I’m always amazed that people often get angry with pro-lifers for holding up pictures of dead babies while they ignore the fact those who are actually killing the unborn. I’m with you Danielle in that the ad kinda’ shocked me and unsettled me but maybe that’s what this country needs right now.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

“Let us mourn for these children.  May our hearts be broken enough for God to enter and stir us to action to defend their lives.”

Without the graphic nature of the photo, I don’t know that our hearts would be “broken enough”.

I believe this photo is actually in juxtaposition to the famous photo of the in-utero surgery photo taken by Michael Clancy in which the child suddenly grasped the hand of the surgeon.

As shocking as the image is, I think that’s what the world needs to see. In order for peoples hearts to “be broken enough for God to enter and stir us to action to defend their live,” they are going to need to be shocked into seeing those babies as people and not just an impersonal “fetus” without a soul.

Though not suitable for children who don’t understand, I don’t think this is graphically out of line. No matter if one is pro life or pro choice, the facts are the facts. Abortion is not pretty. What amazes me is that for any medical procedure out there it is the doctor’s responsibility to inform the recipient of the facts of the procedure. It seems ( according to stories I have heard ) that if anything is explained about the actual abortion procedures, it is seriously sugar coated. No wonder people are so shocked when actual photo’s surface.

Did we as Americans become involved and stop the Jewish Holocaust before we saw the pictures of bodies stacked one upon the other. Did these pictures stir our hearts to the point of risking our lives and those we loved in order to bring this evil to an end?

Just like the earthquake in Haiti, would we have reacted as strongly if we had not seen the pictures?

Facts don’t lie, and the abortion minded side has has their version of the facts too long. Pictures speak a 1000 words.

Yes, the ad is graphic. Is it enough? I don’t know, Danielle. Like you said, we’ve gotten used to graphic imagery and our hearts, I fear, are calloused. I do appreciate that you continue to write about the issue of abortion though I wonder—as always—what I can do.

Because what I AM doing is not enough.

YES, everyone needs to see this. We have the print copy of this ad in our church, and the first time I saw it, I gasped. But most people truly do not realize that abortion really is KILLING. They think the BABY is an unrecognizable blob of tissue. We had a recent prolife event at our church with box of models of babies of varying stages of development. 3D models are much more effective than just 2D pictures! The models were true to life size, and all the young children in our church (and some adults) were marveling at just how lifelike and BIG a 12 week old baby is in utero! It’s a BABY. Most abortions occur at 9-12 weeks, and YES, it’s a baby. It’s a baby before that, of course, too. And it looks like a BABY from very early on. The word NEEDS to get out. Pictures need to be SEEN. God bless those who know this already, and God help those who do NOT know….

Disturbing, yet sadly true.  Many people do not view the terrible, brutal act of abortion as the violence that it is.  They don’t know and they don’t want to know.  In our callous world maybe we all need to be disturbed and wake up.

I can’t bring myself to hit play!!

Not at all “too” graphic. it is graphic enough. great point made about the holocaust pictures being what moved people to action. I say yes it should run!

The truth of abortion is graphic, violent, and awful, and until people actually SEE this truth, people will continue to support a supposed right to “choose”, even so-called religious people (as evidenced by Christian support of Obama in the election).  A letter today to our editor in the local paper wrote of taking care of pets during these winter months, since pets “do not have a voice of their own”.  I’ve already sent a response to the paper, stating while it’s good to take care of pets, how much more we need to do to protect, care for, and respect the lives of our unborn children, who “do not have a voice of their own”.  How tragic it is we cannot harm pets without outrage and possible criminal charges, yet we can murder babies within their mothers, and call it “a right to privacy”, instead of the truth, which is a supposed right to kill our own children.  I only wish that ad would play during the Superbowl (my kids wouldn’t see it, as we turn back to EWTN during commercials—-which is our most watched channel anyway!!).

A very close, very dear friend of mine had an abortion years ago. I did not know her then. She only shared it with me after we had been friends for quite some time.

She is sorry.  She has confessed it, and she has been forgiven by God.

But the pain is there.  It is always there.

She is the one I think of when I see this ad.  Women like her are the ones I think of when I see the campaigns that include the small coffins at marches or the graphic babies.

Do you need to see the mangled body inside the car to know that drunk driving is wrong?

Some people, I think, do.  But for this issue, I have to wonder about the people we alienate and, worse, the people we wound.

I really don’t know what to make of this ad either.  Abortion is a grave evil in our society, and maybe there is justification in this.

But maybe there is not.

I don’t think we’ll be letting our kids watch ANY of the Super Bowl commercials; I think, all considered, this would be far tamer than some of the half-naked cheerleaders or halftime show dancers or women on commercials who will be paraded around.

Thanks for sharing this, Danielle.  I think I needed a reminder to fast and pray with greater focus for an end to abortion.

I, too, have friends who have had abortions, but I think that some of them would be the most supportive of this spot. Sadly, those of us who do not acclimate ourselves to the violence in our culture are more prone to be sensitive rather than those who need the shock to be able to comprehend that this is, indeed, a fully human life. May God have mercy.

I think, ultimately, this is a great ad if you’re already Pro-Life, but too dangerous to display to someone who is Pro-Choice.

This ad would be too easy to go, “See! Pro-lifers are sick!” to, even though it would be hypocritical as Matt said.

Maybe we should ask Abby Johnson what she thinks of ‘graphic’. I admit I didn’t watch the ad – the still is all the graphic I can handle after reading Danielle’s description. I do agree that it can be likened to pictures of the Holocaust. While photos of Auschwitz and the whipping scars on the backs of slaves are not for young children’s eyes, they are necessary for the rest of us to see what evil mankind is capable of. People need to have their eyes opened and hearts convicted. My only other hesitation is that I do not know the gestation of the baby portrayed. I do think it is typically not helpful when prolifers depict graphics of late term abortions – people can just rationalize and ignore the pictures as they know that’s not what a first trimester (when most abortions occur) baby looks like.

Ref: The Pro Life Adv…
Excuse me for being blunt,
but the matter of abortion
is an ugly social malady.
Abortion is not a mere matter
of religious beliefs. 
Abortion is ugly murder
of human lives…murder!
...bludgeoning murder!

If anything is wrong with this ad,
it is too simple, somber
and quiet. Diplomacy
will not effectively
communicate the pro-life message.

I support this ad.  Graphic?  Yes, but the image is unmistakeably a CHILD’S hand.  It does cut through the so-called abortion debate.  Maybe an image like this is what’s needed to end the jargon, and begin changing people, one by one.

“America will not reject abortion until it sees abortion.”

Amen.

Danielle-
I see your point.  However, until abortion is seen as the graphic, violent murder that it is, people will rationalize it.  As for the post-abortive, pro-lifers out there (such as your friend), the images will undoubtedly be very hard…however, I would imagine they would offer their suffering up for those babies YET to be saved.

I did not watch the ad, I don’t need to after the description given of it. Is it to graphic? Depends on the audience. If you could place this ad to a targeted group, such as a PG13 movie (just an example), it may do much for the cause. My primary concern is that of the dignity to a human body. This aborted baby deserves the dignity we would give to any other person, I am not certain that holding body parts in a commercial is dignified. I worry about this.

Yes, too graphic to put in a venue where young children will see it.  Should teenagers and adults see it? Yes—people absolutely need to see the gruesomeness of abortion. Should it be put on television during an event where little ones could see it? NO. Prudence is a virtue needed with very powerful images and ads such as these.

I’m not sure. Definitely not for children but I would be very interested to know if it has any positive results among “pro-choice” people. Does anyone know of any real life examples of people who have been converted to pro-life as a direct result of viewing graphic images like this? Can the argument of the violence of abortion really move anyone whose mind is so twisted already that they cannot grasp that a mother taking the life of the child within is evil?

I am moved by the argument that this does not respect the dignity of the human person whose hand is shown. I think it would be better to show an ultrasound of a living baby at this stage of development than a dismembered body part.

Since the subject of the Super Bowl was brought up, I’ll offer further that I think people of God could do much more for our society by refusing to participate in (and watching is participation) in these godless events that trying to “sanctify” them by pro-life ads. Leave the pagans to their religion and live the life of God in peace. We have plenty of opportunities to witness to our godless society through the testimony of our large families living to please God. We do not need to enter their arenas to deliver our message. I think that is what is meant by throwing “pearls before swine”.

In my view, the video is good, but the overall presentation is not.  There is much more to the pro-life message than pictures of aborted babies.  I’m sure Fr. Pavorne’s intent is to stop all abortions.  But, the single most important factor that has changed people’s hearts about abortion over the past 37 years is the sonogram.  If the video showed a sonogram of a baby moving in the womb, and then a babie’s forearm and hand as it is now shown, it would get the message across much more powerfully.  Let people’s hearts connect the dots.  In additon, the new video can be shown to people of all ages and persuasions.

I am currently a Lutheran pastor - but not always Lutheran - but I have always been pro-life.  While I have always been pro-life, I have not always been as vocal and staunch an advocate for the movement as I have become as of late.  As one who has known the truth about abortions, and taught in confirmation and adult ed discussions what it really involves and does (not to mention hearing the confessions of women and men who’ve had or participate in abortions - even my wife, from a time before we met), I was moved to tears by this ad.  For me it was similar to my reacion of watching “The Passion of Christ” for the first time.  The graphic picture of Jesus being scourged at the pillar made me flinch and cry, even though I KNEW what was coming.  This ad is graphic - but not too graphic. (Except, of course, I agree about the age-appropriateness aspect.)  Most people need to SEE this, because unfortunately for many seeing is still believing.  It is easy to do and justify ANY behavior or action as long as we don’t have to see the consequences.  We’ve been blind, and if this forces more eyes to open up, I pray that hearts will melt and be rnewed as well.

I don’t think it’s too graphic, though it would make sense to air it during a TV show geared for grown-ups not kids.  I don’t think it’s disrespectful to the child who’s hand it is, and I’m pretty sensitive to that thing.  In fact, I felt a bit of “Hurrah” at this child’s opportunity to “voice” his or her opposition to his or her own killing. 

I think it would be very difficult to watch that if I had had an abortion, especially if I’m just relaxing and watching TV and not expecting it.  I would probably break down.  But of course it is the abortion itself that would make me react that way, not the ad itself.

While the add is graphic, no blood is depicted and it is reality. However, the add would be more powerful if it were toned down and combined with a woman weeping in regret over abortion. Appealing with the reality that women (and men) are hurt by abortion levels the field, and makes the issue more palatable and convincing for the general population.

Yes, it should shake you to your core. It absolutely should. It should run prime-time everywhere.  And as much as women and others are affected by abortion that should not be used to “tone down” the truth.  This is straight to the heart of the matter and to the point.  If someone can’t see how this has a rippling affect that’s being obtuse.  There are other ads and other times for other such messages.

The adult hand looks artificial to me, like the producers didn’t want someone to hold the baby’s hand. I’m not sure if the baby’s hand is real or not, but the artificial appearance of the adult hand makes me wonder about the baby’s. Does anyone know?

The answer to Brian’s question about the hand is that it is a real hand wearing a surgical glove. I support “Priest of Life” and seen the video when it first came out along with the story behind the ad. I cried when I first saw the ad and knowing the story made me cry harder.The babies hand was found in a trash bag along with the rest of the body parts. The trash bag was thrown out with the rest of the trash from an abortion clinic. This poor child was treated like the rest of the garbage to be thrown away and carted off to the landfill. Where is the dignity for this child of God? May God have mercy on all of us.

My sister had a great response to this article:

“Did the B.V. Mary show the 3 little children Hell?  Okay, that’s my answer.”

Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life has long maintained that America will not reject abortion until America sees abortion.

This ad shows what happens to our children, who are defenseless in the womb.  Defenseless.  Repeat that word all day long.  Defenseless. 
Unless WE ALL DO SOMETHING TO STOP THIS TERROR.

Re: Everyone Against Abortion Please raise your hand…..Is the video showing a surgeon’s hand holding the remains of an aborted child’s arm too graphic? We are shown news photos of earthquakes, bombings, plane crashes on the evening news showing human bodies devoid of limbs or mangled beyond recognition—these are too graphic. I believe many Americans have dissociated themselves from the horror of these tragedies because it happens elsewhere and to others.  But when the subject is abortion—the killing of a child—it becomes personal. It happens daily in America and touches each human being in some way. When the life of a child is taken, we would rather not view the mangled remains which remind us of this horrendous act. The ad grabs us silently and unexpectedly by giving a visual witness that life suffered a terrible death. Does this possibly expose a deep guilt within for not lending our voices loud enough to stop this Holocaust of our young? I wonder if the nightly news covered the daily death of a child with photos or gave a daily count as they did during the Vietnam war, would there be any pro-abortion activists left?

Adults need to see this add. Their children need to see it too. It will prompt some children to turn to their parents and ask, “mom/dad, what is your position on abortion?”

Adults need the stark confrontation from their own children to wake up. Some will and some will not repent. Their children will know the truth either way.

Keep the advertisements coming!

Not too graphic; abortion is a gruesome destructive procedure.  The picture plainly shows that it is.  The hand and fragment of the forearm of the little child show that this was a late term aborton after the child had reached viability; infanticide is a more accurate name.  Two of the long bones are visible having been ripped from the arm.  Disgusting and abhorrent but realistic therefore not too graphic.
Frank L. Schmidt, M.D., now retired.

Planned Parenthood and the other abortionists are as guilty as the mothers who “choose” to murder their children.  It’s the single worst black mark on our society.  Far worse than slavery.  Shame on all who would endorse abortion and I truly honestly hope the mothers and fathers who “chose” abortion never know peace.  I pray the abortionists receive the judgment they deserve.

Too GRAPHIC..? That question is CRAZY..! Is murder, when it is made legal, too GRAPHIC to conceal..? Are we “TOO SENSITIVE”..to be exposed to this..? We are hiding our own sins if say that we believe that..! We are hiding our own sins behind “nice”..SHOW this video EVERYWHERE ! Let ALL of Hell object to it….!

A broken off arm??? I’m with you, girl. That’s too much, even for me who is a crazy pro lifer. I don’t even want to click on it for fear of disturbing myself. I cry at even the mention of abortion, I don’t need to see this ad to be affected—really!  The are many more appropriate ways of showing prochoicers the truth- we don’t need to stoop so low. And you’re right- think of the children. What are we gaining when we strip away the innocence of a child for the sake of showing them extreme evil? We don’t show them porn when we teach them about sex. There is absolutely no need for children to see graphic images such as these.

I lived in Canada for 25 years. I moved to California a few years ago.  I almost went crazy living in Canada.  The counry has been taken over by the worst left wing nuts in the planet.  Abortion is legal up to 8 months and 30 days. Homosexual marriages and they attack anyone with witchunts if they try to protect life.  All the clergy from protestant to Catholics have been neutered and are lukewarm.  What a shame.

While I do understand the argument about the overuse and abuse of graphic images to shock and awe, I do not think that this image falls into that category.  It is not excessively bloody or graphic.  The thoughts that it call to mind are bloody, graphic, and painful.  When we realize that this is not just a prop on a movie set, we can feel the horror of the reality of what goes on in abortion.  However, this comes from an understanding of cause and effect.  By seeing this image as an effect, we are shocked and angry.  We should be.  We should be angry at the cause, not a tasteful display of the effect.

Carol’s remark about Fatima strikes a cord, as in any war, innocents is taken away. It seems that in the name of ‘protecting’ our children, we would shield them from the Truth. The sad part is, our children will recognize and respond to the truth with an honest horror, while we their guardians endlessly discuss tactics.  Just a few days ago there was a massive protest of 300,000 people including Senators and Representatives… I bet you didn’t see much of that on TV either.

I say show it!  It’s about time this nation is awaken to its senses re:abortion and the lies of Planned Parenthood - “it’s just a blob of tissue”.  I have always been pro-life, but seeing something like this would re-energize me and others why we are fighting for these unborn children!  Maybe a disclaimer should accompany its showing for those parents wanting to protect their children from viewing.  However, when my 8 and 7 year old granddaughters asked me what abortion was, I told them the truth.  They just asked, “but why?”

Gen Eisenhower required that voluminous photos be taken in the liberated Nazi death camps so the world would know what happened. Emmett Till’s Mother demanded that her son’s coffin be open at his funeral so that the evil horror of what was done to him would be clear and not forgotten. For the same reason, these graphic pictures of the results of abortion need to be shown.

By Mark Gado
A Mother’s Grief
“Oh God! Oh God! My only boy!” Mrs. Mamie Bradley wailed as five men lifted a soiled paper wrapped bundle from a huge, brown wooden mid-Victorian box at the Illinois Central Station in Chicago Friday and put it into a waiting hearse.” This was the opening paragraph in the front-page story in the Chicago Defender on September 1, 1955. The body was interred at A.A. Ranier Funeral Parlor on the South Side for four long days. The coffin was intentionally left open, a decision made by Mamie Till who was determined that the world should see that was done to her son. It was a decision that had a profound effect, not only on the many thousands who viewed the mangled corpse, but on the civil rights movement in America as well.

Mamie cries at her son’s
funeral
“Approximately 250,000 persons viewed and passed by the bier of little Emmett Till,” wrote The Defender, “All were shocked, some horrified and appalled. Many prayed, scores fainted and practically all, men, women and children wept.” The grotesque appearance of the body, made worse by the waters of the Tallahatchie River, was difficult to look at and those who did would never forget the sight. “As thousands passed the bier at Roberts Temple church,” another newspaper wrote, “stern men gritted their teeth and turned tear-filled faces away from the ghastly sight, while women screamed as they viewed the torn and twisted features of the harmless boy.”

Mangled face of Emmett Till and open cof-
fin at Till’s funeral that Mrs. Till wanted the
world to see
In their September 15 issue, Jet magazine published an unedited photo of Till’s face as he lay in his coffin. It had a devastating impact upon black America. For the first time, the public saw the terrifying reality of racial killing. Soon, other publications followed Jet magazine’s lead and also published the shocking photograph of Till lying in his coffin. “The whole state of Mississippi is going to pay for this thing,” Mamie Till told reporters, “he was a good boy. I know he didn’t do anything to deserve that.” Roy Wilkins of the New York chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. announced that “the state of Mississippi has decided to maintain white supremacy by murdering children.”

It is true. Why not show it?

Priests for Life and Human Life International do offer a harsh view of abortion, but in our society, in our media saturated world, I think this is the only way. People want to turn their heads, but the reality of what abortion really is, is the only way to fight it. It’s not a cluster of cells—it IS a human baby. Until our society admits that reality, abortion will still exist as a reasonable alternative to those who are intellectually dishonest with themselves.

Posted by Barbara on Tuesday, Feb 9, 2010 6:09 PM (EST):

“Priests for Life and Human Life International do offer a harsh view of abortion”

What other view is to be taken Barbara? Abortion is cruel and painful. That’s the horrible reality of the situation. Priests for Life and a few others comprise a minority of prolife organizations who are courageous and honest enough to consistently portray the catastrophic reality of abortion. The callousness and cruelty implicit in our blithe and largely uncaring acceptance of abortion is diabolical, comprising the most heinous atrocity we’ve ever engaged in.

Everyone rightly condemns the Muslim extremists for their murderous behavior but there’s no Islamic society which slaughters their children like we do.

I worked for 8 yrs counselling women after their abortion, the grief they experienced from not being properly informed of what an abortion really is, the hasty decision they had to make in some circumstances overwhelmed them ,especially when they realised what they had done.God is a loving God and does forgive! but very often the woman can,t forgive herself and therefore life becomes unbearable sometimes to the point of suicide because the pain is so hard to live with.

we need to act and speak out to stop the carnage of our most innocent victims.
Peace wont be restored to our world till abortion is stopped!.

Andrew, please read my entire comment. I am in complete agreement with Priests for Life and Human Life International. Sadly, graphic is the only way, as reason doesn’t work.

I think Brother Robert Anthony’s comment re sonograms esp. the new technology (see, for example, the new GE ultrasound technology) is right. It’s not natural for Mothers to kill their children like they do in this sick society. Indeed if it weren’t for the diabolical social engineering efforts of the prevailing supreme court lawyers in effecting their demoniac social ‘vision’ in Roe vs. Wade most of this heartbreak would have never occurred. Most pregnant women kill their children out of real or perceived pressure and(or)lack of alternatives, and seeing their preborn children presented clearly in detailed sonograms goes a very long way toward convincing them to act in a good way, to act rationally and naturally in giving their children life, and subsequently doing their best to raise them or courageously give them away for adoption, and they need personal and social help to accomplish this, pretty obviously.

Moreover the men who impregnate them, out of whatever motivation, should be at least financially responsible for the upbringing of their children till age 18, and longer if they pursue a college education, even those lowlifes engaging in this kind of behavior who have demonstrated no responsibility in supporting themselves, let alone others. These guys should be made, one way or another, to learn how to take responsibility. Everybody likes sex but there has to be responsibility attached to it, anathema in this society where responsibility is assiduously avoided at all levels and at all costs by so many.

I agree with what Sarah Reinhard said; thanks!  I’m pro-life to my deepest core and my “litmus test” in the case of any pro-life activism is whether hearts and minds will be changed.  In this case, I worry deeply about the women who have been victims of abortion, those who have felt abandoned by every segment of society, so deeply desperate that they have felt that their only option is to have an abortion.  Their desperation lies on all of our consciences, not only for the lies perpetuated by the pro-abortion industry, but by our failures to really and truly support motherhood. Such graphic images do little to help heal their grief; instead, they likely fuel anger without creating solutions that would make abortion truly unthinkable.  A “prochoice” slogan is “it’s pro choice or no choice” and the ugly truth in that slogan is that too many of the women who “choose” abortion do so only because they feel they have no other choice.  Seeing the arm makes me nauseous, it probably makes those in ignorance angry, and it may even serve to inform a few about fetal development.  However, unless it drives us to create the societal change that is needed to eliminate the very possibility that women would consider such a desperate choice, it just perpetuates the agony without creating solutions.

I am thoroughly pro-life.  One question, though - where is the respect for the lost life of the child whose hand appears in that ad?  Posting photos of aborted children flies in the face of “Respect for Life”.

I wonder how many people tell thier kids not to look when passing an accident on the freeway? How many people gawk themselves (come on you see it all the time)? The answer is that everyone looks! Amazing a dead body laying in the road from a “collision” on the freeway gets a “Oh my G**”, a shake of the head, and a feeling of sympathy whereas a pic of the REALITY of an abortion envokes anger.

@Matt God post…no doubt, it invokes anger because it speaks the truth.  The photo of the murdered child cannot be taken out of context, it cannot be rationalized, it cannot be minimized.  The details of the pregnancy are irrelevant because a child that was alive is now dead.  It forces the liberals to see it for what it is and they do not like that at all.  Their entire political agenda is based on lies and deceptions.  They are liars and they are what’s wrong with this country and the world.  The eat away at everything like a cancer.  The traditional family, life, the workplace, the military, the schools, media, even the Church.  Many of our own priests have taken the easy, less controversial road and that’s beyond disheartening.  I’ve grown to have nothing but utter contempt bordering on hatred for liberals.  I was the father of abortion and it has broken me.  My heart and soul ache for justice and there is none.  white18

We need to get with it.  This is what abortion is all about..burning and chopping…I think all pictures of abortion should be posted so Americans will wake up and accept that abortion truly is murder. There is no nice way to portray it.

Call a spade a spade and stop messing around.

Please run this add just like it is.

I don’t know where to begin with this whole thing, so I guess I will start with the hand. Is this ad TOO graphic I don’t think so at all, HOWEVER I do not agree at all with them using the actual hand of an aborted child, that is simply exploiting the deceased baby to further the pro-life argument. With today’s technology I find it hard to believe, contrary to what is written in the article, that something just as realistic and poignant could Not have been used to make the point whether through physical recreation or CGI. But what I truly hate is that with this entire issue of pro-life/pro-choice debate is most everyone involved gets so caught up in trying to prove that their side is right and the other side is wrong. Most who are pro-choice, once the topic is broached and debate begins, become too enamored with the idea of proving to the pro-lifers they are arguing with that this is America and women have the right and freedom to Choose whether or not to have an abortion. Then the pro-lifers will retort that the aborted fetus had just as much right and freedom to choose life over death except that if aborted its never given the chance, as well as the ethical issues of if its alive then its murder.(An issue for a whole other debate) But neither side takes into account the road that lead said women to the situation that made them consider or actually go through with the abortion. It is almost always simplified down to you made your bed now lie in it. “Well if she hadn’t opened her legs she wouldn’t be in this mess.” That is a cop out. Whether premarital sex is right or wrong is again a whole other topic of debate. But my point is this, no one thinks about the experiences those women endured that made them think or act the way they did. No one thinks about the environment the she or they were in that influenced them. Some of us cannot, no matter how hard we try, fathom the things they endured that helped shape them. Everyone needs to take some individual responsibility. But everyone is also influenced by their parents, their friends, what society tells them is right, and two psychological principals called classical and operant conditioning, among many other influences. Its not always as simple as two people who weren’t careful enough when having sex. Conditioning happens, THAT is not debatable. Things happen to us or around us throughout our lives that influence the way we think and act, and our responses to those stimuli are not always under our control. You touch something hot your hand jumps back before your conscious mind can do anything. And sometimes when things happen your reaction is the formation of a certain belief which varies dependent on your already existent mindset, and those beliefs can be formed irreversibly so quickly you have no choice in the matter. Is it okay to blame bad decisions and bad ideals on a bad childhood or some other traumatic event? No. But its also not okay to think that those experiences didn’t permanently affect the victim and influence their thoughts and ideas, sometimes WITHOUT their choice. And even if it is as simple as careless sex is it really more humane to force them to give birth to the child when they know that they aren’t ready? And I don’t just mean financially, although if we could get a couple more CEO’s to not go on vacation, or not accept absurd bonuses for crashing our economy, or sell their half million dollar cars, or give up any other number of things in their lifestyle that the rest of us had to give up in order for them to maintain Their lifestyle and actually gave a damn about the people and world around them maybe there would be more money for the people in these positions so that the root of all evil wouldn’t even weigh in to their decision. But also you need to consider the idea that some people just aren’t ready to be or aren’t meant to be parents. I can already hear cries of adoption advocates, which is great for the kid who finds a family that loves them and takes them in as one of their own. But for every kid that finds that how many don’t, ever? I have heard some define evil as the complete absence of love, is it right to force a women to bring a child into this world knowing full well beforehand that there is a good chance it could be subject to that complete lack of love and grow up to be a serial killer? I know its not our place to play God and choose who lives and who dies but obviously there are people out there who don’t and for SOME of them it might not be ENTIRELY their fault.

@ J Rackow   You’re obviously a very kind person and you look at other factors that led to the end.  Personally, I believe that in scenarios such as abortion, the circumstances of the pregnancy are completely irrelevant.  Would you grant the same compassion and consideration to the sex offender?  Would you say, “well, he had a difficult upbringing and was abused himself, so he should not be held accountable”?  Of course not.  Roe v. Wade was an incredibly bad decision that has permanently split this nation.  We as a society MUST be visceral in our attack of abortion due to the degree of wrongness it represents.  We MUST continue to speak out and call the abortionists and mothers who “chose” to murder their children murderers.  That’s the bottom line, that’s the truth.  In my opinion, if our boisterous and continuous rails against abortion and hard-hearted calls for personal accountability stops one mother from murdering her child, then we accomplished something great.  A child born into even a bad situation, even a home without love, is better than murdering them and never giving them a chance.

I never once said that they should not be held accountable, actually I said that I believe people need to take individual responsibility which means be held accountable for their actions and decisions, but I did say that most of the time others don’t think about the whole story that lead up to the bad decision. And in your example of the sex offender that was abused as child then became one himself, I do have compassion perhaps not quite the same but compassion nonetheless because if our society hadn’t failed him by helping to create the offender that abused him then perhaps he wouldn’t have become one himself. But on the other hand once You make the decision to commit one of these acts you and you alone should he held responsible/accountable for the results and deal with the consequences. I guess the bottom line of my argument is that a large part of the problem here IS our society, because even though they can’t actually force any of these lost souls to make these bad decisions it surely helps to shape them into the type of person that would consider making them. And until our society works to become one that helps to build one another up in a way of cooperation instead of one this pits us against each other in pathetic selfish competition problems like these and many others will never go away.

It’s too sarcastic.  That doesn’t play well here at all.  If it had been more serious and direct, it could have easily gotten away with being way more graphic….think of images in a holocaust museum… 

This image is not all that gory, considering what really happens in some abortions, but it distracts from the deepest spiritual truths by being superficial with this snarky thing.  Thumbs down.