Outrage.

It's amazing to me how one word can sum up so many feelings for me sometimes. Case in point: outrage. It's not necessarily anger, but it's the condition of being so blown away by someone's actions that it is almost (or is) unbelievable.

I read this article today and that was the first word that came to mind. These people, these "Christian" people, are going to picket the funeral of a woman who lost a 6 year battle with breast cancer. As someone whose spouse is a cancer survivor, I have lived the incredible nightmare that is hearing that diagnosis for the first time. I cannot imagine being Elizabeth Edwards, whose cancer was treated and returned, but this time it was incurable.

Incurable.

And yet, this organization wants to protest at her funeral, and not because she actually committed any real crime. According to the group, Elizabeth Edwards "meddled in the womb," which isn't a violation of any commandment that I can recall, and I minored in religious studies with a focus on early Christianity. Here's what I think I understand:

John and Elizabeth Edwards lost a son, Wade, in a car accident when he was 16. They decided then that they wanted more children, but Elizabeth's age caused problems with conception, so they turned to medical fertility treatments to help. Apparently, this is a cause for concern (and protest) with Westboro Baptist. How is getting medical help to have children a protest-worthy offense? There are so many children whose parents want nothing more than to bring them into this world, and offer them safe, stable homes.

Elizabeth Edwards showed dignity and grace under conditions that would cause almost anyone to crumble. Her husband was unfaithful, fathering a child with another woman while he campaigned for the White House and she battled cancer. They separated earlier this year but John was by her side as her life slipped away. Elizabeth did not have to allow that moment of reconciliation or tolerance. She is truly an example of class. The fact that a so-called church has the audacity to suggest otherwise in the wake of her death is ridiculous.

This is sickening, disgusting and hurtful.

Outrage.