Editorials / Opinions

In my young adulthood I was all in for abortion, but in my mid-20s several experiences changed me to pro-life. It would require a lot of space the expand on these, but they involved assisting with several suction abortions and a clinical rotation at a Planned Parenthood affiliate in Cleveland, OH. Ultimately I simply could no longer deny the humanity of the object of abortion.

Two decades later, in 2002-2003, I was the volunteer medical director (PA) at a remote clinic in Kenya. This was at the height of the African AIDS epidemic and rarely did a day pass without misery and death. By the nature of our work there were lots of bio-hazardous materials generated: pus from AIDS related abscesses, infectious feces, vomit, and associated items like bloody bandages and used scalpel blades and needles. We had a very deep pit in which to discard all this.

One night a heavily pregnant woman appeared in the midst of malaria and a miscarriage. She delivered a deceased little girl, perfectly formed and weighing perhaps a pound. By all pro-abortion criteria this baby was perfectly abortable, and I could almost picture a giddy excitement from the pro-abortion activists: another victory for women's rights, and one less black child to worry about. Working with me was an American nurse volunteer who also happened to be pro-life, and we discussed what we should do with the little girl's body. Were we part of the enlightened progressive establishment, we would have done what they do at US abortion facilities, thrown her in the pit with the pus, feces and scalpel blades, and not given it a second thought, but we couldn't bring ourselves to do that. We ended up putting the little girl's body in our refrigerator then burying her when morning came. I've often thought since that experience every pro-abortion politician or activist be asked: pit of pus, blood and feces, or burial? I imagine there would be lots of dancing around, changing the subject, and accusations that the question was somehow unfair, because the overriding goal of the abortion industry is to never, ever allow any suggestion of humanity for the object of abortion.

15 years ago or so there was a common slogan used by pro-abortionists that declared "Every Child a Wanted Child," as if "wantedness" was a prerequisite to life. As the pro-abortion movement evolved into ever increasing shrillness this slogan faded away: inherent to it was a suggestion that a child was somehow involved, and this could not be tolerated. Likewise, the inveterate lech and former president Bill Clinton succumbed to political pressure and expediency of the time and declared that abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare." The last word became problematic for the pro-abortion establishment, which views an abortion as nothing more than squashing a cockroach, so that too faded away. One euphemism that has persisted has been the word choice: "I'm not pro-abortion, I'm just pro-choice." 40-plus years ago at the aforementioned Planned Parenthood I saw as a patient a young and very upset woman who believed she was pregnant. She explained the "experts" told her she had to have abortion, but she was confused because she wanted a baby. Abortion always involves a choice, just not necessarily that of the woman.

Language is powerful, and accordingly the abortion establishment has rid itself of words that impart any humanity on the target of an abortion: an unwanted child is still a child, and "rare" implies there is some reason abortion should not be commonplace. Now one of the catchphrases is "women's health care," i.e. to be pro-life is to oppose women's health care. Yes, us pro-lifers are against pap smears, mammograms and treatment of gynecological cancers! Similar slogans include "reproductive health," "protecting girls and women," and "women's and reproductive rights." Notice that the word abortion is cleverly absent; while still used when necessary, it doesn't have much curb appeal.

Another enduring pro-abortion motto is, "It's my body, and I can do anything I want with it!" One might ask, "Is there any point the entity growing inside you is no longer part of your body? First trimester, second trimester, moments away from the birth of the child?" The pro-abortion answer is increasingly "it doesn't matter, it's MY body!" Many states controlled by Democrats now allow the destruction of the child literally up to delivery (and even sometimes after). That is, of course, abhorrent and almost defines inhumanity, so of course they deny it, but it doesn't take too much research to discover it is indeed true.

In the 1960's we had what is called the "sexual revolution," which largely coincided with the development of medical contraception ("the pill") and a growing wealth that enabled us to increasingly pursue pleasure, especially sexual, typically at the expense of responsibility: if it feels good, it is good, and no one should experience any negative consequences of their behaviors and decisions. This philosophy was no longer innately selfish but became virtuous, spawning a cultural descent in which narcissism, cloaked in compassion, became the norm. Not surprisingly, widespread abortion followed, the mentality of "Hey baby, I don't want to use a condom, but let's do it anyway; no worries if I get you pregnant because I'll help pay for your abortion." There is a paradox in that ubiquitous availability of contraception, which logically should have severely decreased demand for abortion, did the opposite.

There is a parallel between the abortion and Jim Crow establishments. Both needed an instrument, a common enemy so to speak, to gain and maintain cultural and political power, and both chose the well-trodden method of diminishing, demeaning, and dehumanizing: the black person was, at best, inferior, and the unborn child was nothing but a blob, a non-entity, and even a parasite. Powerful and greedy voices repeated this over and over for generations, sadly with considerable success. I don't think the average white person living in Jim Crow places truly hated black people, but simply accepted what had been enculturated in them. Likewise, the average girl/woman seeking abortion is not cruel and inhumane, but has been inundated with the message of, "it's not a baby, it's no big deal, a quick vacuuming of your womb or a few pills and your problem will be solved."

Pro-lifers understand the girl/woman undergoing an abortion is also a victim, exploited by elitist organizations, politicians, and cultural influencers who make lots of money, find celebrity, and attain lots of power through their pro-abortion rhetoric. In 1954 a vile racist, ostensibly a pastor, named Carey Daniels gave a sermon entitled "God the Original Segregationist," supporting Jim Crow laws. More recently, a group called Shout Your Abortion put up billboards that claimed "God's Plan Includes Abortion;" the similarities are frightening.

A great irony is that abortion, under the euphemistic guise of "pro-choice," ends all choices: the woman involved can't undo it, there is no option for adoption by people who long to have children, and certainly the baby has no choice; dead is forever.

Sincerely,

Reid Fitzsimons, Thompson, PA