It would be wonderful if people only had children when they were financially and emotionally ready. It would be wonderful if teenager’s thoughts and feelings on sex were not so heavily impacted by television, music, and the print media (advertisements)? It would be wonderful if there were no sexual predators, no pimps, no rapists, and no male family members who take advantage of female children and teens? And it would be wonderful if everyone were married or in a long term relationship before they had children.

Unfortunately the world does not work that way. People make poor choices, no matter what their age and they are often driven by emotion rather than logic. Sometimes birth control of any kind, including the rhythm method, fails to work. But try telling that to social and religious conservatives and the right wing evangelical groups that. For instance, Senator John McCain’s VP choice, Sarah Palin does not believe abortion rights should even be extended to those females who are victims of rape or incest, both crimes of violence.

A friend of mine has a 15 year old daughter who was raped by a close family friend. Although this teen was fortunate, thank God, and did not end up pregnant. However, a year later she has nightmares and still wakes up in a cold sweat. And she looks at every male out on the street with suspicion, wondering if they too would rape a woman. My friend’s daughter also will not go out on a date unless my friend drops her off at a public place like the movie theatre and picks her back up there.

If my friend’s daughter was this traumatized without getting pregnant, imagine how horrible, how emotionally and psychologically debilitating it would be for an adolescent, teen, or even an adult woman to be forced to carry and bear a child resulting from this act of violence. And children born of incest can have mental retardation, severe developmental disabilities, etc. (This is why social workers, etc. spent many, many years traveling to hard to reach and isolated regions of the United States in an attempt to stop incest and inbreeding that led to mental retardation).

There is more to be considered here than religious beliefs. There is also the psycho-emotional health and wellbeing of any victim of violence. And because of the rigid adoption rules in the United States, adoption is not always an option.

The determination and unwillingness to look behind the sterile vision of religious doctrine is why morality and faith should be kept out of politics. A vote for Sarah Palin and John McCain is a vote for legislating morals. Is this what you want? Think about it.

“And finally, biblically speaking, I believe God is a God of compassion and understanding. God should be the judge of our personal decisions of faith, including abortion, not mortal men and women.