A Defining Moment - on Life
Today at lunch the "abortion" subject came up. Out of the seven people at my table, one proceeded to take the "pro-life position, except for the life of the mother," one declared herself "pro-choice," my friend and I are pro-life, and the other three didn't declare and made general comments about the subject.
What I found interesting was that I am finding that the term "abortion" is being misused. Not just by the group with which I was dining, but seemingly by everyone. It appears noble and high-minded to say one is "pro-life, except in the case of the life of the mother," but I disagree totally with this entire appproach, the entire concept.
A baby is to be born, tucked warmly into a womb, and the mother goes into labor. Something happens and the baby and mother are plunged into a medical emergency. Follow me, here... a medical emergency. The husband has to make a decision, the Doctor is asking him tough questions about how to save each life. Would this be an abortion if he chose the mother? Certainly not.
Why, then, do we add that caveat when discussing abortion? A woman walks in and tells the Doctor to do what it takes to rip this fetus out. Now, is that an abortion? Yes. The fight pro-life people undertake deals with this out-and-out definition of abortion, the deliberate snuffing out of a life. A medical emergency is just that, an emergency, where life and death choices are forced upon one.
The subject of abortion will resurface in the national debate over the sanctity of life. It is always an undercurrent, rippling up to white-water status some election years. Yet, I ask you to challange those political candidates or leaders who use the argument "except in the case of the life of the mother," that the intent of the mother on having the baby is the crux of the matter, that what they are talking about is an emergency, not an "abortion," and then reask the individual your question.
To email this to a friend, click the letter icon below. Comments are always welcome.
What I found interesting was that I am finding that the term "abortion" is being misused. Not just by the group with which I was dining, but seemingly by everyone. It appears noble and high-minded to say one is "pro-life, except in the case of the life of the mother," but I disagree totally with this entire appproach, the entire concept.
A baby is to be born, tucked warmly into a womb, and the mother goes into labor. Something happens and the baby and mother are plunged into a medical emergency. Follow me, here... a medical emergency. The husband has to make a decision, the Doctor is asking him tough questions about how to save each life. Would this be an abortion if he chose the mother? Certainly not.
Why, then, do we add that caveat when discussing abortion? A woman walks in and tells the Doctor to do what it takes to rip this fetus out. Now, is that an abortion? Yes. The fight pro-life people undertake deals with this out-and-out definition of abortion, the deliberate snuffing out of a life. A medical emergency is just that, an emergency, where life and death choices are forced upon one.
The subject of abortion will resurface in the national debate over the sanctity of life. It is always an undercurrent, rippling up to white-water status some election years. Yet, I ask you to challange those political candidates or leaders who use the argument "except in the case of the life of the mother," that the intent of the mother on having the baby is the crux of the matter, that what they are talking about is an emergency, not an "abortion," and then reask the individual your question.
To email this to a friend, click the letter icon below. Comments are always welcome.
posted by Andrea at
6:53 PM
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