Do we know what is moral?

I an living in Austin, Texas. It has been a real learning experience. There has been so much going on in the whole country. There is so much discord and separations that have made all of us become US/THEM. There is no longer an US in this country. I don’t know if all the conflict began with the issue of abortion but it is certainly a major part of it.

I don’t know what your views on abortion are. Each of us is entitled to our belief and it has become a major button to push. Still I am not sure how many people are aware of the extremes that is has reached here.

Many months ago there were two women who ran into problems with the law. One woman had an ectopic pregnancy and for those who are not familiar this is when the egg is fertilized in the fallopian tube and not in the uterus. This is a very dangerous problem which can end in the woman’s death. This pregnancy has to be aborted. The baby CANNOT survive to full term where it is and if not operated on the result with be the death of the fetus but also the death of the mother. The doctors here followed the law and sent the woman home because they could do nothing within the law. I know somehow the woman received care (I don’t know if she left the state or what happened).

Now for the second case: a woman showed up at the hospital carrying a dead baby. Again the doctors could do nothing. She was sent home. She became septic. I do not know how the issue was resolved but I know she survived.

Just a few days ago there was a third case that made the papers. Another woman was carrying a dead baby and the hospital could do nothing to help. She became septic and died leaving the husband with another child to care for by himself.

I sincerely hope that someone is considering the state responsible for these women and their problems. This is what happens when we legislate medical care. Especially when women are the only ones being abused and it is abuse. If I were of childbearing age I would move somewhere that the law doesn’t allow women to be treated in this way. This is what has happened in this country where abuse is not only allowed but is demanded by law.

I do wonder if once again women are being targeted as being less than. I wonder what would happen if men were being targeted.

I have neither heard or seen any other media conversations about these three cases escept in the paper here. There may be more cases that have not even made the press.

Abortion is a moral topic. It is as complicated as Solomon offering to divide the baby in two. I don’t know what the answers are but some of the current solutions allow people to die. I don[‘t see this as any kind of morality.

Sorry about the rant but I had to get this off my mind.

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When did lying become OK?

With what is going on politically in the US this quote popped into my mind, I may have used it before but it is so appropriate now.

In a time of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell

searching for truth

 

Yesterday I heard someone talking about the absence of truth in everything we see and read. It is a incredible indictment of how things function in today’s world. If we are smart we have to question everything and IF we are good at research we may find the truth….but there is no guarantee. It is so different from the world I grew up in. I know it wasn’t perfect but the “average” person could be taken at their word. It was not OK to lie. It was not all right to distort the truth until it’s unrecognizable.

 

It makes me realize that one of the most important things that should be taught in schools is to take nothing at face value but learn to dig for more information. What a thing to have to teach children….that so much of everything is false.

look for truth

I feel lucky that my first degree was in history which meant I spent a lot of time doing research. I know how to hunt for facts and sniff out exaggerations and falsehoods. That has helped me so much in my life.

I guess I will be passing that on to my great grandchildren now.

? The Death Panel?

choices medicalI have been out of the loop for several days. Had thyroid surgery on Friday and am feeling good…just tired. After a fall season of chaos I hope we are moving into a winter season of rest and joy. I now have to catch up on reading everything that I missed.

I hadn’t been involved in the hospital system for a while and had forgotten how dehumanizing it can be. The hospital was good, care was good it is just how the system operates. It is so easy to feel like someone out of one of the dystopian novels. Especially the older ones like 1984 and Soylent Green. It is easy to imagine yourself discovering that the light embedded in your arm has just lit up and it is time for you to go and be floated up to bliss.

It has been under discussion and very much under wraps having a Death Panel decide who will be left to die. The majority of money is spent on end of life care. Sometimes the kind where life is extended but not necessarily for the better.However, judgement needs to be made based on health and choice. If we are lucky the medical system will continue to allow us to make out own choices and not force the elderly but active to be told that nothing is allowed at their age.

Terrible topic. So sorry. It is just something that I know could come if we don’t have a say about what happens.

I promise more pleasant topic tomorrow.