A family not being able to let go of a loved one who clearly has no chance of surviving is a far cry from a female allowing a health care professional to literally rip her child to shreds while still in her womb.  One clearly is murder, while the other is not. I fail to see the similarities in these at all.....my argument is that I consider abortin to be MURDER, plain and simple, and MY MORAL CONSCIENCE  does not allow me to participate in such actions.  I find it to be compromising ones morals, values and principals when they don't agree with abortion but have no problem if others obtain one,  and have no issues in participating in one. 

It is a law indeed, but then let us not all forget, that there is much a higher law than the people's law...that is God's law. Taking away of someone's life has more weight, thank taking away someone's "choice".

When i took my oath to be a RN, everything to me is clear, i will be my patient's advocate, i will do my best to serve the interest of my patient. and a pregnant woman is not considered to be just one person, that's why she consults an OB-Gyne, and a Pediatrician soon after she gave birth or even before giving birth,  because she knows that there's another life in her womb, that's breathing,that's dependent on her and that she must care. As a RN, i believe, not only the pregnant woman is my patient but also the life she carries in her womb. Would i call myself my patient's advocate when i help her abort her baby, while i let this other life terminated?! That i cannot take, im sorry

We do not support abortion, and we do not force our own beliefs to our patients. We are nurses, we are humans, too,  entitled to the same choice/rights just like what is given to the patient. That's right, we dont have to be there while the job is being done, we can always be their nurse after the procedure. it should be clear enough what we are talking about here.

Again, we do not judge the person here, it is the "act" that we seriously condemn.

Reading the discussions, I feel terrible that there are people who support abortion. But thanks to Nurseaisha for being consistent on her stand as a pro-life individual. And I’m happy that there are still many pro-life Americans.

Of course, therapeutic and spontaneous abortions are justified. The thing is, almost all abortions have nothing to do with the life or health of the women; they are done simply because of her desire for convenience, absence of distress, and so-called happiness of the mother. And I don’t even agree with abortion if one is a victim of rape and incest. The baby is not accountable for the sin of his parents. Let the sinners suffer the consequences. And let the baby be a survivor through His mercy. I think there would not be many abortions performed if there was not a law that legalized abortion. Lets admit it, that if abortion is legal, embryos will be used as stem cells to cure diseases and in fact, in China, aborted babies are eaten as health food and considered a delicacy. This is even more sickening…though I’m not surprised that these things are happening coz the bible says that in the end times, there will be little respect for human life, civil rights are of more concern than God or God’s creation, people are intellectually knowledgeable but spiritually ignorant, etc…

As far as I know, America is a Christian nation, and as long as Christians are still in this world they can do something to eliminate at the moment this form of vileness and moral debasement. For the devil to triumph when good men do nothing.

The ‘law’

While the ‘law’ in this country states that it is lawful to abort a fetus, and (currently) guarantees that a woman may do so, it should be remembered that:

also in this country, it was once permitted by law to ‘own’ another person, if they had an inconsequential difference in the amount of melanin in their skin.  The law permitted the ‘owners’ to perform any number of vicious, brutal and disgusting acts upon the owned, up to and including torture, rape, and murder.  It should also be remembered that the ‘owned’ were undoubtedly humankind, and unquestionably ‘viable.’

that Adolph Hitler’s assumption of power in Germany was ‘lawful,’ at the time.  The subsequent actions of the Third Reich with respect to the imprisonment, enslavement, and slaughter of humankind were ‘lawful’ under German law.

that thousands of persons of Japanese descent were dispossessed, imprisoned, lived their lives like cattle, with many dying during the process, all under due process of the ‘law’ in this country!.

The ‘law’ is determined by humankind, with all of its flaws, and errors.  That something is ‘lawful’ ought never be used as a justification for performing acts that may be immoral, or unethical.  That it is often so used is the outcome of logic of dubious moral integrity.

Leng, who reminds us of a “much higher Law,” has the right of it, in my less than humble opinion. Thank you so much for that!

Men and women have died as they fought to change ‘the law.’  Many feel it is their obligation to do so still. 

The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive.

Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

If they are willing to fight against the odds and suffer whatever consequences come their way I say, more power to them, and am willing to give them accolades due heroes, whether I agree with their positions or not!  The cause that one fights for does not determine ones heroism; it is by ones deeds that ones courage must be judged…. and that brings us to….

Judgment

I have a difficult time with the concept that one person may not judge another, or that ‘while we hate the sin, we must love the sinner.’  If I judge a person to be acting in a way that I find immoral, unethical, or barbaric, whether or not it is legal, I may indeed judge that not only is the act hateful in my mind, but that the person who is committing the act is not the kind of person I want to be around, live around, or to have contact with my children. I may, and should, choose to avoid this person at all costs.  To refuse to sell to this person, to refuse to buy from this person, to refuse social intercourse of any kind!   I can already hear the whining about “That’s discrimination!”  The judgment I describe is not discriminatory in the same way that racial, or sex prejudice is.  It is the act of a rational discriminating mind and, contrary to opinions offered here, is not only permissible, but is essential to the improvement of humankind.  For those of you who believe abortion is wrong, don’t let people tell you that you have to respect those that you feel are behaving monstrously.  You can tell them, in no uncertain terms that they are wrong:  “I’m sorry Doctor, but I believe that it is a crime against god and nature to hoick an unborn out of it’s mothers womb in pieces, and not only will I not assist you in so doing, I will tell you straight that I wouldn’t walk across the street to piss on a person that would so do, even were he or she on fire.”   The extent to which you express your disapproval, up to and including making war, is up to the individual, (a right with which we were endowed by our creator) if we give credence to the principles outlined in the documents upon which our nation was founded.  One must, however, be willing to pay the price for ones decision to be outspoken, and ones devotion to ones credo.

Choice

Every person has a right to choose, granted by <insert the godhead of your choice here> and we use it every day.  We can live examined lives that live up to the principles we claim to honor, or we can choose to take the easy, expedient route.  Virtually all pregnant women exercised that choice when they chose to have unprotected sex.  Period.  Full stop. It is laughable that those that have done so argue so vehemently, and dishonestly in my opinion, that  they have been, or are being, denied the 'right to choose.'  The cases of those few who have conceived without choice are worth discussing.

Bill of Rights

The rights of individuals were not, are not, and were never meant to be, granted by the constitution, or any of its parts.  This is abundantly clear to those who have read, with a critical eye, the Declaration of Independence, wherein it is written:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —" 

Our ‘Rights’ came from that ‘higher power’ that was mentioned earlier; the constitution was an attempt by the leaders of that time to guarantee that the government would not usurp those rights.  Many, Jefferson and others excepted, failed to take notice, I think, that  

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

Anyone looking in the Constitution for the ‘right’ to abort will not find it there; that right comes from their creator; they must be willing to pay the price to exercise it. That price may include ostracism by those who do not agree that it is moral.

Given the responses I’ve seen previously, I don’t doubt that I will be criticized by many on this board.  Most of those postings I will ignore as not being worth the bandwidth, as they will be written, poorly much more often than not, by those who can not, or will not, read what is written, but will take a piece interpret it through the bias of their preconceived notions and write, rabidly, without the least whit of critical judgement.  Alternatively, I will entertain any opinion, provided that it is cordial, and doesn’t require my learning another language.

While I am disposed to believe what I believe, that has been known to change when presented with reasoned argument.

your servant,

Being a nurse doesn't mean compromising ANY moral or ethical stance one feels in their heart and soul to be true.  This is something I refuse to do regardless of my title. If I, for any reason, push to the side, even for a moment, my moral convictions, then I am compromising my beliefs.  This would be not only hypocritical, but also an enormous farce.  A human being in its' purest form, huh?  HOW SAD THAT 1.3 MILLION CHILDREN A YEAR IN THE U.S. NEVER GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HUMAN BEINGS IN THE PUREST FORM!

When a woman is pregnant, there are TWO patients...not just one.  I guess that one gets overlooked.  I have never indicated that anything is all about me....what it's about are the millions of unborn children who are not deemed worthy to live.  Abortion is nothing more than legal murder.

dmazment says ...

Being in healthcare, especially as a nurse,  means being non judgemental, caring, kind and compassionate regardless of religious beliefs, color, social standing, sex, procedures performed.  It means you over look many things to give this kind of care.  It means being able to be a human being in it's purest form. 

To me, this is the essence of nursing. Although I may not agree with the lifestyle choices a person makes, I will give them the best of my skills and the deepest human compassion I have, without reservation. That is how nursing is supposed to be. I don't get to pick and choose how my nursing skills will be used or even how my heart will be broken.

When I worked in hospice, I spent 6 weeks with one particular family. The patient was the father of 4 girls. We became quite close during a difficult and drawn out death. 2 weeks after the patient passed away, one of the daughters called me. She had been diagnosed with Stage III cervical cancer. She was also 2 months pregnant. She asked me to go to the doctor with her, just to be there for support and help her ask questions. Her choice was to forego any treatment and try to carry her baby to full term, or start treatment immediately and try to save her life so she could be a Mom to the 2 kids she already had. After a few days to think about it, talk to her husband, cry and anguish over it, she decided to have the surgery and start radiation treatments. She lost the baby, but she saved her life and gets to see her kids grow up. I was there with her, holding her hand as she went under anesthesia. It was a very difficult and emotionally devastating time for her. She needed me to be her nurse, to give her support and comfort. Nursing is such a huge privilege. I can't imagine turning my back on a patient because of philosophical differences. It would not have made any difference to me if she had not been diagnosed with cervical cancer. She asked me to be her nurse, so I would have done that under any circumstance.

Nurses are confronted with ethical situations many times in the course of a career. Some people would say that discontinuing a tube feed is murder. When the time comes, a nurse is going to be the one to shut it off. Does that make the nurse a murderer? Some would say yes it does. Who is going to be there when a patient is extubated, and the family is gathered around to spend the last few moments with their loved one? A nurse. Not some random person from down the street. A nurse, who chooses to be there. We face some tough situations as nurses, things that most people never have to think about. To me, it is impossible for me to hold back as a nurse. The sinner will get the same care as a saint. I do my best to have my patients make informed decisions, then I stand by them and support them in that decision.

Nobody asks that a person give up their own religious or moral beliefs when they become a nurse. I was taught that when I enter a patient's room, I leave everything about me behind me. It is all about the patient. It does not matter to me if the patient is a child molestor or a walking picture of goodness. I can be their nurse.

I would never presume to change how anybody feels about abortion, either. It is not my place to say that abortion is right or wrong. Legal or not, abortions will happen. If my own daughter came to me and said she was having an abortion, I would want to know that she would be be safe and healthy. Whatever judgement she faces would be between her and whatever Deity she chooses to believe in. The one thing that bothers me in this whole debate is the way it has become a debate at all. Somehow, those of us who would participate in an abortion as a nurse are all evil, and those who would not are the good guys. That's messed up. The patient needs to know that the nurse is going to be there for them. That does not mean that you agree with them or even love them, but that you can offer the tender mercy that comes from a caring heart.

If you have done your best for your patient, then you get to go home feeling like you have been a good nurse. In your heart of hearts, you know if you have given your best. To me, that is what really matters.

and just for the record? I am NOT a grandparent.......and I am 42, will be 43 this yr.....guess my kids have listened to me so far......they arent even promiscuous.........I am definitely counting my stars and God has blessed me in this avenue.....for if nothing else, I have at least done something right...........kids are 19, 18, and 12 

APPLAUSE TO YOU CATTY!!!!  If we stand by and do and say nothing while this atrocity continues then we are just as guilty as the pro abortion supporter and the abortionist him/herself.  I, too, have educatd my daughters, aged 9 and 13 on sex and pregnancy, and continue to do so.  They know how babies are made, and how they grow in the womb.  My daughters have also seen photos of babies during various stages of gestation and they have also seen the horror of aborted children. They  were absolutely appalled that a female could even consider such a thing, not to mention that it is LEGAL in this country.  I then had to explain to them how hypocritical our laws are concerning the unborn......you can abort your child at any time for any reason....no problem....but don't think for one second that if you cause a car accident and a pregnant woman loses her child that you are going to walk away scott free.  I can't even wrap my mind around that.  We have the unborn protection act thanks to Scott Peterson, yet millions of females murder their own children every year under the cloak of choice.  PLEASE!!!!!  FOCA is going to destroy EVERY law currently on the books regarding abortion.  I cannot fathom how anyone can support such a thing.  Do you really want your underage daughter to be able to abort for any reason, at any time during gestation without your knowledge?  Are you aware that her abortionist will not have to be licensed, nor will he/her have to report that your 14 year old daughter was impregnanted by a 27 year old man.  There is absolutely NO justification for such a thing....NONE except for absolute apathy and ignorance.

I find this forum especially interesting -- At this very moment, I am writing a persuasive essay on the health care professional and his "right of conscience." The current administration has made an oppositional proposal to nullify federal right of conscience laws that currently protect a health care worker and/or facility from participating in a procedure [abortion] that violates their moral beliefs. These protection laws have been in place since the enactment of Roe vs Wade back in the 70's. If this protection is rescinded through the efforts of the presidential administration, a health care worker could lose their job and/or their license if they conscientously refuse to perform or even assist with an abortion.

This is a very disturbing cloud of change for the medical community. Our nation has been founded on freedoms that allow for expression of the beliefs and/or the morals of an individual. When the government controls the conscience of its people by deciding for them what is right or wrong, then that government becomes totalitarian and defies the very essence of democracy.

As a nurse who believes in the sacredness of human life from the conception of a fertilized egg until the last breath, I cannot conscientously assist in any procedure/treatment that would purposefully terminate Life. On the same hand, I believe that as a nurse, I am responsible to care for and to preserve the lives of patients entrusted me. As a nurse, instead of accusing all pro-choicers as "baby murderers!", I want to empower a woman with the knowledge she needs to make an informed decision. Even if she still chooses to have an abortion, while I could not assist in the abortion procedure, I would still not want to pass judgement on that woman for the decision she has made. If anything, that woman needs compassion and mercy more than ever before, as she deals with post-abortive physical/emotional traumas.

It's difficult to summarize a 1500 word essay into one post.  But ultimately, I fear for the future of all health care professionals and ultimately, our nation. If these right of conscience laws are withdrawn, the precedent is set for any other federal interpretations of who we are and what we want to believe as individuals. FOCA is only one more aspect of this grand scheme that has been set in motion. What about "Freedom of Choice" for a health care worker?! I pray to God that He would have mercy on our nation and that we as health care workers could agree to disagree and continue to have a mutual respect for the morals of one another.

Yes, we can take away the right for a woman to have an abortion......by making an amendment to the constitution....I thought this country was founded upon "In God we Trust".........I clearly think God says murder is one of ten commandments which in my book is way up there above ANY of the ammendments.  Why can't we stick up for what our very first President of the united States stood up for...founding this country upon God.  As for Freedom.....where are the child's rights?  I guess basically, our world is becoming corrupt and Obama just wants to please everyone....even the baby killers.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519181,00.html

thank YOU skylee for posting that response!!!! I love the article and it is truly a miracle! 

I have many photos of that same baby on my page here on NL....it is truly a miracle.  Anyone with even half a brain can see that this is a child...a living human being.

I am in total agreement with those that feel abortion is murder. 

It is also very nice to see that in a recent poll, the majority of Americans now are pro-life.  http://www.rr.com/news/politics/article/9008/7742748/Abortion_clouds_Obama_event_at_Notre_Dame

I applaud those that are taking a stand against Obama being given an honarary degree by what is supposed to be a Catholic University, especially since he said he was going to address the abortion issue in his speech. 

I do not know if this is only my opinion; but, I lost some respect I had for the Pres. by his not gracefully bowing out of such a divisive issue and for Notre Dame leadership who refused to acknowledge a petition of over a hundred thousand signatures, many including Catholic clergy.  It feels like it is a slap in the face to those who wish to have the unborn protected.