Animatedbylove

Today we announced some big updates to our Community Guidelines and what kind of content is permitted on Tumblr. Adult content will no longer be allowed here. While we do not judge anyone for their desire to post, engage with, or view this stuff, it is time for us to change our relationship with it.

We expect you may have some questions on how this will affect you, and we’re here to make sure those questions get answered.

When does the new policy take effect?

Our new Community Guidelines will go into effect on December 17, 2018.

Newly uploaded content flagged as adult will no longer be allowed on Tumblr. We’ll also begin flagging and removing existing adult content with the ultimate goal of removing as much of it as we can.

What is considered adult content?

Adult content primarily includes photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content—including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations—that depicts sex acts.

What is still permitted?

Examples of exceptions that are still permitted are exposed female-presenting nipples in connection with breastfeeding, birth or after-birth moments, and health-related situations, such as post-mastectomy or gender confirmation surgery. Written content such as erotica, nudity related to political or newsworthy speech, and nudity found in art, such as sculptures and illustrations, are also stuff that can be freely posted on Tumblr.

What about Safe Mode?

Our new policy negates the need for Safe Mode so this feature will no longer exist. These new policies are the same regardless of your age. Read more here.

My content was flagged, but I don’t think it should be. What should I do?

If you feel that we have categorized your post incorrectly, you can appeal this decision with the form that was sent to you via email or use the button on the post in question. Please note that this process is only possible to complete on the web or with Tumblr app version 12.2 or higher.

Read more about how to review your content and appeal here.

What goes into classifying content as adult?

This work requires a mix of machine-learning classification and human moderation by our Trust & Safety team—the group of individuals who help moderate Tumblr. We’ve been expanding the team to handle the increased workload, and we will continue to expand as needed.

Computers are better than humans at scaling process—and we need them for that—but they’re not as good at making nuanced, contextual decisions. This is an evolving process for all of us, and we’re committed to getting this right. That’s why when you appeal a post we’ve marked as adult, it gets sent to a real, live human who will look it over with their real, live human eye(s).

Will I see any adult content on Tumblr after December 17, 2018?

Due to the technical challenges that come with moderation at scale you may continue to see some adult content. This is true for all types of content that might be in violation of our guidelines. At any given moment, millions of people are posting to Tumblr. To review everything and to get it right is complex, but we’re committed to continuously improving.

As always, if you see a post with adult content that you don’t want to see, you can report it directly to our Trust & Safety team. Learn about how to report content here.

What will happen to my adult content already on Tumblr?

Starting today, we will begin sending out email notices to members of the Tumblr community whose content has been flagged as adult. This email will provide a link to the post(s) in question and a form to appeal our decision if you think we have made a mistake. Starting on December 17, 2018, any post(s) that have been flagged will be reverted to a private setting viewable only by you. If you want to learn more about how to see those posts, please visit our Help Center.

As always, please make sure the email associated with your Tumblr account is one you use regularly. It’s how we get in touch when we need you!

You can also download the contents of your blog(s) before these policy changes take effect. Find out how here.

What if my blog (not to be confused with posts) was marked as “explicit” before December 17, 2018?

Blogs that have been either self-flagged or flagged by us as “explicit” per our old policy and before December 17, 2018 will still be overlaid with a content filter when viewing these blogs directly. While some of the content on these blogs may now be in violation of our policies and will be actioned accordingly, the blog owners may choose to post content that is within our policies in the future, so we’d like to provide that option. Users under 18 will still not be allowed to click through to see the content of these blogs. The avatars and headers for these blogs will also be reverted to the default settings.

You can check and see if your blog is marked as explicit per our old policy in your visibility settings. If you think your blog has been erroneously marked as explicit, please send an appeal here.

Will I get kicked off of Tumblr if I’ve uploaded adult content in the past?

We’re removing content, not people. However, those who repeatedly and deliberately post new content that violates our updated guidelines may have their account deactivated per our Terms of Service. If you feel you’ve been incorrectly suspended, you can appeal here.

What if I reblogged adult content?

The original poster of the content will be notified of its removal, and it will no longer be on your blog.

What if I have more “What if” questions?

We got you. You can review our updated Community Guidelines right over here. If you still haven’t found an answer to your question, you can ask our support team.

FYI here’s another tweet where he mentions the mother of the child:

Just a selection of the many apparitions of Mother Mary 

1531, Guadalupe, Mexico–On a hill outside Mexico City, the Blessed Mother appeared four times to a recent convert to Christianity, Juan Diego. Mary proclaimed herself “the Mother of the true God who gives life” and left her image permanently upon Diego’s tilma or mantle. 

1830, Paris, France–In the chapel of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Mary showed herself three times to novice Catherine Laboure (age 24). Laboure said she was commissioned by the Virgin to have the medal of the Immaculate Conception or “Miraculous Medal” made in order to spread devotion to Our Lady. 

1846, La Salette, France–Six thousand feet up in the French Alps, Mary is believed to have come to Maximin Giraud (age 11) and Melanie Calvat (age 14) while they tended sheep. Her appearance in sorrow and tears called for conversion and penance for sins. 

1858, Lourdes, France–At the Grotto of Massabielle, the Virgin showed herself 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous (age 14). Under the title “the Immaculate Conception,” she called for penance and prayer for the conversion of sinners. 

1871, Pontmain, France - Mary appeared on a farm to Eugene (age 10) and Joseph Barbadette (age 12) and Francoise Richer and Jeanne-Marie Lebosse, students at the nearby convent school. Mary’s message was written on a banner that unfurled from her feet: “But pray my children. God will hear you in a short time. My Son allows Himself to be moved by compassion." 

1879, Knock, County Mayo, Ireland–During a pouring rain, the figures of Mary, Joseph, John the Apostle and a lamb on a plain altar appeared over the gable of the village chapel, enveloped in a bright light. None of them spoke. At least 15 people, between the ages of 5 and 75, saw the apparition. 

1917, Fatima, Portugal–While tending sheep, Lucia de Santos (age 10) and her two cousins, Francisco (age 9) and Jacinta Marto (age 7), reported six apparitions of Mary, who identified herself as "Our Lady of the Rosary.” Mary urged prayer of the rosary, penance for the conversion of sinners and consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. 

1932-33, Beauraing, Belgium–Mary is believed to have come 33 times to the playground of a convent school to five children (ages 9-15), Andree and Gilberte Degeimbre and Albert, Fernande and Gilberte Voisin. Identifying herself as “the Immaculate Virgin” and “Mother of God, Queen of Heaven,” she called for prayer for the conversion of sinners. 

Some tutorials that I’ve come across, organized both for my own viewing pleasure and to hopefully assist others as well. I update this list whenever I come across new, helpful pieces.

A lot of these are hosted on my personal Tumblr, but I don’t change my url so it’s pretty safe to bookmark them there (and not have to worry about the url changing) if you don’t wish to reblog them yourself for whatever reason.

Feline tutorials:

The domestic cat body

Improving upon (lion) anatomy

Realistic lion faces tips

Big cat paw tips

Canine vs. feline - paws and legs

Guide to big cats

Feline comparison

Canine vs. feline - facial anatomy

Canine vs. feline - chest anatomy

Guide to little cats

Big cat eyes (could work for other eyes)

Spot variation in big cats

Big cat studies

Feline feet

Extremely helpful big cat references

Domestic cat references

Canine tutorials:

Basic wolf anatomy

Skeleton notes on wolf legs

The wolf skeleton as a whole

The wolf skull and teeth

Wolf paw tips

Basic canine poses

Canine ears and chest

Drawing realistic wolves

Basic wolf tutorial

Wolf paw tutorial

Paw pad tips

Canine vs. feline - paws and legs

Canine vs. feline - facial anatomy

Canine vs. feline - chest anatomy

And this is just an excellent DA for wolf reference images

Fluid greyhound studies

Detailed canine nose tutorial

Avian tutorials:

Bird wing anatomy applied on humanoids

Bird wing tutorial (lots of underrated tips)

Varying bird wing structure

Basic owl anatomy

Bird wing vs. bat wing vs. pterodactyl wing vs. human arm

Bird wings and flight

Various bird wings

Eagle facts sheet

Bird muscular and skeletal anatomy

Some great photograph bird (wing) references

Dorsal anatomy of a bird wing

Winged people anatomy

Don’t forget the secondaries

Human(oid) tutorials:

Facial features:

Excellent expressions tut

Altalamatox face tutorial

Profile proportions

Expression tutorial

Virtual lighting studio

Various facial and body shapes reference

Drawing the nose

Human mouths

Breaking down the human nose

How to draw the ear

Jawline and kissing tip

The human head at various angles

Advice on eyes

Nose shapes

The human skull and face

Facial features

Portrait lighting cheat sheet

Animating dialogue (mouth movement)

A kissing tutorial

Expressions photo references

Semi-realistic eye tutorial

Painting a realistic eye

The face in profile

The human head at various angles

Muscles in the neck and face

Breakdown of lips

Blocked out human faces

Average feminine faces of the world

Expressive eye reference

Excellent ear anatomy tutorial

Constraining the face

The face at various angles

Human faces

Excellent teeth tutorial. Animalistic, but it works

Tips on teeth

Colours of the face

Photographic mouth/teeth reference

Stylized noses and ears

Neck, shoulders, arms, back, and torso:

A masculine shoulder study

Muscles in the neck and face

Neck and torso tut

Masculine torso anatomy in use

Arm shape and muscles

Breaking up the masculine torso

Feminine anatomy patterns

Masculine torso photo reference

Over the shoulder poses

Shoulder structure (masculine)

Masculine torso in motion

A neat arm trick

Detailed arm muscle drawings

Masculine muscle reference

Human back tips

Movement and muscles of the neck, torso, and arms

Simplifying a muscular masculine torso

Drawing boobs

Feminine vs masculine arms and shoulders

Making sure feminine people have room for organs and realistic boobs

Shoulders vs hips

Hands on hips poses

Muscles of the arms and shoulders (in motion)

Varied masculine and feminine torso references

Legs, hips, and feet:

Masculine vs. feminine waist

Feminine anatomy patterns

The human hips

Masculine legs reference

A beginner’s guide to knees

Feet and shoes tutorial

Simplifying the human foot

Feet reference drawings

Feet, ankles, and shoes

Shoulders vs hips

Bent legs yes and no’s (feminine)

Hands and feet from cone shapes

Hands:

Hand tips and reference

Simplifying hands

The human hand

More hand(y) tips

Yet another hands tutorial

The fist

The hand in motion

Hand and feet tips

Excellent hand and feet studies

How hands grip a sword

Hand poses

Boxing out the hand

Hello more hand refs

Hand angle references

Correct grip on a pistol

Various hand references (with object holding poses)

Simple hands, fingers, and nails

Hands and feet from cone shapes

Full body and poses:

Simplifying human anatomy

Understanding anatomy part 1 (follow desc. links for more)

A guide to movement: flexibility

Pose tutorial

Varying the feminine figure

Excellent action and couple references

Various athletic builds

Proportional height of different positions

The human body in perspective

Body type diversity

Another feminine body tutorial

Fullbody proportions tutorial

Guide to human types

Couple pose photo references

Practice figure drawing (animals as well)

How weight sits on different (feminine) bodies

Kneeling and sitting stock references

Constructing poses and the line of action

Varying your body types (feminine)

Large source of feminine anatomy references

Hair and skin:

Various types of hair

Drawing hair

Skintone palettes

Variation of colour throughout the skin

Painting skin

Skin tutorial

Skin undertones (masculine examples)

Drawing freckles

Drawing different types of hair

Other:

Bird wing anatomy applied on humanoids

Animal feet on a human figure

Various human bone studies

Interesting mythical creature skeletons with humanoid anatomy

Winged people anatomy

Dragon tutorials (and bat wings):

Anatomy of the Western dragon

Dragon wing tips

Dragon wing tutorial

Dragon anatomy

Dragon tutorial

Bat wing anatomy tutorial

Equine tutorials:

Basic horse (back) reference

The equine skeleton

A good, large collection of horse stock references

Skeleton of a horse and its rider

Horse hooves

Skeletal and fluid horse studies

Cervine tutorials:

Basic deer anatomy

Deer skeleton drawing

Deer musculature

Deer skeleton

Fluid deer studies

The Big Book of Drawing: deer

Reindeer noses

Ursine tutorials:

Fantastic bear anatomy/poses references

Basic bear structure

Bear anatomy tutorial

Miscellaneous animal tutorials:

Sheep vs. goats

Anteater studies

Chimp studies

Asian elephant skeletal drawing

Animating four legged creatures

Various animal studies from an animation aspect

Drawing rats

A tutorial on creature design

Snake mouths

Amazing teeth tutorial

Background and objects tutorials:

Griffsnuff background tut part 1 (second in desc.)

Tree tutorial

Realistic gems tut

Water tutorial

General water tutorial

Drawing crystals

Drawing bows

Painting rocks

Parts of a saber (other swords linked in desc.)

Analyzing key and contrast/time of day/etc

Corner-pin perspective distortion

Using three cubes to make a street view

Cloud tutorial

A beautiful flower tutorial

A simple but effective tree tutorial

Drawing mechanical objects

Multiple tree tutorials

Perspective tricks

Weapon and shield accessory tutorial

Background painting tips (blocks and angular objects)

Clothing tutorials:

Fabric tutorial

Clothing folds part 1 (second in desc.)

Drawing hoods

Drawing jeans

Hat on human figure reference

Armor

More hat on figure references

Different shirt collars

Collars, sport backs, vests, and pants

Draperies and costumes

Making colourful fabric patterns

Baseball cap reference

A ton of clothing references

A boatload of well-organized clothing refs

Feet and shoes tutorial

Dressing Rosalind Lutece (older female clothing)

Feet, ankles, and shoes

Hats and how to draw them

Clothing folds tutorial

Drawing clothing wrinkles

A breakdown of medieval armor

Drawing hoods

General painting, drawing, and style tips:

Altalamatox digital painting walkthrough

Simple fur tutorial

Realism painting tutorial (human subject)

Excellent colour tutorial

Painting a wolf (good fur painting visual)

Photoshop brushes tut

Basics of Photoshop tutorial

Another digital painting tutorial

Common digital painting mistakes

Colour and light

Soft cel-shading tutorial

Various types of hair

Colour tips and the mood it expresses

Composition tips

Lighting and colour tips

Shadows

Another composition tut

Simple colouring via overlay

From paper to digital

Painting gold

Colour palette turtles

Excellent fur painting tutorial

Skin painting tips

Colouring black and white pictures

Creating a colour palette with MS Paint

Obeying screen direction

Analyzing key and contrast/time of day/etc

The coil technique

Colour adjustment tips

Making flat colour pieces look gorgeous

Blending with hard brushes

Outlining in SAI

Uncommon information regarding colours

Compositional balance

Visual algorithms

Gesture over anatomy

Disney Chris Sanders’ style tips

Design, colour, and value

Decent art without lining or shading

Varied shots of the human figure

Cinematography of the Incredibles

Giving characters personality with poses and expressions

The main shapes of character design

Tamberella’s shading tutorial

SAI watercolour tutorial

Choosing interesting colours (by PurpleKecleon)

Local colour and dramatic lighting

Silhouettes and line of action

Hand and wrist health:

Carpal tunnel syndrome information

Carpal tunnel syndrome exercises

Wrist, hand, and finger stretches video

Another video with good hand exercises

In 2015 New York City’s Department of Health reported that nearly 56% of African American women received an abortion. Of the 56,086 (excluding miscarriages and stillbirths) pregnancies, only 24,758 were born alive. 

Despite making up only 12.8% of the national population, African American abortions make up 36% of the national average. (CDC study between 2007-2010) It’s estimated that since 1973, black women have had almost 16 million abortions. If these children had been born, the African American population of the United States would be an estimated 36% greater than it currently is.

The Alan Guttmacher Institute, directly affiliated with Planned Parenthood, published that “black women are more than 5 times as likely as white women to have an abortion.”

Abortion targets the black community.

Sexist

Abortion promotes a society that says women are not strong enough to have a career/go to school/live their lives and be a mother. Abortion places the responsibility of an unplanned pregnancy entirely on the mother, never on the father.

In many countries around the world, mostly in Asian countries but beginning to spread to the United States, (legal) gendercide is occurring through sex selective abortions and female infanticide. 9/10 Americans oppose sex selective abortions, but that doesn’t stop it from happening.

Abortion kills children and hurts women.

Ageist

American teenagers make up for 18% of abortions

American women 20-29 years old make up 57% of abortions

Young women are constantly told by the abortion industry that they are not ready to be parents. While that is often true, there are more than 2,000 crisis pregnancy centers in America that will help women (of all ages, backgrounds, economic status, etc.) find alternatives to abortion and will support these women every step of the way, before and after birth.

Margaret Sanger, founder of what is now Planned Parenthood, said the “The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is kill it.”

In 2004, a study of over 20,000 kindergartners showed that students who had at least one sibling were better at making friends, helping other children, and better social skills overall. Children of large families develop large vocabularies at young ages, have better conflict resolution skills, are more self reliant, and are more giving than those who grew up without any siblings.

And personally, as the youngest of a large family, I know my older siblings and parents couldn’t imagine life without me here. I play a vital role in making my family what it is, all of us do. I am not worth less, or more, than my siblings just because I was born last. 

Ableist 

“I think the greatest sin in the world is bringing children into the world – that have disease from their parents, that have no chance in the world to be a human being practically. Delinquents, prisoners, all sorts of things just marked when they’re born.” - Margaret Sanger

Children that are diagnosed with downs syndrome before they are born are aborted 90% of the time. Parents are told their child will experience an awful life full of suffering, even though 99% of those living with downs syndrome have reported to be satisfied with their lives.

Abortion doesn’t target the black community just because they get more abortions.

The claim that 80% of abortion clinics are located in minority neighborhoods is a complete and utter lie propagated by anti-choicers. The real percentage of abortion clinics located in predominantly black neighborhoods is 9%.

63% are located near neighborhoods that are made up of mostly non-hispanic white people. [x]

And everytime you mention Sanger here, she was anti-abortion and pro-birth control. She opened the first clinic in Harlem with African American Women. MLK and Coretta accepted the award in her name and Coretta praised her for the actual work she did.

“Discrimination is a world-wide thing. It has to be opposed everywhere. That is why I feel the Negro’s plight here is linked with that of the oppressed around the globe.

The big answer, as I see it, is the education of the white man. The white man is the problem. It is the same as with the Nazis. We must change the white attitudes. That is where it lies.”

“When we first started out an anti-Negro white man offered me $10,000 if I started in Harlem first. His idea was simply to cut down the number of Negroes. ‘Spread it as far as you can among them,’ he said. That is, of course, not our idea. I turned him down. But that is an example of how vicious some people can be about this thing.” 

(Both quotes in this article here: https://www.nyu.edu/projects/sanger/webedition/app/documents/show.php?sangerDoc=320145.xml )

http://www.trustblackwomen.org/2011-05-10-03-28-12/publications-a-articles/african-americans-and-abortion-articles/26-margaret-sanger-and-the-african-american-community- (Has MLK’s letter and Coretta’s acceptance of his reward)

https://rewire.news/article/2015/08/20/false-narratives-margaret-sanger-used-shame-black-women/

Not like people of her time were highly racist as well. The fear that colored children would overtake white people from overly-patriotic and Christian extremists (Quiverfull movement)

So strong was the fear of “race suicide” that even President Theodore Roosevelt attempted to shame white women of “superior stock,” also known as wealthy white women, into having more children. In his 1903 State of the Union address, Roosevelt proclaimed that “willful sterility is, from the standpoint of the nation, from the standpoint of the human race, the one sin for which there is no atonement.”

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/jerry-boykin-americans-need-have-more-babies-counteract-muslim-population

“Abortion promotes a society that says women are not strong enough to have a career/go to school/live their lives and be a mother. Abortion places the responsibility of an unplanned pregnancy entirely on the mother, never on the father.”

Wrong. Abortion gives people the choice to decide what’s best for them. A person know themselves the best and what they can handle. Abortion doesn’t say women are weak. Not everyone can handle a pregnancy. People know this. To just tell someone “Oh, you’re strong you can do anything” is rather condescending to those who know they can’t.

And not only women can be pregnant. Remember trans men and nonbinary people exist too. 

In many countries around the world, mostly in Asian countries but beginning to spread to the United States, (legal) gendercide is occurring through sex selective abortions and female infanticide. 9/10 Americans oppose sex selective abortions, but that doesn’t stop it from happening.

And abortion won’t stop it either. To only get rid of abortion and do nothing else won’t solve the problem.

Abortion kills children and hurts women. (No children are killed in abortion, and 95% women* expressed relief after their abortion:

https://www.guttmacher.org/about/journals/psrh/2013/08/womens-emotions-one-week-after-receiving-or-being-denied-abortion-united Can’t go wrong with a peer-reviewed source).

American teenagers make up for 18% of abortions (Source?)

American women 20-29 years old make up 57% of abortions (Source?)

Young women are constantly told by the abortion industry that they are not ready to be parents. While that is often true, there are more than 2,000 crisis pregnancy centers in America that will help women (of all ages, backgrounds, economic status, etc.) find alternatives to abortion and will support these women every step of the way, before and after birth.

CPCs are, sorry to say, nothing but emotional manipulation. A lot of tell lies like Post Abortion (not recognized by either APAs) or that abortion causes infertility and breast cancer (which it doesn’t). my state of California shouldnt have had to make a law telling them they need to tell the truth and be inclusive in all choices if they weren’t such liars.

Some people aren’t ever ready to be parents. Some people don’t want to be parents and don’t want to be pregnant. 

Margaret Sanger, founder of what is now Planned Parenthood, said the “The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is kill it.” (Unbiased source for proof? Since she’s anti-abortion then I am going to say she’s been misquoted here.)

In 2004, a study of over 20,000 kindergartners showed that students who had at least one sibling were better at making friends, helping other children, and better social skills overall. Children of large families develop large vocabularies at young ages, have better conflict resolution skills, are more self reliant, and are more giving than those who grew up without any siblings.

And? Not everyone wants a big family. Not everyone can afford a big family. Considering that evidence is from 2004, before the recession, it doesn’t hold much right now when a lot more kids is pretty expensive. Ageism isn’t really even a thing here. Ageism makes no sense.

And define big families? Because the more kids one has after say five, the thinner and thinner the uterus gets. These things can prolpase for pete’s sake.

Some people are only going to give birth once, decide that’s it. And well, that’s their choice. Maybe the first pregnancy was too stressful a person doesn’t want to do it again. People who have abortions also do have at least one child. Sometimes two. Maybe they can adopt instead.

And really, personal anecodotes mean nothing because every family is different. I have sort of a big family, if half siblings all over count. I only know my bio sister and I never see the others for various reasons. 

They are here because our parents chose to have us. That’s basically it.

“I think the greatest sin in the world is bringing children into the world – that have disease from their parents, that have no chance in the world to be a human being practically. Delinquents, prisoners, all sorts of things just marked when they’re born.” - Margaret Sanger

1. Quote has nothing to do with abortion, as she was anti-abortion. “[A]lthough abortion may be resorted to in order to save the life of the mother, the practice of it merely for limitation of offspring is dangerous and vicious.” 

2. What’s she’s ACTUALLY talking about in that quote is matter of public health. As said, she’s pro- birth control, it’s there so people can better plan their families and not have so many kids they cannot afford. Inadequate care and love in a home usually negatively impacts lives of people who grow up in those situations. That’s what she mean when they have no chance

Children that are diagnosed with downs syndrome before they are born are aborted 90% of the time. Parents are told their child will experience an awful life full of suffering, even though 99% of those living with downs syndrome have reported to be satisfied with their lives.

Parents are pressured to abort when any abnormality is discovered, and to abort quickly. Many of these abortions take place within 72 hours of discovering a disease or deformity. Parents are pressured into this decision by doctors who only give one side of the information and over-emphasize how hard life would be for the child. 

1. Source please for the claims with percentages?

2. Yeah, people choose to abort so their child doesn’t suffer because they can’t afford the things their disabled child needs because medical based stuff can be expensive, especially without insurance which some people don’t have. Getting rid of abortion doesn’t solve that issue. And yeah, some parents are going to ableist towards their kid and be abusive too. Eliminating abortion won’t stop people who are ableist. Education is key, doctors shouldn’t be coercing people. They should be educating so people can make a better choice. 

If you just eliminate abortion without doing anything in the case of ableism, people are going to struggle financially with a disabled child who will need medical treatments and care. People are going to abusive and ableist to children without educating them properly.

  3.  “ Abortion gives people the choice to decide what’s best for them.” That would be true if abortion only effected the pregnant mother.  The father has no say in whether his child is killed or not and of course the baby has no say if he/she gets to live. “Not everyone can handle a pregnancy.” Huh? Unless your doctor gives you a really good reason to, yeah our bodies were meant to go through pregnancy. You don’t “know you can’t” go through pregnancy unless you’ve actually been pregnant and died.

I think you meant to say the pro-life movement is all of those things. 

Like, did you really just say abortion was sexist? When pro-life is inherently anti-women (and people with uteri?)

I’m just so confused at the stretches you guy will make. 

We have a question box in my 4th grade religion class, and one of the students asked why women can’t be priests. In her words, “girls can vote now and girls can be president. I mean, come on!” Can someone help me come up with a good explanation for her?

The best I have is something like this: “Jesus loved and respected women, but he chose only men to be his apostles. They were the first priests. We don’t know why Jesus did that, but we trust him.” And knowing this girl, I don’t think that’s going to suffice.

The priesthood is not the end all be all of power, nor was it ever meant to be about power at all. Even the pope and others are shepherds to serve and lead the flock out of sacrificial love who submit to the Holy Spirit, not domineering power-holders who call the shots.

I hope many of you will have at least heard of theology of the body - this teaching helps us understand the unique and complimentary differences men and women have and why God made both. (Theology of the Body is a really amazing thing to delve into, I cannot encourage it enough.)

Jesus was a man. A man has an outward capacity towards giving, protecting and leading among other things. Men are called to be the FATHER of their flock (to lay people) and not just a parent. FATHERHOOD is extremely important in the role of instruction especially in regards to discipline and leading.

Another thing I've learned is that a Priest stands "in persona Christi" in the person of Christ when administering sacraments - particularly in the sacrament of confession and holy Eucharist in mass. He stands in the person of Christ. A woman cannot stand in the person of Christ because Christ was a man.

To say that women can be priests also says that men and women are no different and that Jesus could have been a woman. To say it's an injustice is like getting mad that men can't get pregnant. They just can't. They never will. Like this, women can never be Priests. And that's okay. The culture's view that gender is superfluous and interchangeable is seeping into the churches. Sigh, anyway, When nuns take their vows they are in a sense "married to Jesus". Jesus is the Bridegroom, the Church is the Bride. It only make sense if Priests stand in the person of Christ they would have to be a man to father his flock. The Priesthood is a service and not a human position of privilege or human power over others.

Like many others have said, the Church is not a democracy in which we can vote on our long-held dogmas.

Full Question

I am an advocate of in vitro fertilization. You may think that it is wrong because it promotes unnatural birth, but have you ever wanted to get pregnant and couldn’t? How can you oppose the right of a woman to have her baby? I would rather women adopt the orphans of this world, but I would never say that because a woman’s “conjugal” love cannot produce a child, she can never have children.                      

Answer

So often these days we deal with the argument that a woman has a right to choose to not have a baby—regardless of the fact that it is already in her womb. Now you are suggesting that a woman has a right to have a baby regardless of how the baby is conceived.

The Catholic Church is not attempting to define anyone’s feelings. It is concerned about what God allows and what he doesn’t. Our rights do not originate in how we feel. They come to us from God.

IVF carries with it a host of moral violations. Msgr. Daniel F. Hoye, the general secretary of the United States Catholic Conference and National Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1988, expressed grave concern over the decision by the secretary of health and human services to appoint an Ethics Advisory Board which would approve in vitro fertilization experiments in humans. In a letter he said, in part, “Recent studies suggest that over 95 percent of the embryos outside the mother’s body has made possible the deliberate discarding, freezing and experimental manipulation of human beings at their earliest state of development.”

Beyond the horrendous acts that accompany the IVF process, one should recognize that the human person, from the moment of conception, has a dignity that is to be respected. It is not to be used, manipulated, and destroyed so that a woman can have her “right to have a baby.” IVF is also destructive to marriage in ways less obvious but just as real (see Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation).

Simply because we want something does not mean that we have a right to it. If we simply acted on our feelings and pursued whatever we felt like having, there would be utter chaos everywhere. We are not the center of creation; God is. It is God who decides what our rights are. God himself designed our sexuality. It is he who has the right to determine how we are to use it, and he has. He designed the context in which children are to be born, nurtured, and challenged on their way to adulthood. Therefore, each child has a right to be the result of God’s design: the product of the love of father and mother as expressed in the mutual self-gift of sexual union, which fulfills the “I do” of their wedding vows. The design is God’s. No one has the right to counter his design by pulling conception out of its context and de-personalizing it.