I’m going to join the bandwagon of Hoydon About Town, FWD/Forward and Pharyngula and discuss the awful statements made by US Republican State Delegate Bob Marshall of Manassas.
As PZ suggested, I wrote directly to Bob Marshall and told him off in no uncertain terms (well as much as I tell anyone off), and thought at the time that perhaps I should blog about what I was saying, and then got distracted writing my other blog post.
Here are the comments that everyone is rightly objecting to:
“The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children,” said Marshall, a Republican.
“In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.”
After asking if he had any evidence to back up his first statement (which I’m 100% sure he doesn’t), I made the following points to Bob Marshall:
How could the god of love, forgiveness and compassion (the one I was taught about at school), punish children for their mother’s sins. How could this Judeo-Christian god be so full of vengeance and hate towards his people?
What happens to those mothers who foetus/babies die of natural causes, either still birth or miscarried? Are those mothers also punished by god or nature because their first born child was not “dedicated to the Lord”?
What about those who don’t believe in a Judeo-Christian god? How are these arguments even remotely relevant to them?
Why can’t he and the rest of his posse, trust that women are capable of acting morally and capable of making their own decisions? Does he honestly think that organisations like Planned Parenthood solicit abortions? In addition to that, what business is of his whether someone does or does not get an abortion. I remember from my bible days, that Jesus told everyone to stop judging others, and that’s what Bob is doing here… calling judgement on women who have abortions.
I also asked him what would he believe would happen in my case given I had to have an abortion or die when I had an ectopic pregnancy. I found out I was pregnant the same time I was in the process of beginning to die. I chose to live because I had that choice. Is Bob and his posse trying to take that option away from women?
In the end I told Bob he needed to chill and relax, the world will look after itself and he’s not doing himself (or anyone else) any favours by stressing over such things.
Of course he will never see my message to him as many other Pharyngula readers would have also contacted him expressing their displeasure at his inflammatory and terrible thoughts.