Cultured Media

As you know, I support listening to opposing viewpoints. I offer the following discussion as part of that ethic.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I strongly believe that an embryo does not have more rights than a women, and that an embryo is not an independent life at that point [14 weeks pregnant].” - Susan Wicklund

On today’s show Diane Rehm interviewed a doctor that performs abortions on her show. The doctor’s point of view was that abortions would be performed no matter what–whether the procedure was legal or illegal. As an example, she told the story of her grandmother (a non-medical person) killing a friend while trying to perform an abortion more than fifty years ago.

She states that if women cannot decide when to bear children, then she no longer has control over her own education, her financial situation, emotional and physical health. She believes that pro-life advocates want to force all Americans to have sex only to procreate and that having sex out of wedlock should not be shameful.

Halfway though the show, Diane talked to Lori Campbell who wrote an article for Vogue magazine about her own partial birth abortion. The article was called “Private Lives” and is on page 66 of the January 2008 volume. The subtitle is “When Lori Campbell’s second pregnancy
developed complications, she was faced with a painful decision. But she was thankful it was hers to make.”

The author recounts how her water broke at 22 weeks pregnant. She and her husband were devastated when the doctors told them there wasn’t much chance for the baby to survive if it were born at this point. They insisted the best course of action for her would be to terminate the pregnancy.

After thinking it over, while Mrs. Campbell said she wished for the child to live, she felt the most “humane” thing to do was to take the option of terminating the pregnancy via partial-birth abortion, since the chance of the child living was slim. She decides to make the decision to abort the child. She justifies her decision by saying she is saving the baby from needless suffering if it is only going to die anyway.

What surprised me was in the interview on the show, she has no problem using the word “child.” I have always thought for most of my life that abortion was framed from perspective on whether you thought that a fetus has a life and soul. I’m assuming by her phrasing that Mrs. Campbell does believe that her child had a life. She believed that euthanizing her child was the most humane thing to do. She believed that it was the path of least suffering for her unborn child and her and her family.

When did the path of least suffering begin to justify euthanasia?

Listen on the Diane Rehm Show to an interview with Susan Wicklund

I hate it when a check-out person bags my one item. I know it’s their job to serve me. I usually remove the item and place the bag back on the counter–hopefully it will be re-used.

When I was in Ireland for a week, I had to pay for any bags that I needed. I’d be happy in levying a tax on grocery bags. This would promote re-use.
There are only 3 public places to recycle plastic “grocery” bags in Indianapolis. Several grocery stores and I hear that Wal-Mart have bins that people can return their grocery bags to for recycling.

Several U.S cities may follow San Fransisco’s lead in the effort to ban plastic bags at large grocery and pharmacies checkout counters. We’ll talk about some of the economic, environmental, and logistical challenges of cutting back on the use of plastic bags.

Listen to Banning Plastic Bags on Diane Rehm

Rob Gifford, a self-admitted practicing Christian, preached a short message on John 8:12 at a small rural church in China on request from the local congregations.

Rob Gifford spend 6 years as NPR’s Beijing correspondent. In 2004, he traveled all 3,000 miles of a highway traversing China from the Shanghai to the border of Kazahkstan. He writes about his journey and about the future of China.

Diane Rehm Interview with Rob Gifford

America at a Crossroads?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ series of 11 documentaries is scheduled to launch on Sunday, April 15 and will run nightly through Friday, April 20, 9:00 - 11:00 p.m. (ET). Additional films will air as specials following the premiere.

America at a Crossroads is a major public television event premiering on PBS in April 2007 that explores the challenges confronting the post-9/11 world ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù including the war on terrorism; the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan; the experience of American troops serving abroad; the struggle for balance within the Muslim world; and global perspectives on America?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s role overseas.

Aimed at creating a national dialogue surrounding the crucial issues explored in the series, an extensive media and outreach campaign in more than 25 communities accompanies the series. The campaign features screening events with the filmmakers and their subjects in discussions with United States military personnel, leading policy experts, leaders of the Islamic community, scholars from across the country as well as
members of the public. Integrated Web and educational initiatives further extend the campaign.

SCHEDULE:

Sunday, April 15:
Jihad: The Men And Ideas Behind Al Qaeda, 9:00 - 11:00 P.M.

Monday, April 16:
Warriors, 9:00 - 10:00 P.M.
Operation Homecoming: Writing The Wartime Experience, 10:00 - 11:00 P.M.

Tuesday, April 17:
Gangs Of Iraq, 9:00 - 10:00 P.M.
The Case For War: In Defense Of Freedom, 10:00 - 11:00 P.M.

Wednesday, April 18:
Europe?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s 9/11, 9:00 - 10:00 P.M.
The Muslim Americans, 10:00 - 11:00 P.M.

Thursday, April 19:
Faith Without Fear, 9:00 - 10:00 P.M.
Struggle For The Soul Of Islam: Inside Indonesia,
10:00 - 11:00 P.M.

Friday, April 20:
Security Versus Liberty: The Other War , 9:00 - 10:00 P.M.
The Brotherhood, 10:00 - 11:00 P.M.

And the host is Robert MacNeil! Listen to an interview with him on Diane Rehm.