We failed women today...

Unless you've been living under a rock....we've all heard about the videos coming out against Planned Parenthood the last few weeks.  Many have watched them in their entirety....many have started to watch and then got repulsed....and many have simply chosen not to watch at all.  I watched half of the first one and to be honest...I just couldn't stomach to watch anymore.  If you know me at all, you know without a doubt where I stand.  I'm very much pro-life and am not afraid to let that be known.  And with anyone that is 100% pro-life, it is pretty safe to assume that watching the videos is only going to make your heart hurt that much more that this is something that happens every day in our country.  But maybe...just maybe...if you are pro-choice you watched and actually got to see and hear how doctors who perform these 'procedures' act and talk about it.  Maybe you watched the last video that came out and physically saw how horrific it can be.  And maybe...just maybe... it's got you thinking a little harder about why you feel the way you feel.  But honestly all of that aside I think we all need to face these facts about the most recent debate about the "Women's Health" giant that is Planned Parenthood.....

You see last week Senator Rand Paul decided to start trying to take action and get Planned Parenthood defunded.  Because, again unless you live under a rock, we all know that the U.S. government gives Planned Parenthood 500 million tax dollars a year.  That's quite the number.  The government tells us that this money goes towards bettering 'women's health'.  That none of that money goes at all towards abortions.  But the Senator felt, like many others did, completely outraged that such an organization would be committing such acts.  And not only are they 'accused' of illegal acts, the government is continuing to give to this organization that is in question..

Now let us stop for a moment. Some of you may be thinking.... "But they aren't breaking the law.  They are harvesting those parts for research.  They explained to us why they have to 'take' money for these.  They take it because they need to compensate themselves for the cost involved in collecting those parts"  Ok let's just think about that for a moment.  Did we have a federal investigation that proved that they weren't doing anything illegal? No we did not.  You are choosing to just take their word for it.  Let's think of that with some logic and reason.  If I'm committing a crime...do you REALLY HONESTLY think that I would just say right away that I'm committing such a crime? No of course not! At first I'm certainly going to try my hardest to get you to believe that I am actually not breaking the law.  That I had a good explanation for doing what I did.  Now again let's think logically here....if I was caught on camera breaking the law and then chose to try and talk my way out of it....do you think the government would just believe me and say "Of course you weren't breaking the law! That makes total sense.  You can carry on".  Umm no.  Sorry.  They would send me to jail and I would have to wait for trial to prove that I am innocent.  They would not just give me a hall pass and let me carry on.  So why on earth are you just choosing to let them tell you what you want to hear?

Now let us get back to the topic of the bill that Senator Paul was proposing to defund Planned Parenthood.  This bill was not about whether you were Pro-life or Pro-Choice.  This bill was not about if you were a Democrat or a Republican.  This bill was simply about the fact that an organization was accused of doing things quite illegally.

I want you to forget that I'm pro-life for a few minutes....I want you to forget that you are either pro-life or pro-choice.   I want you to forget whether you are Democrat or Republican.  Forget all of it....because with this issue it shouldn't matter.  That's not at all what defunding Planned Parenthood should have been about.  The issue with us continuing to fund it was this:

The subject of abortion is such an emotionally charged one.  Get into a debate on the subject and both sides become heated VERY quickly.  I think we can ALL AGREE that a woman does not go into the decision to have an abortion lightly.  She doesn't just say "Hey I'll have an abortion this afternoon and then go get my hair done after."  This just doesn't happen because bottom line is: It is VERY VERY EMOTIONAL.  Any women that has ever been pregnant knows what it feels like the first time they see a positive sign on that little stick.  While every woman's situation is different all women go through at least a moment of being scared.  Whether it was a planned pregnancy or not, having a baby is scary.  You are in charge of another human being forever. So for a moment, let's all take ourselves out of whatever side we are on and try putting ourselves in the shoes of the mother who decides to have an abortion.  I'm sure there are moments she goes back and forth.  I'm sure there are moments where she doesn't even question it.  I'm sure there are moments even when she tries to imagine herself with that baby.  Her emotions are all over the place anyway because she is pregnant.  As she sits in that office waiting for the Dr. to come in, I'm sure she still questions whether or not she should be doing this.  After all once she does it, there is no going back.  And since it is such a highly emotional decision she has to put so much trust in that doctor that is doing it.  She is entrusting them with destroying a piece of her.  Whether that baby was conceived because of a horrible horrible tragedy....or if that baby was conceived out of a night of passion, that baby's DNA is without a doubt made up of half of her.

Did you know women who have an abortion are 65% MORE LIKELY to suffer from clinical depression than those who go through childbirth?  How about the rest of these statistics:

• 90% suffer damage in their self-esteem 

• 50% begin or increase alcohol and drugs 

• 60% report suicidal ideation 

• 28% actually attempt suicide 

• 20% suffer full blown post traumatic stress disorder 

• 50% report some symptoms of PTSD 

• 52% felt pressured by others to have the abortion.

Knowing all of these statistics I also now want you to put yourselves into the shoes of a post-abortion woman.  Can you imagine her feelings as she sees these videos surface? Can you imagine what she thought as she saw a doctor she trusted with her body...with her deep dark secret....talking about the procedure as if it was no big deal? Can you imagine her horror as she sees a baby in a dish as they pick it for parts? And then listen to them talk about how much they can get for each part? You see to Planned Parenthood, it's not called a baby.  It's called a fetus.  Just a clump of cells.  It's not a real baby yet, that's why they can abort it.  That's why they can 'end the pregnancy'.  And yet here are people...REAL PEOPLE on these tapes talking about the gender of the baby...."It's a BOY!".....stating flat out that it is in fact a baby.  Every single person on each one of these tapes that surfaced are real live people that a woman somewhere trusted.  She trusted them with all of her thoughts.  With all of her feelings....with her body.  She trusted them when they told her it was a clump of cells.  That is wasn't a baby and that it was ok that she wanted to end it.  Re look at those statistics above  The chances that that same woman is now suffering emotionally are pretty good.  Now on top of the emotional distress she is already feeling about the choice she made, she has to deal with the feeling of being betrayed by those doctors and workers that she trusted.  Can you even imagine? 'Cause I certainly can't.  My heart aches for all the women out there who are having to deal with this.  With this feeling that the doctor they trusted is so insensitive about such an emotional decision.   That that doctor just sits there eating her salad like it wasn't a big deal.  And maybe it wasn't a big deal to her.  It was just another day in the office...but to that mother...to THAT MOTHER it WAS and ALWAYS WILL BE a big deal.  Her life changed that day.  Regardless that fact will always remain...her life was forever changed that day.  Whether she regrets it or not, it changed. Period. 

So don't you see?? Defunding Planned Parenthood was not about whether you are Pro-life or Pro-choice.  It wasn't about if you are a Republican or a Democrat.  It was about all those women out there whose lives changed that day they entrusted these professionals with their lives.  With their secrets.....with their bodies.  It was about the fact that no doctor....no doctor should EVER be caught talking about patients in such an insensitive way.  Those procedures weren't just procedures to most of the women out there.  I can guarantee you that.  I can never know for sure because I have never had an abortion.  But I challenge you to find a women who did have an abortion that says it was just an ordinary day to her.  

America...today....we failed.  We failed to stand up for women everywhere.  We failed to make this company correct it's path....to better it's path.  We failed to make this organization be accountable to their patients.  I would never go back to any doctor or hospital ever again if I ever heard them talk about such an emotional procedure in such a callus way.  Can you imagine the outrage if we caught a doctor talking so insensitively about having to do a breast mastectomy for a woman who has cancer? If we caught a doctor acting like it was just another day in the office and like it was no big deal at all? No because everyone who is ANYONE knows that when a woman has to go through that it is so incredibly emotional.  So why America?? Why are we acting like it is ok that these professionals are acting like this? Put aside the fact of the claims that they are acting illegally.  Why on God's green earth are we choosing to a not make sure these people are held accountable? Why are we choosing to let their President tell us that it's ok and that everyone that thinks otherwise is an extremist? America....we failed women today.....I hope someday we can get it right..... I'm not anti-women.  I'm pro-women.  And by pro-women I mean I care about every single women's well-being.  And Planned Parenthood has chosen to turn their back on every single woman that has ever walked into their doors.  Their feelings are real.  Their emotions are true.  And they deserve to be talked about like those things matter....

Yes America...today we as a nation failed.....