Hi everyone.
Below is a letter that I wrote in response to the news story in Bangor Daily News by Julia Hathaway. In the story Mrs. Hathaway talks about her D&E and calls it an abortion. She commits the fallacy of false analogy by then saying that the story that is then cited is similar to her own. It was not. In Mrs. Hathaway's situation her baby had already died. In the story that is then cited the baby had not died and the mother murdered it. These are 2 totally different situations and deserve 2 totally different responses. A D&E is not murder, it takes place after a baby has already died. An abortion is when the mother murders her child in her womb. I should not be hopeful that my response will be published in the paper but I hope that it will at least be read and the points will be considered.
I am writing today in response to the article on BDN here https://bangordailynews.com/.../i-made-the-difficult.../...
My name is Virginia Cowperthwaite and I am 13 years old. I recently read your article by Julia Hathaway and have spotted a few logical fallacies and a misrepresentation of the pro-life position. I am a Christian, an active abolitionist of abortion and advocate for the pre-born who are slaughtered by the thousands in our country everyday. I wish to make known my concerns with the article and that is the reason for my writing to you today.
The first thing that I would like to point out is that Mrs. Hathaway did not have what is commonly known as an abortion. She had a procedure known as a "D&E" (Dilation and Evacuation) and while the basic procedure is the same, this is completely different than what we stand against. An abortion is when a mother makes a plan to end the life of her child in her womb either surgically or medically. She then executes her plan and purposely pays someone to slaughter her child. A D&E such as Mrs. Hathaway had is performed after a baby has died in the womb of natural causes and the the pro-life movement is not against this surgery.It is true that the D&E that Mrs. Hathaway had may have saved her fertility and her life, but her story has nothing to do with abortion.
I have lost 2 siblings to miscarriage and I know the pain that is felt when you find out that you have lost that precious baby. As Christians and abortion abolitionists we mourn with those who have lost babies in this way and while my mother has not had to have a D&E performed, we understand that it is used to remove a baby's body from the uterus after it has died and we are in no way protesting this procedure. What we are protesting is the planned murder of children in the womb, known commonly as abortion.
I also want to note that every baby/fetus is a unique human being at the moment of conception. Fetus is a Latin word that means offspring. You could just as easily call it a baby instead of speaking Latin when it is not needed. It is a human baby/fetus created in the image of God as soon as conception takes place. This is why we are abortion abolitionists, because abortion purposely kills a baby that is created in God's image.
Aborted fetuses/babies have been murdered, killed in execution of a purposeful plan intended to end the life of a living person. However, babies that have passed away naturally are not aborted, they have died of natural causes. Abortion abolitionists do make abortion a black and white issue because it is. God has said that you shall not murder, and that is very clear.. Abortion is murder! Mrs. Hathaway is correct in one aspect of her representation of a pro-life position in saying that all unborn babies have a right to life and that pregnancy is a gift from God that must not be terminated. However, there is no stigma on our part against women who have miscarriages, rather we mourn with them, weep with them, and provide comfort and care as Jesus Christ commanded us to do. It is the sovereign will of God that decides whether or not that baby will die or live.
The next story in the article is different from Mrs. Hathaway's story. The baby had not yet died, and so abortion was used to purposefully end the life of a living human being with no regard to their God given (and Constitutionally protected) right to life. It is not okay to kill a baby that you believe to be dying. You do what you can to save the baby and leave it to the sovereign will of God. You do not murder it just because you think it may die.
The story about Stephanie commits the fallacy of bifurcation, or a false dilemma. She says that she chose abortion over suicide twice. The option that is not mentioned is that she could save the life of her baby and her own life. In performing the abortion she committed murder and if she had committed suicide it also would have been murder. She was taking away the life of a baby created in the image of God rather than nurturing and protecting that life.
If Elaine from the next story did not know how to take care of herself let alone a baby she should not have had sex with a man that resulted in the creation of the baby. Even if she was not consenting to sex, killing a child is not a moral answer to unplanned pregnancy.
In the next story the mother should not have had sex with a man if she could not care for the baby. Also, after she did conceive, it was a baby that she then murdered because she did not know how to explain to her other child that she had to put the baby up for adoption. I would like to point out that people from our group of abolitionists and others around the country would happily support a mother who needs help from housing to clothing for the baby and many other things. Even if abolitionists were not willing to support this mother it is not their obligation to take care of the baby. The mother is the one who had sex and it is the mother who should take care of the baby.
These stories are not like Mrs. Hathaway's, whereas her baby had already died. The babies in the other stories were alive, and they were murdered by their mothers. Building a case as if the issues are same is the fallacy of false analogy, and ends in the fallacy of irrelevant thesis.
I am not saying that people should not have access to D&E procedures. What I am saying is that abortion is murder and must be recognized as such. It must be abolished immediately! I hope that my message is clear. And I thank you for your time in considering my concerns. I also would like to say; the most important thing that any of us could ever understand is that Jesus Christ is KING and LORD! He came to the earth to die on a cross for the sins of everyone who will turn to Him in repentance and faith. He then rose again and will one day come again to take his children home with Him to heaven. He is the only who can save us from our lives of sin. We must turn to Him in repentance and faith. To Him alone be all glory, honor and praise, forever amen! This indeed is the greatest message of all and until people recognize this truth we will still be a nation that is need of of repentance!
~Virginia Cowperthwaite.
Prayer
Please be praying for brother Mike Stockwell as he goes back to court in England on the 23 concerning the charges against him from last year. Pray that he would not punished for speaking the truth. Pray that God would give him the words to say and that he would be able to proclaim Christ to everyone he encounters. Pray that God would grant repentance and faith to the judge and that he would rule justly.
With love in the Lord,
Virginia
P.S. Does anyone know anything about the group "Created Equal"? We are considering getting some graphic signs and we see that they have some, but we would like to know a little more about them before we get signs that have their name on them. If anyone has any insight on this issue I would love to hear it. Please either write in the comments or send me an email at Maine4Jesus@gmail.com. Thank you for your help.
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