April 25, 2008
South Dakota abortion - "Initiated Measure 11" will be on the November ballot
South Dakota State Election Supervisor Kea Warne reported this morning (Friday) that a measure that will prohibit abortion from being used as a form of birth control in South Dakota will be on the November ballot. More than the required 16,776 petition signatures were verified to qualify the issue for placement on the ballot. Though his office is not finished counting the signatures, Secretary of State Chris Nelson said there are a "sufficient number of signatures that it will be on the ballot in November as Initiated Measure 11. "
State history was made in this effort - one of the largest number of petitions ever gathered for any initiative in SD history (almost 50,000 with another 8,000 coming in after the petitions were delivered to Pierre) and one of the highest percentage of valid signatures of any ballot initiative in SD history. Most notable is how this was done 1) in two and a half months 2) during one of the coldest winters in decades 3) with a 100% volunteer effort and 4) no out of state people gathering signatures.
While everyone else is interested in the numbers of signatures, right now I'm more interested in the number eleven. (You'll recall in '06 it was Referred Law 6 - no coincidence to me or many others that the sixth commandment is about not killing.) Initially, the number eleven struck me as a negative - speaking only in terms of Biblical symbolism - eleven denotes the incompleteness of human government (one short of twelve). But, I'm told this is a really good thing and that eleven is the number between God's government (10) and human government (12) and this represents a shift that we've been praying for.
More interesting to me is the snow. On March 31, we trekked the signed petitions to Pierre through a statewide snowstorm. And today, April 25, the snow storm is back. These are unusual snowstorms this late in the year. Snow represents the covering of sin and breakthrough. I know these last two paragraphs are loony to those not spiritually inclined. However, many others reading this know God's voice when they hear it and see these kinds of things as a divine nod.
Comments on South Dakota abortion - "Initiated Measure 11" will be on the November ballot »
Blessedwombprotector @ 6:46 pm
Measure 11 is only one small step and falls woefully short of fulfilling God's will for men and women on earth, which is to procreate in His name and protect life. Why do we insist that life begins at conception? It begins from the moment of ovulation, which is why women are understood as the weaker vessels. Why do you think God does not want us to use contraception? He wants us to have as many little beautiful babies as we can as soon as our bodies are able and for as long as we are able. People seem to assume that women should be able to make "decisions" about contraception and abortion. But everyone knows we are too emotional and dumb to be trusted with this kind of responsibility. Since the men of the family haven't been enforcing their roles as master of the family, the government must take steps to protect women from our own sinful nature and keep our vessels pure. One big problem in this country is we don't guard women who are fertile, to make sure that their lifegiving promise is fulfilled. There are a lot of laws that need to be changed and Measure 11 is just the beginning. Girls of childbearing age should not be attending school but should be preparing for motherhood. Fertile women should wear white until they are married, so that we all know who they are and can watch them closely to keep them from sinning. If a man has the misfortune of marrying a woman who turns out to be infertile, he should be required to take on a fertile handmaiden so he can fulfill God's will that we procreate (there are more women than men so there should be enough extra women for this). The infertile wife should be made to wear black so we know that God has closed her womb. The handmaiden should wear red to display her fertility so she can be watched closely to ensure her vessel is kept safe for the husband. The husband should not look upon the handmaiden's face, when she submits to him, and should look only onto his wife's face. We should have these handmaidens wear headgear that obscures their peripheral vision so they are not tempted to look at the wife's husband or commit other sins. That can serve as a reminder for her too that her only purpose is to bear children for the family, and that her usefulness and time with the family is limited. The wife should raise the children of the marriage as her own. Once women are past childbearing age, widows, feminists, and rebellious women, should be sent away to work farms. Homosexuals and other gender traitors could be sent to these work farms, or maybe should just be executed, since they are not willing to procreate. Measure 11 is just the first step. South Dakota should take the next steps to make sure that women and men honor God's will.
BlessedRightsProtector @ 11:15 pm
God's will is God's will alone to enact. It is not your place BlessedWombProtector, nor is it the place of the South Dakota State Government's to enact God's will. How dare you even claim to have equal power to God. You leave the so called "sins" of your fellow woman (if you even are a woman) to God's judgement and worry yourself about your own standing in the eyes of God. The Measure is about taking away and denying rights to intelligent and brave women. No one has taken away your right to denounce abortion to your family, your children, your friends. No one has suddenly removed the 'adoption option' or has suddenly imposed abortion on those deemed by a panel of esteemed doctors and law enforcement agencies to be unfit for parenting. You do not control my life, or my choice to add life to this world. If you would like to live in a government where womens' rights are removed callously by a government wishing to control every aspect of its constituents' rights through a unilateral religious oppression of women, try your luck in Iraq.
Steve @ 1:27 pm
BlessedRights - Really bizzare theology you are espousing regarding "God's will is God's will alone to enact." That's stupid - we aren't puppets - we have freewill. You betray the fact that you have no theological training or understanding.
God's will is about what God wants to see happen. He doesn't always get his way because human choice is factored in. We can live as we want and miss his will and reap the results/consequences of those choices. It is not the case that he does what he wants/wills and we do what we want/will and the two don't interact.
This is not about women's rights. This is not about your choice to add life to this world - if you are pregnant - a life has already been added to this world - you do not have the right to take another human life.