Quick Takes and Short Stories

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At various times throughout my past of spilling writing on the internet, I have thought to myself, “If I were a good blogger, I would…” One of these “if”s that appeared more frequently is “be on top of things enough to link up with other bloggers at the proper time.” Several blogs I read link up with Jen at Conversion Diary for Friday Quick Takes, and I tend to think on many Saturdays (or Mondays if I ignore the internet all weekend), “Wow, that would have been a good idea.”

Make Over!

Welcome to the new name and the new look!  Everything should be in its proper place at this point, though let me know if it is not.

A little about all the changes, in bullet form:

War Babies

I am on a bioethics listserv that dishes out various interesting topics from across the world -- it is based in Australia, so provides a refreshing break from US bias. This article caught my eye. It raises the question of whether pregnancy tests should be required of women who are deployed. Apparently a few women are sent home from deployment each year due to being pregnant.

My first thought was, “Why not have them take pregnancy tests?” My second was, “Does the US do this?” I asked the Captain, but it turns out that, having never been deployed or a female, he couldn’t answer that.

On Discerning Babies

Okay, friends, welcome to the last of a three-post series in which I respond to Sarah’s musings about NFP.  Two of the categories that she listed as “blackguarding each other” in the NFP subculture struck me.  (Also, the fact that she used “blackguarding” struck me.)  She mentioned “Dire conspiracy theorists sure most people's reasons for postponing pregnancy aren't good enough,” as well as “Harried parents paranoid that they should be pregnant again or that they discerned poorly.”  Although she did not spell out the link between these two groups, I think it should be fairly obvious.  

In this realm of Catholic dialogue there are two interwoven trends that I want to separate out.  First there is the contention that “NFP is just Catholic contraception” or “some/most couples practice NFP with a contraceptive mentality.”  The second, interrelated trend is the “your reasons for postponing a pregnancy aren’t good enough,” which is a veiled way of saying, “Unless having a baby will kill you (and maybe even not then) there really isn’t a good reason for not being pregnant yesterday.”  

A Different Challenge and a Different Witness

A few snow days have absented me from the cyberworld as the Captain and I do things such as unpack boxes that have been sitting in the house for months and clear our guest room so that it *almost* looks like a guest room. And I have been mulling over this next response to Sarah. Because last time I accused myself of trading in the abstract and then continued to do just that.

I have to do this post carefully because I have threatened the Captain on more than one occasion when he joked that posting our charts on Facebook would be a good form of witness. Um, no.

Trading in the Abstract

I've been sitting on this one for a bit as a ponder what, and how much to say.  My friend Sarah blogs at Catholic History Nerd and recently posted this wonderful bit about NFP.  I find myself torn in several directions, so I guess she will be getting more than one post here.

The first rabbit-hole that I will follow addresses a mistake I may have made here when I posted about how women want to know about fertility-awareness based methods (FABMs) of birth control.  I know I tend to wax idealistic about things because inside my head I trade in the abstract, not the concrete.  Sarah brings it down to the real:

Day-Maker #84

Fleece-lined tights.  It's like my legs are wrapped in a cozy blanket all day at work.  Why did these not enter my life sooner?

In Which Cause and Effect Confuse Me

If I am being anywhere close to honest, I have to admit that I use "confusion" disingenuously quite often to call people out in arguments or just in friendly sparring.  Here, however, I am quite serious.

Recent statistics have been floating around about abortion rates -- apparently they are the lowest the US has seen since the time of Roe v. Wade.  So of course all interested parties are asking why.

This little editorial summarizes the dominant theories quite succinctly.  (I enjoy reading BioEdge, as it reports news with very little editorializing outside of the little editorials.)  In general, pro-life people tend to attribute the difference to recent state-level legislation placing various restrictions on abortion -- strict requirements for doctors and facilities, mandatory waiting periods, ultrasounds, parental notification, and so forth.  In general, those in favor of legalized abortion tend to attribute the difference to contraceptive practices.  In general, each side believes that the other is wrong in its attribution.

(I haven't done the research.  I don't know the actual causes.)

Here's the kicker though.  When discussing the legislative restrictions on abortion, many of those in favor of legalized abortion claim that these restrictions will limit women's access to abortions.  If women's access to abortions is restricted, then women won't be able to obtain abortions they should have, or will have to seek back-alley abortions.

I'm confused: is this a desire to keep from admitting any success to the other side, no matter how illogical it makes you seem; or is it a tacit acknowledgment that such arguments were wrong; or am I missing another explanation here?

A New Home

As promised, my dear 3.14 readers, I have a new URL today!  You can now find me at bethzwrites.blogspot.com.

If I did everything correctly, all links from the old should redirect to the new -- please let me know if you notice anything that doesn't seem like it is flowing correctly.  For now, the only difference you should notice is a lack of picture beneath the title.  However, a new name and layout are on the way.  Stay tuned!

Upcoming Changes

Dear and loyal 3.14 Readers,

It's been a good run, hasn't it?

We've been on some lovely adventures -- graduation from undergrad and leaving my College; teaching in an inner city and living with some beautiful ladies; interning with the campus ministry, or "The Year of Adventures with Percy"; the acquisition of a Master's Degree; and now marriage and Being a Grown-Up.

Peter Pan was right -- to live is an awfully big adventure.  I still love that allusion, but the time has come to say good-bye to Peter Pan.  Over the next few days, be prepared for a new URL (I'm learning how to set up re-directs to make that seamless).  Then, over the next few weeks, be prepared for some new formatting and a new name.

On one level, I am going to miss the old title, allusion, and style, but the time has come.  The changes will help me be a bit more focused and intentional with this blog, which is never a bad thing.  In fact, it might be a part of that "Being a Grown-Up" thing.

Sincerely,

Your Loyal Blogger