#580 - Peace & Life: War Kills Kids / Abortion Law Impact - September 24, 2021
War Kills Children
U.S. military leaders, after first claiming an August 29 drone strike in Afghanistan killed ISIS fighters, have now admitted the strike instead killed civilians, including children. Both The New York Times and The Washington Post investigated, providing ample evidence the drone struck a worker for an American aid agency who was distributing food. Thank heaven the media were doing their jobs well in this instance.
While military spokespeople are rightly expressing horror at this "tragic mistake," sadly, the only rarity is that it was reported by major newspapers. For example, U.S. Air Force Veteran Daniel Hale, now serving a prison sentence for reporting similar incidents to the press, wrote a letter to his sentencing judge describing the killing and injuring of Afghan civilians – also including families with children – which he observed while taking part in the U.S. military presence. Neta Crawford, co-director of Brown University's Cost of War Project, estimates about 5,900 Afghan civilians were killed in airstrikes by the U.S. and its allies over the past 20 years.
This isn’t a problem that could be solved if only the military were more competent. It’s in the nature of war.
Protective Laws
The U.S. Supreme Court will be hearing the Mississippi Dobbs case on December 1 this year, where the fate of Roe v. Wade is at issue.
Meanwhile, news reports on the situation in Texas, where all abortion clinics are currently not doing abortions above 6 weeks, haven’t yet at this writing found any injuries from illegal abortions.
Here’s something to keep in mind when they report on the impact with an abortion-should-be-readily-available bias. There’s a continuum of feelings women have when considering having an abortion:
Those who are being pressured or are unsure obviously benefit from having the availability removed. Those who only need a small obstacle or information on alternatives will mostly make their way to birth just fine. Sidewalk counselors find a steady stream of such women in the most unlikely of places – namely, walking into the facility with an abortion appointment. When the media report an upsurge of women trying to get appointments in neighboring states, they don’t take into account that those are only the women on one extreme of the continuum.
Our Latest Blog Post
Andrew Cuomo promoted and signed truly extreme pro-abortion legislation. He recently resigned over sexual abuse allegations when confirmed by investigation. This put Ms. Boomer-ang in mind of several other historical instances where men who were accounted as pro-women’s-rights got caught in sexual abuse scandals. She proposes this isn’t a coincidence, but explains how it’s to be expected, in “Shut Up and Enjoy it!”: Abortion Promoters who Sexually Pressure Women
Quotation of the Week
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020; Chief Rabbi in the UK, 1991-2013)
Civilizations can end not with a bang but with a whimper. They can die so slowly that very few notice they are dying . . . there is a loss of belief in human dignity and the sanctity of life. This is not immediately obvious, because the new order announces itself as an enhancement of human dignity. It values autonomy, choice and individual rights. . . .
But eventually people discover that in the new social order they are more vulnerable and alone . . . Ultimately, life itself becomes disposable, in the form of abortion and euthanasia. That is often the first warning signal.
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