She’s a woman, hear her roar

By Tom Quiner

A regular Quiner’s Diner reader, Lee Burleson, directed me to an interesting college website.

There, a student proclaimed her liberal feminist beliefs in a piece titled, “I am woman, here me roar.”  Lauren Muellner, writing on the University of Illinois Chicago’s website, warned:

“I don’t care if you’re liberal or conservative, YOU do NOT have the right to tell me what I can and cannot do with my body and I should have the same rights of any man.”

For the record, she does. But I digress. She continues:

“I’m sorry, the excuse of religion is a poor one.  First of all, we SHOULD have a separation of church and state.  Secondly, I attended a Catholic elementary school as well as a Catholic high school. I know the Bible. Treat others the way you want to be treated.  What happened to that one?  These so-called “religious politicians” are NOTHING like Jesus.  WWJD? He certainly wouldn’t oppress, that’s for sure!”

In other words, Jesus would support her abortion, she suggests. Again, I digress. Ms. Muellner is just getting warmed up:

“I am just horrified and angry that there are people out there planning on making decisions of what I will and will not be able to do with my own body just because it’s what THEY believe!!  Where am I going to be in a year or two if certain laws are passed that limit my choices as a female? What kind of world will I be bringing my future children into?  That is a question I often think about.”

I guess that includes NOT bringing a child into this world if it doesn’t suit her fancy.

Lee Burleson offers a thoughtful response, which follows:

“As a Catholic, you should know that our Church loves the beauty in life of both man and woman equally. And here in the U.S. you already do have the same rights as any man. In fact, it is our Christian heritage that has advanced he rights of so many.

Unfortunately, the rights of the preborn are still nearly nonexistent. Many treat the unborn as a disease, an accident, or a “growth”, not unlike slaves or Jews from times past. But the truth is that from conception, a new and separate life is created, with its own DNA, that will become nothing other than a human being. This is not merely a political issue – it is a moral truth that flows from a God-given right to life. That right is the most
fundamental of all, and cannot be overridden by anyone else.

Regarding telling people what they can and cannot do, that is what our laws are for. The fundamental laws of our society are created based on moral judgments of what is right and wrong. Currently the law does not grant
personhood to the preborn, so when a person chooses to have sex, and a baby is created, the mother may kill the child without legal consequence.

When one takes a closer look at the picture of abortion, it is not pretty because it can’t be. WWJD? Well, can any of us really imagine Jesus Christ holding a woman’s hand and encouraging her to have an abortion?”

Thanks to Lee Burleson for offering an intelligent response to this misguided college girl.