Wash Wednesday: Soapbox About Komen and Planned Parenthood

When news broke yesterday, you knew you'd hear from us, or at least me, on this subject.

Way to go Komen. I'm proud of you. In case you haven't heard, The Susan G Komen Foundation pulled its funding from Planned Parenthood. My thoughts? It's about time.

Last I checked, the Komen foundation was about saving women's lives, not killing them. And yes, I do know that Planned Parenthood does more than abortions. They handle contraceptives, they give breast screenings...but they also kill babies. How many women of my generation alone were not allowed the gift of life due to Planned Parenthood? I guess we'll never know.

Planned Parenthood claims Komen "succumbed to political pressure". Maybe they did. Or maybe they just saw they needed to do what was right.

What really irritates me is my liberal friends, who just a few months ago were decked out in pink and worked on raising money for the Komen walk, are now acting like the Komen foundation is the worst in the world. I've even seen this article floating around on friends lists on facebook. It talks about how the Komen foundation is going after other charities who use "for the cure" in their name. Except this particular article? Yeah, it's almost a year old...you know, back when you were raising money for this foundation.

Here it is in its most simple form. Want your funding back? Stop Killing Babies. It's not hard. Continue to give women the healthcare you provide. Give them contraceptives. Give them breast exams. Stop killing babies.

Komen Foundation is looking for the cure. But the best cure is prevention, right? Did you know that having an abortion increases your risk of breast cancer?

1) Women under the age of 18 or over the age of 29 who obtained induced abortions have more than a twofold increase in risk.

2) Women with a family history of breast cancer who procured an abortion were found to have statistically significant risk increases of 80 percent.

3) Teenagers with a family history of the disease who procured abortions before the age of 18 were found to have incalculably high risk. [Daling et al. (1994) J Natl Cancer Inst 86:505-14.] Source

So if the Susan G Komen Foundation wants to stop funding a group who performs abortions, it's their right.

Liberals, don't act like Komen is all bad now. Don't act like the ONLY thing Planned Parenthood does is breast exams. Your just mad that Planned Parenthood is going to have to do fewer abortions and/or find a way to work with the money they've got. It is, after all, the Komen foundations money, is it not? And as you yourself stated, when they were funding Planned Parenthood, "they can do what they want and fund who they want with their money". So why has that changed? It hasn't. You just don't get your way now.

Congrats to Komen, not for bowing to political pressure, but for doing the right thing.

Edit: I've been informed that abortions do not link to breast cancer. Okay, fine. However, there IS proof that breastfeeding decreases the risk of breast cancer. And it's kind of hard to breastfeed an aborted baby, no?

Toy Thursday: Don't "Toy" With Your Children

Usually "Toy Thursday" is a fun post about toys, how we have too many toys, bath toys etc. But today is going to be different.

I read a post, long story short, a Florida couple are suing an obstetrician and two ultrasound clinics for not warning them that their son would be born with just one leg and no arms.

The defense is saying Ana Mejia signed forms that indicated she understood an ultrasound—she had seven during her pregnancy—is not a guarantee of a “normal” baby. Her son, Bryan, is now almost three years old. “He sees kids running and playing. He looks like he wants to do the same, but he just can’t,” she said during the trial, expected to wrap up this week. Had she known about her son’s disabilities, she proclaimed, “I would have had an abortion.”

And it made me angry. REALLY angry. I know what you're thinking. Oh boy, here is Sarah on her soapbox again. This is a topic I feel VERY strongly about.

This "mother" is "ordering the Palm Beach Gardens obstetrician and the companies she works for to pay $9 million toward his future care as well as award an unspecified amount for their own pain and suffering."

And yes, I used the word mother in quotes. Because in my opinion, she's not a mother. She had a child she sees as a burden to her and she wants to make money from it. Yes, she did have seven (really, who has seven) ultrasounds and one should have seen something...but being a mother of three kids and having ultrasounds, sometimes the baby is turned a certain way and can't see everything.

According to the article, Bryan is a happy toddler. So what is wrong here? How can this mother be going for NINE MILLION dollars for care as well as "an unspecified amount for their own pain and suffering". Really? This is YOUR CHILD. YOUR FLESH AND BLOOD. NOT a burden.

But what hurts me the most is this child. He doesn't really know that he's all that different. It's not like he had legs and both arms. He knows no different. He can overcome his disability, with the SUPPORT of a loving environment. And then there's his "mother" saying she would have aborted him. How's that going to make him feel when he's old enough to understand what that means? Just because I developed the way I did, my mom wouldn't want me to live?

Why does it make me SO ANGRY? Well, because when I was pregnant with Liam, a "friend" told me that I could "just have an abortion, move to Chicago and start over." I didn't even think of it. I'll be honest, when the little plus sign showed up on the stick, I was scared. David (my husband, then boyfriend) was at a weekend military training in Kansas. When he came home, the next morning, I took another test. Again, another positive. Somewhat worried about his reaction, I went into the bedroom with the positive result and instructions and showed it to him. He looked at me, smiled and said, "If it's a boy, we're naming him Conor."

Obviously he wasn't a Conor. He's a William. Or Liam. But he was ours. And was from the beginning. At my 18 week ultrasound, they were worried about his kidneys. They said they couldn't be sure, but they didn't think they were functioning correctly and scheduled me for another ultrasound at 28 and 38 weeks. They also assured me that if something was wrong, they had a new surgery they could do at birth to help him process...although he might have to be on dialysis. And I didn't even blink. He was my little boy. He was our little boy. A blessing from God.

At 38 weeks they could be sure he'd be fine and wouldn't need surgery, thanks be to God. But you know what, even if he had "issues", I never would have aborted him. He has been a blessing, from day one...before day one.

We are ALL wonderfully made. God has a plan for ALL OF US. Why this "mother" thinks her plan is to get rich off of her child, makes me sick. Which is why I feel she is not a mother at all.

Wash Wednesday: Getting On My Soapbox About Casey Anthony

So maybe this isn't about actually cleaning or washing anything. But soapboxes can be related to cleaning, right?

I totally did not intend to write about trust and the swimming pool the same day the Casey Anthony verdict came down. That was unintentional...and interesting.

I am tired of people saying that they can't judge Casey because God is the only Judge. Yes, God will judge Casey (and all of us) for our actions. I'm also irritated when non-religious people throw God into it. Really? If you're so concerned about God judging Casey Anthony, what about God judging you? Just sayin.

Do I think she did it? Yes. Maybe it was an accident. But because your baby dies in a pool or in an accident doesn't mean you have to put THREE pieces of duct tape over her mouth and toss her body in the woods. There are better ways to handle it.

Accidents happen. I get it. I know it. But the fact that she didn't report her daughter missing for 31 days? Which is why I was glad to see that someone created a petition to create Caylee's law. According to the website, "there should be a new federal law created called Caylee's Law that will make it a federal offense for a parent or guardian to not notify law enforcement of a child going missing in a timely manner." And I agree.

I'm not a perfect mother. And I admit it. I lose my temper. I even lost a kid once. My five year old ran off at the Minnesota Children's Museum. Not so much ran off, more like hid. But after not seeing him run in the area he was playing in for 2 minutes, I began to panic. I sent my husband searching for him because I was staying with the younger two. When my husband came back empty handed, my heart sunk. I felt dizzy. I felt like I was going to throw up. I grabbed an employee who radioed over to other employees that we were looking for a 5 year old with brown hair and blue eyes. They radioed back that they were already looking for a boy with that description (in my panic, I failed to ask my husband if he'd already contacted an employee). I yelled for him, I hollered, I screamed. Husband went looking on other levels of the museum.

Just then, the employee who stayed with me saw a kid wearing the clothing I described. He said he saw a little boy peek around a corner of a "ant farm maze" and yelled his name. And it was my little boy.

He said he was "just hiding like an ant" as I hugged and kissed him. I was TERRIFIED. It was only minutes but it felt like hours. And I was emotionally drained after that short amount of time. Needless to say, we left the museum. No more fun for the day.

I understand being terrified...but why didn't she contact someone? I couldn't imagine going out and partying while my child was missing. That just boggles my mind. Maybe they didn't have enough proof for murder. But there was neglect. That's for sure. And the fact that she smirked after the verdict was read? She's guilty. She knows it. And she just got away with murder.

For those of you who say you can't judge Casey, would you be willing to let her babysit your children? Think about it. And quit jumping on the parents who are upset at the verdict.

Yesterday was a sad day for good parents everywhere. And a sad day for little Caylee. She didn't deserve it and she doesn't have justice.