Paul A. Ibbetson
Abortion in 2011: from tax breaks to heartache
By Paul A. Ibbetson
Since the United States legalized abortion in 1973 in Roe v. Wade, approximately 40 million abortions have been conducted in this country. These death toll numbers, which continue to mount, dwarf the statistics of Americans killed in war, crime, accidental death from handguns, you name it. As we enter the year 2011, legalized abortion in America is by far the leader in institutionalized death. Prior to 1973 abortion was more than simply illegal, it was a socially shunned activity for both the pregnant mother and the covert abortionist. Today not only have the tables turned on the legality of taking the life of a baby in the womb, but the decades that have passed since Roe v. Wade have seen a continual desensitizing of Americans to the ramifications of abortion.
Since the recent mid-term election the Republican-controlled House has been working to pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. Among other things, the bill would stop internal revenue credits for expenses paid for medical care of the taxpayer or the taxpayer's spouse or dependents for abortion. Furthermore, this bill would stop tax deductions through health benefit plans that include coverage of abortion. The bill is considered only a symbolic action for Republicans in the House of Representatives, since the Democrats will most certainly vote down any similar action in the Senate. It is a little bit too easy to simply look at the political maneuverings here and forget the actual tragedy that has become America.
We as a country are debating whether or not there should be tax break eligibility for taking a human life. In a country founded upon Christian values, we are calmly discussing, and for the opposition of abortion, losing the debate on society's right to force all citizens of this country to fund the death of generations of children. This desensitization of the American conscience is inevitable as abortion continues in America and the effects accumulate.
To bring this point home, we simply have to observe how mildly the people of this country respond to the killing mills of abortion practitioners when things goes awry in our post-Roe v. Wade world. In the recent Pennsylvania case of the abortion clinic ran by Dr. Kermit Gosnell, the abortion doctor who is alleged to have killed seven babies by inducing birth and then cutting the babies' spinal cords with a pair of scissors, the public's outrage is more technicality based than an affront to national moral values. Had it not been for a separate federal drug investigation on unlawful pain medicine distribution, the clinic would most likely still be in operation. Even the most egregious of operating abortion clinics fail to stir concern or curiosity from regulating entities. Gosnell, who was allegedly responsible for the death of an adult, Karnamaya Mongar, was shocked when he found himself on trial for eight counts of murder as this whole strange case unfurled.
Gosnell reportedly told a judge at a recent arraignment, "I understand the one count, because a patient died, but I didn't understand the seven counts." In this case, despite the abortionist's heinous actions within his clinic, Gosnell appears to feel he is simply guilty of deviating from standard operating procedures. In reality, those seven babies brought to his facility were slated to die when their mothers entered the abortion clinic. Gosnell simply failed to follow the institutionally accepted killing rituals. It's that simple, and that terrible. Even one of America's most notorious late-term abortionists, George Tiller, was openly embraced by a mainstream church in Kansas at the heart of the Bible Belt.
The undeniable truth is that abortion exists in opposition to everything America stands for, from the Bill of Rights to the Christian foundations of this country. Unfortunately, in failing to recognize the loss of moral values that have allowed abortion to be legalized in the United States, we are doomed to watching the country spiral further toward the devaluing of human life, creating future heartache. What is necessary for America to awaken to the desperate need to repeal abortion? Will it take having killed more babies than the living population of the country before the people's conscience is stirred into action? As incredible as that seems, that bloody number will most certainly be reached in time.
The truth is that in time those that oppose abortion in America will no longer be losing the debate on this issue because the debate will be over. The opportunity to change the tide will be lost either through additional legislation or irreversible national malaise. Re-establishing America to greatness in 2011 will not be accomplished through stabilizing markets or lowering unemployment rates. Yes, America's economy is struggling but the souls of its people are in much worse shape. The reemergence of America can only be accomplished through aligning the country's belief system with that of the Creator that has made America a blessed land.
© Paul A. Ibbetson
February 11, 2011
Since the United States legalized abortion in 1973 in Roe v. Wade, approximately 40 million abortions have been conducted in this country. These death toll numbers, which continue to mount, dwarf the statistics of Americans killed in war, crime, accidental death from handguns, you name it. As we enter the year 2011, legalized abortion in America is by far the leader in institutionalized death. Prior to 1973 abortion was more than simply illegal, it was a socially shunned activity for both the pregnant mother and the covert abortionist. Today not only have the tables turned on the legality of taking the life of a baby in the womb, but the decades that have passed since Roe v. Wade have seen a continual desensitizing of Americans to the ramifications of abortion.
Since the recent mid-term election the Republican-controlled House has been working to pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. Among other things, the bill would stop internal revenue credits for expenses paid for medical care of the taxpayer or the taxpayer's spouse or dependents for abortion. Furthermore, this bill would stop tax deductions through health benefit plans that include coverage of abortion. The bill is considered only a symbolic action for Republicans in the House of Representatives, since the Democrats will most certainly vote down any similar action in the Senate. It is a little bit too easy to simply look at the political maneuverings here and forget the actual tragedy that has become America.
We as a country are debating whether or not there should be tax break eligibility for taking a human life. In a country founded upon Christian values, we are calmly discussing, and for the opposition of abortion, losing the debate on society's right to force all citizens of this country to fund the death of generations of children. This desensitization of the American conscience is inevitable as abortion continues in America and the effects accumulate.
To bring this point home, we simply have to observe how mildly the people of this country respond to the killing mills of abortion practitioners when things goes awry in our post-Roe v. Wade world. In the recent Pennsylvania case of the abortion clinic ran by Dr. Kermit Gosnell, the abortion doctor who is alleged to have killed seven babies by inducing birth and then cutting the babies' spinal cords with a pair of scissors, the public's outrage is more technicality based than an affront to national moral values. Had it not been for a separate federal drug investigation on unlawful pain medicine distribution, the clinic would most likely still be in operation. Even the most egregious of operating abortion clinics fail to stir concern or curiosity from regulating entities. Gosnell, who was allegedly responsible for the death of an adult, Karnamaya Mongar, was shocked when he found himself on trial for eight counts of murder as this whole strange case unfurled.
Gosnell reportedly told a judge at a recent arraignment, "I understand the one count, because a patient died, but I didn't understand the seven counts." In this case, despite the abortionist's heinous actions within his clinic, Gosnell appears to feel he is simply guilty of deviating from standard operating procedures. In reality, those seven babies brought to his facility were slated to die when their mothers entered the abortion clinic. Gosnell simply failed to follow the institutionally accepted killing rituals. It's that simple, and that terrible. Even one of America's most notorious late-term abortionists, George Tiller, was openly embraced by a mainstream church in Kansas at the heart of the Bible Belt.
The undeniable truth is that abortion exists in opposition to everything America stands for, from the Bill of Rights to the Christian foundations of this country. Unfortunately, in failing to recognize the loss of moral values that have allowed abortion to be legalized in the United States, we are doomed to watching the country spiral further toward the devaluing of human life, creating future heartache. What is necessary for America to awaken to the desperate need to repeal abortion? Will it take having killed more babies than the living population of the country before the people's conscience is stirred into action? As incredible as that seems, that bloody number will most certainly be reached in time.
The truth is that in time those that oppose abortion in America will no longer be losing the debate on this issue because the debate will be over. The opportunity to change the tide will be lost either through additional legislation or irreversible national malaise. Re-establishing America to greatness in 2011 will not be accomplished through stabilizing markets or lowering unemployment rates. Yes, America's economy is struggling but the souls of its people are in much worse shape. The reemergence of America can only be accomplished through aligning the country's belief system with that of the Creator that has made America a blessed land.
© Paul A. Ibbetson
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