Pro-life vs. support the troops

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 10:18 AM on August 25, 2005.

Why the zeal of these pro-lifers prevents them from supporting this troop and his family.

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Two Republican shibboleths collided in Wisconsin.

A couple weeks back Pro-Life Wisconsin sent out a press release calling the doctors of a Marine, critically injured in Iraq, murderers.

The statement, since withdrawn, included this: "Simon was rendered handicapped by the bomb in Iraq ... he was murdered by those who were in charge of his medical care."

The cause? Marine Staff Sgt. Chad Jerome Simon's wife, as outlined in her husband's living will, had his feeding tube removed.

The hospice itself, clearly not run by Democrats in congress, did not pussyfoot around the issue. They responded by threatening legal action:

"The hospice care lawyers said if a retraction wasn't made by Friday, they would pursue other remedies. Pro-Life Wisconsin took the release off its Web site and released a revised press release Friday afternoon, deleting the reference to murder, saying instead, 'Sgt. Simon ... died as a result of having food and water intentionally withheld.'" Adding that the revision is still a: "tasteless and an unfounded attack on the grieving widow of a war hero," though not "defamatory."

Christian blogger Faithful Progressive is reminded of a noted Christian philosopher: "I thought of Immanuel Kant's famous statement that one of the keys to moral behavior involved always seeing another individual human being as an end unto itself and never as merely a means to an end."

And isn't this the height of hypocrisy? Of hubris? This group, under the guise of being "for life" is actually denying the humanness of others. Denying them free will, self determination -- a personal relationship with God in other words.

Fortunately, the Christian Alliance for Progress has issued a statement of its own, taking back Jesus:

"That such people as Chad’s caregivers, who live in the midst of constant suffering and with the ever present prospect of imminent death, all the while ministering to patient and family alike, should be insulted like this by a group claiming to be Christians is unfathomable. We condemn such abusive language used against Chad’s caregivers in the strongest possible terms as being the very antithesis of the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

As awful as the personal situation is, there's a larger point to be made. There's been no distancing or peep from the pro-life movement in Wisconsin or otherwise. This is exactly the kind of statement that must be used to divide the right.

This press release should be paraded around to every "pro-life" politician in the state and the nation to find out just where they stand -- to either expose them for the radicals they are or force them to renounce the radicals in their midst. Either way, this is the soft underbelly of the fragile alliance between right wing quasi-religious fanatics and their political godfathers and it should be explored. (Faithful Progressive)

Evan Derkacz is a New York-based writer and contributor to AlterNet.

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Why must I hate my religion? [Report this comment] Posted by: matty on Aug 25, 2005 11:42 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] I know it serves as more of a rhetorical, and that I, in fact, love being a Christian, but damn...do Pro-Lifers really bug the piss out of me. The refusal of some Christians to accept the humanity of others they disagree with is appalling. Not only do they anger non-Christians, but they risk reversing the work of good evangelizing throughout the many denominations. If my father weren't an Episcopal priest, I probably would have bolted long ago. This is the same brand of non-Christian Christianity that has the arrogance to put God's judgment on anything that threatens their sexist, homophobic sensibilities. Oh, and if you're not conviced of the extent to which conservative Christians refuse to respect the humanity of others, consider the following: when church leaders of the Anglican Church in Africa took issue with the Episcopal (Anglican) appointment of Rev. Gene Robinson, a gay man in a long-time committed relationship, to the seat of Bishop of NH, they barred the Episcopal Church from coming to the next few years of Anglican meetings. They did this without ever meeting with Bishop Robinson, without ever having the courage to look his humanity in the face and hold to their bigoted position. Take it as you will. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Why must I hate my religion? Posted by: Evan Derkacz Pro-life zealots in Wisconsin [Report this comment] Posted by: ferretlass on Aug 25, 2005 3:00 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Pro-life Wisconsin is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. If they had their way, all birth control ; from oral hormonal pills, to IUDs, to condoms would be banned: deemed as 'sinful'. They have such an influence on Wisconsin policies that 98% of Wisconsin counties do not have an abortion clinic, and a recent bill was passed banning the perscribing and distributing of birth controll or morning after pills on all State campuses. Why? Because the ultra-religious here think that access to BC promotes 'promiscuity'. There are no such laws banning Levitra or Viagra, of course. Another bill in the works would cut funding to all Planned Parenthood clinics in the state because they provide referrals to what few abortion clinics we still have in the state. Wisconsin also has a law protectiong pharmacists who discriminate against women by refusing to fill BC or EC. The reason there is no outcry to these attacks on women's rights is that Pro-life Wisconsin either has the Republican-led Legislature in their pockets or has so intimidated them that no one dares to speak out agaist them becausae that would be political suicide in this state. Being a resident of this state I can tell you from personal experience they treat the dairy herd better than women of child-bearing age here. :( [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] FP [Report this comment] Posted by: FP on Aug 26, 2005 8:05 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Thanks, Evan. I thought you might like to know that the Christian Alliance for Progress press release was picked up as an Op Ed in a couple of Wisc papers, including the Capital Times. Regards, FP [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

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» RE: Why must I hate my religion? Posted by: Evan Derkacz