I Learned that in an Anime #2: Dragon Ball Z is Pro-Life

Just as a fair warning, this post is going to contain some spoilers about the Dragon Ball Z film Battle of Gods (2013) and the Dragon Ball Z anime.  If you haven't seen the film and plan on it, I suggest watching it first and coming back to read this post later.  If you don't care about spoilers, please read on ahead.  I'll try to give a bit of background for non-DBZ fans so you can also follow along.

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So, to summarize, this film was considered something a reboot of the Dragon Ball franchise.  It takes place sometime after the events of "Z," but before GT.  A bit of background on the series: Goku is a Saiyan, a member of a destructive race of aliens who travel from planet to planet wiping out the native inhabitants.  However, he crash-landed on earth as a child, hitting his head and losing his memory, so instead, he grows up to become a hero for justice and a protector against the many threats to the earth.  By the time "Z" has ended, Goku has defeated some of the most powerful beings in the universe, including Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu.  

Final-Form Frieza, Super Buu, and Perfect Cell

The movie starts in a time of peace, where there are no threats left to fight, and Goku's friend Bulma is celebrating her birthday. Meanwhile, in another part of the universe, Beerus, the god of destruction has awakened from his long slumber to fulfill a prophecy and find the fabled "Super Saiyan God". When he does not find what he is looking for on Earth, he decides to destroy it if Goku can't stop him.

So, here is the spoiler time...

Beerus vs "Super Saiyan God" Goku

Goku can't stop Beerus.  He's just not strong enough.  But, there is a prophesy that if five Saiyans with pure hearts join hands and channel their power into another, he or she can become a Super Saiyan God.  So, Goku gathers together his other Saiyan family and friends (Vegeta, Trunks, Gohan, and Goten), but the ritual doesn't work.  They misunderstood: there has to be five Saiyans to power up a sixth one, as opposed to a total of five.  But, here's the thing...Gohan's human wife Videl is pregnant with his Saiyan baby, so she joins the circle as well, and the power of the child's pure heart is enough to complete the ritual and give Goku the power he needs to transform.

Pregnant Videl and unborn Pan give their power to help Goku

So, what does that mean?  Well, the only way that Goku could have reached the level of godhood was to have the power of five pure-hearted Saiyans to help him.  And if Videl's unborn child (soon to be known as Pan) was able to complete the ring as the sixth Saiyan then that means a few very important things.  One, baby Pan has a pure heart, and two, she is a person.  A clump of cells could not have had the power or the purity of heart to assist as she does.  And look closely at the picture of Videl featured here.  That's a pretty flat stomach.  In fact, her husband doesn't even know that she's pregnant yet!  She surprises everyone by announcing her pregnancy at the moment  when Pan's pure heart is needed to complete the circle.  My point?  According to science, that baby is nothing more than a tiny cluster of cells...and yet, it is enough of a person to make a big impact.

Too many people tell us today that motherhood is a form of bondage, and that the unborn children in our wombs are not people yet (so as to justify ripping them from the womb in pieces or burning them to death with a saline solution).  How far from the truth this is!  Pregnancy is a beautiful thing.  As I talked about in my last post, I am considering veiling at mass and adoration.  In some of the links provided there, people talk about how you veil something that is sacred.  And a woman veils herself because her body is sacred.  God touches women in a way he does not touch men--he gives us the ability to produce life and carry it until it is ready to be born.  What a beautiful gift!

Tarble

The thing is, this was not just a convenient point that was needed in the film.  For example, the prophecy could have required a total of five pure-hearted Saiyans, since there would be more than enough of them at the party. They could have even used other Saiyan characters from the series, such as Vegeta's brother Tarble, even though he wasn't there at the time.  Beerus made it abundantly clear that he's going to wait.  This is not a matter of "We have sixty seconds and need a fast solution!"  Sure, there was a time limit, but it was not an instantaneous death sentence.  So, why not get him?  Or the ritual could even have required six pure hearts, regardless of race. But, that's not how it happened.  Instead, the message here is that it had to be six Saiyans, and Videl and Gohan's daughter Pan was the necessary extra piece to complete the circle.  And this means that this was a conscious choice on the part of the writers.  They wanted to show Pan's personhood.

Say what you would like, but this is pretty clear to me.  Just as God has decreed that each and every one of us is a person with our own soul and will and purpose, so too is it shown in this anime.  Goku is a protector.  Life in all of its forms is important to him.  That's why he needs the assistance of all lives to power up some of his most powerful attacks such as the spirit bomb or his Super Saiyan God form.  Many movies and shows attempt to tear apart the humanity of the unborn just as abortionists try to tear the babies from the womb.  But, at least one can count on the Dragon Ball franchise to get the message right.

I'll leave you with this closing thought:

God bless,

♥ Little Sister