OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA ON BEHALF OF THE UNBORN

On Friday January 23, 2009 President Barack Obama decided that federal money would once again be used to fund family planning clinics overseas that promote abortion while also informing people of the option of abortion. This is both disappointing and disturbing due to the fact that first, the President believes that American tax dollars need to be a source of revenue for foreign abortions and second, he himself even though being a man that believes in Choice does not have a concrete view regarding the rights of these future victims whose lives are at stake that he as chief executive of the United States refuses to protect.

When Rick Warren asked Barack Obama, “At what point does a baby get human rights in your view?” President Obama answered with great difficulty: “Well, I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.”

This of course came years after the Supreme Court stated in Roe v Wade that they, “ need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins .”

Yet this professionally trained lawyer, who argues on the basis of empirical evidence as well as Supreme Court justices who make decisions based of the same actually have the arrogance to consent to the legalization and practice of such a horrid act where a defenseless baby, who has yet to be defined as one who should receive the same rights as those that are protected under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, can be terminated. Isn't this the same society that was outraged at the fact that our military went into Iraq to punish that nation for building weapons of mass destruction that had yet to be discovered? In other words, why terminate the lives of the unborn if we as a society, regardless of political or religious affiliation, have yet to decide when life begins?

Obama stated that he believes in Roe v Wade and trusts women to make this difficult decision in consultation with their loved ones, doctors and pastors. But does he really trust them to make fully informed decisions?

Take for example his reversal of the ban on federal funds for international groups that perform abortions or provide information on such an option. Does that funding also require doctors to show the women a sonogram of their unborn fetus , inform the women of potential physical risks from the procedure, inform the women of the psychological and emotional toll that they could face and/or inform them of the option of adoption? And of course, does any of this money provide monetary assistance for women that choose to deliver their child? Further, if he were to require such services would he also require that this industry have the same oversight as those that he also wants to provide government assistance to?

In other words, while Obama stands for a woman's choice to terminate her pregnancy does he also believe that they should, under the law, make this choice with all available data concerning their abortion? If not, this seems to betray the very discipline that he practiced prior to his political ascent.

  Interestingly enough, and with all due respect, Obama's very existence refers us to arguments used by those that believe in Choice and the way it benefits society. Many praise the idea that abortion assists women who may have to raise a child without a father as well as the supposed benefits it offers to the minority community since they are the most affected by poverty and crime. Wouldn't that imply that if Obama's own mother would've known that his father would leave his family behind and that she would have to leave her son with his grandparents when she went off to work as an anthropological field worker that she too could've had an easier life if she had only aborted him? Remember, Choice advocates state that such a decision empowers women ! Of course those in the Pro-Life movement would never consent to such an idea while many Choice advocates have stated proudly that they wished George W. Bush's mother had the option of choice when she was expecting him.

  Sadly, with so many Americans and citizens of the world for that matter who believe that Barack Obama is some type of savior one can only wonder how many other saviors were never known and given a chance to offer the world their gifts because their mothers decided that their births would indeed be a hindrance on their lives.

  Aside from Obama's own life being spared from such an empowering choice let us also look at another comment that Obama made regarding the next generation of his family, “I've got two daughters, 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.”

  Again, if Barack Obama's mother would've known that his father was not willing to help her raise him would she too have seen his own birth as her own punishment? Or more than that, Obama has stated how much he loved his grandparents for raising him and rightfully so for they were wonderful people just from what we know about them from his own words. Certainly one would assume that He and First Lady Michelle Obama would be more than willing to pass on that same type of love to one of Obama's daughters' punishments in the same way that Obama's grandparents loved him. Certainly they have more than enough income, especially now that he is the President of the United States, to provide for these punishments than Obama's grandparents ever had for him and yet, Obama's grandparents found a way to provide the nurturing and education that put him where he is today and I'm sure they did so with all of the love in their hearts.

  But for some reason he and other Choice advocates do not believe that other women and families are capable doing the same.

  That is why we need to look at children for what they really are, and even Obama made reference of this when speaking of his daughters, miracles! Obama's daughters are miracles first because they changed him for the better and that of course was stated in the beautiful open letter that he wrote to his daughters prior to his Inauguration. But more than the impact they had on their father, they are also miracles because they too will one day feel the joy of having their own children when regardless of their marital situation will realize that they are capable of more than they ever imagined. And, they are also the only miracles that will bless their own parents with the gift of grandchildren that Barack and Michelle Obama will certainly love as much as Obama's amazing grandparents loved him and his sister.

  We must look at abortion for what it is. It's not about privacy it's about political selfishness and convenience. If it were about privacy Choice advocates while appreciating their disclosure to choose would also respect the privacy of those that do not agree with abortion and not lobby governments to use other people's money to pay for their choices

The fact is no one is ready to have children. There is never enough money, a couple is never married long enough and no one is ever ready to deal with the challenges that come from becoming a parent.

  No one is ready for that first shot. No one is ready for that first fall. No one is ready for that first day of school. No one is ready for that first teenage heartbreak. No one is ready to watch their child grow up and perhaps get married and move away.

  And of course, no one is ever ready to be President of the United States .

In each case we're also talking about one child! All children are different!

  So as we can see, conception and delivery are just the beginning. Even though Barack Obama is the President of the United States and has acknowledged that there is much work to do he certainly isn't the only one. While many of us may not be President of the United States many of us will lead our children to hopefully become the best people that they are capable of being and perhaps touch lives the same way Barack Obama already has.

  Of course, that's if we give them that chance from the very beginning.

CARLOS SOLORZANO has a BA & MA in Religious Studies from Cal State Long Beach. He lives in Southern Arizona and teaches theology at Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson , AZ

Contact Carlos at: desert_drumming@yahoo.com