In a previous diary, I questioned whether increasing use of misogynistic language was becoming a problem in our society. Twenty-six of you voted and the result was that more than 80% thought yes. I think it is a fair judgment that our words reflect our general perceptions and sometimes even help influence them. One interesting post remarked that the use of the f word and s word had to some extent lost their original meaning and so became more acceptable in standard speech. The post nevertheless then concluded with a kind of tribute to these words as the ultimate expletive. I am grateful for the time people took to read and respond to my post. I fear this will be my last. As much as Cinnamon wants to define the Kos community as a one that invites all points of view, I don’t think that is an accurate perception.
You see I am a Catholic, and while the Catholic Church has some significant values in common with the Democratic Party, particularly justice in society. in the workplace and assisting the downtrodden, the homeless and the refugee, there are significant diversions now between the two. I am principally talking about the issue of abortion. It is the case that Catholics believe that a unique individual human being comes into existence at conception. Thus for Catholics the direct termination of the life of that human is a gravely immoral act. It is safe to say that murder as a legal term probably is not the right description from the Catholic perspective. Infanticide is a better fit. In any event, and putting aside the question of personhood at conception, what is always glossed over by abortion rights advocates are the actual facts about development in the womb. For example, what is hardly discussed is that at the moment of conception, gender is determined for the individual. Thus, the zygote is either a male or female human zygote. Twinning is also determined as well as the gender of each identical twin. Furthermore, genitalia begin to appear externally in the six-week old embryo in what is called a “genital tuber.” This is a small bud in the lower region of the embryonic body. By week 9, the urethral folds and groove have formed. It is very hard to tell the difference between boy and girl because the external genital structures are virtually identical, but the fetal body is already male or female. At week 11, the male fetus genitalia begins to develop the glans penis, the scrotum and the Raphe line. For the female, because there are less prominent external structures, these don’t become evident until week 13, meaning the clitoris and the labia both major and minor. These external structures are together colloquially called the vagina, but the technical meaning of the word is the internal muscular canal, which has already developed at this stage. Ovaries are also identifiable at this time. By week 20, the female genitalia are complete. These are the facts. They aren’t Democratic or Republican, atheist or Catholic opinions.
Thus the criticism of Michigan lawmakers for prohibiting one legislator from making an additional speech on a proposed abortion bill and once again declaring the safety of her vagina is tragically misplaced. That bill would prohibit all abortions after week 20 except to save the life of the mother. After week 20, the unborn female human organism has a complete vagina both inside and out. Abortions performed after 20 weeks would in fact destroy the complete vagina of the unborn female human organism (along with all the other organs) typically through one of two means: saline injection, which burns the skin of the unborn female human organism, and dilation and evacuation, which dismembers the unborn female human organism by way of forceps introduced into the womb after chemically forced dilation of the cervix. There are other means which are not as common and include caesarean abortion where the uterine wall is cut and the umbilical cord is severed thereby suffocating the fetus.
Thus, I ask you, which is the real war on women? The one that results in the physical destruction of vaginas or the one that attempts to limit the practice which results in the destruction of vaginas?