is not clear whether those abortion providers need to be physicians, what type of training is necessary or what kind of license they need. “Qualified licensed health care practitioner,” defined by Public Health Law, could include anybody from chiropractors and dentists to nurses and occupational therapists. The bill also would remove New York’s abortion-related laws from the criminal code and place them in the public-health law. That would rule out any possibility of criminal prosecution for botched jobs, and essentially make abortion immune from state regulation. This bill needs to die in committee, and it’s the responsibility of lawmakers to see that it does. means teaching them to appreciate the sanctity of human life. — The Observer-Dispatch, Utica
After reading the May 29 letter by Rosemary T. Reid, “Planned Parenthood poor choice to give sex education class,” I felt compelled to write. I gather from Ms. Reid’s letter that we are only to teach children about abstinence. Apparently Ms. Reid has no adolescent children, because anyone who does, knows that this is, of course, a nice thought, but unrealistic. If I understand Ms. Reid, she would have “sex education” done by a person or organization that will teach only that sex is bad, birth control is wrong as well as dangerous, and abortion options are taboo. I’m sure this will help our youth make the right choice and by the way, where would we find these fine educators? Planned Parenthood offers many services to men, women and teens. Believe it or not, when crossing through the doors there is no abortion brainwashing, no push to have premarital sex, and no one tells you that you must start contraception. It does, however, offer options and education to individuals, without regard to age, sex, race or sexual preference, who have made a decision to have sexual contact. These options and information will help protect them from STDs [sexually transmitted diseases] and unwanted pregnancy. In addition, it offers other services, such as medical care, laboratory testing and counseling. The choice is left in the hands of the individual, as it was meant to be. As a parent, I know that if my children are taught well, the choices they make may not always be the ones I would make, but they will be informed and thought out. My job as a parent is to help my children become independent and responsible for their own actions, and if I’ve done a good job, I don’t have to worry about outside influences changing that. They will have many of the same values I believe in. We live in a democracy after all, not a dictatorship. DEB POULTON Rotterdam
Re June 13 letter, “Planned Parenthood educates, promotes responsible sex,” by Rev. Paula J. Gravelle: It isn’t surprising that Rev. Gravelle found fault with Joanne Clough’s June 9 letter, “Planned Parenthood’s message ruinous to society”; nor is it surprising that she acknowledged her appreciation “for the work of Planned Parenthood, for the organization’s ethical and moral principles, and for the services they provide.” Rev. Gravelle has served on the board of directors of Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson. Additionally she has worked at Family Planning Advocates of New York State, as its clergy organizer. She is also a member of the Clergy Advisory Board that advises the Concerned Clergy for Choice, and chairs the Clergy Action Board in Schenectady. In 2000, she endorsed the SIECUS [Sex Information and Education Council of the U.S.] Religious Declaration on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing which “outlines a new paradigm for sexual morality that does not discriminate on the basis of age, marital status or sexual orientation.” The SIECUS’ Religious Declaration calls for “full inclusion of women and sexual minorities in congregational life, including their ordination and the blessing of same sex unions.” In 2005, Rev. Gravelle was a signatory to Religious Reflections on the Millennium Development Goals Prepared for the 2005 World Summit. Among its recommendations, the document called for access to comprehensive health services and information to prevent unplanned pregnancies and for change in abortion laws where abortion is illegal. On April 23, The Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing, issued a statement, signed by Rev. Gravelle and others, that called for defunding abstinence-only until marriage sex education programs and supporting comprehensive sexuality education programs — described in the statement as “the only moral response.” (Moral by which standard? The Judeo-Christian ethic or secular humanism? What do you think?) Rev. Paula Gravelle and Planned Parenthood are on the same page. (A little more transparency would have been helpful.) No wonder she found Joanne Clough’s criticism of Planned Parenthood so objectionable. ROSEMARY THERESE REID Fort Johnson The writer is secretary for the Coalition Opposed to Planned Parenthood.
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