No Time for "Life"

I’m a gregarious sort. I’ve been known to start a conversation with just about anybody I happen to be standing near. In fact, I used to embarrass the bejesus out of my kids that way. I haven’t changed. I’ve had some pretty darned interesting talks with people I just start talking to, out of the blue.

I go to the Y just about every weekday, sometimes on Saturdays for a swim. Tuesday, I was pedaling a bicycle, there was a young woman on the machine next door. Fox News had an item on discussing the Planned Parenthood fiasco, and the next thing I know we’re talking about this “choice” business. As might be expected, most of the people in my milieu of friends choose life. I was, however, not surprised when this chick announced she was for “choice”, which as we know, means no choice for the unborn. I did manage to hold my tongue – up to a point.

“So you think its okay for a woman to have her baby killed, for the sake of convenience?” I asked, trying to sound off-handed about the whole thing.

“It’s not a baby; they said it was an inviable tissue mass.”

“Who said?”

“Our health teacher, in school. She said when it was inside the mother, it was not a baby.”

My God, another clueless high school science teacher. Or a liberal one. Or both. I rue the future of America’s high school students. But they’ve already been given a royal screwing by the education system in New York state.

“Of course it’s a baby. What else could it possibly be? According to that way of thinking, you, me, everybody was an inviable tissue mass at one time. Look at us now! Aren’t we both glad some asshole didn’t chop us up to little pieces and flush us down the toilet. Or, tumble us alive out of the womb onto a butcher block and start cutting us up into “choice” cuts.

“They don’t do that!”

“Kermit Gosnell did it all the time. And, from what was said, there are many more abortionists out there dong the same thing. Planned Parenthood is just figuring out how to make more money from selling “choice” parts. One of their doctors was taped saying she planned to be more careful so she wouldn’t “crunch“ any valuable parts.

 “But if they’re inviable, who cares?”

 “The babies may be considered inviable inasmuch as they cannot sustain themselves outside the mother’s womb. No fetus can survive on its own. That ‘s why God gave them nine months to mature. Even then they need help; that’s why he gave them over to moms and dads to care for them. Babies were not intended to be killed by their mothers.

 “Actually, the right word is not inviable but inviolable – meaning sacred.”

She became reticent, sitting, thinking things over. I began to think I had perhaps reached her at some level, had her thinking differently about killing babies.

She broke the silence by stating she was pregnant and planning an abortion.

It was my turn to clam up and think about what she planned to do. I was angered by her admission, but I dared not let it show. I turned my gaze toward the television and watched the images move about. I wasn’t absorbing any of the content but thinking of how I might go about saving this woman’s baby’s life.

“Have you considered giving the baby up for adoption?” I asked.

“Nah (that was her word – nah). It’ll be better to have the abortion – you know, get it over with. I don’t want to bother being pregnant – too much hassle. I got to lead my life; a baby would be in the way.”

“Where do you work (although I was pretty sure I knew the answer)?”

“Nowhere,” she shrugged as if it didn’t matter.

Then she hit me with the zinger (the reason I decided to write this blog): Looking sad, she said, “I don’t want to bring anymore babies into this ugly world.”

Oh.

What a noble thought.

I wanted to say it – I really wanted to yell it out, but I’m too much of a gentleman (or maybe chicken is a better word.). I wanted to say if the people being refused the right to live were like her, maybe we would all be better off not having them around. We have enough terrorists to worry about. We certainly don’t need to have them wielding knives in centers for women’s health, which is what “healthcare providers” at Planned Parenthood would like us to think about them.

But the young women idly pedaling her bike had one thing right: It can be an ugly world; people like her have made it that way. If there were no women wanting to destroy the “inviable tissue mass” weighing them down and interfering with their social lives, there would no need for abortionists.