I was recently doing a project called Choice Chain, (usually an hour-long project where we stand on the sidewalk holding pictures of Abortion Victim Photography, and have conversations with the public about abortion) and I asked a gentleman passing by, “What do you think about abortion?”
His answer was simple, but it struck me.
“I support the children.”
It seemed to me to point out a question that no one was asking. His answer showed me that, to him, the word “abortion” was about a conflict between two teams, “the Adults” and “the Children.” He had chosen to support the Children.
Looking around, I thought about all of the people who responded to my question with, “I’m pro-choice!” or “I support the woman!” From this man’s perspective, these slogans might be rephrased as “I’m anti-the-Child’s-choice!” and “I don’t support the Child!”
The reality is this: A “Pro-Choice Culture” is a culture that looks at two teams working against each other, and supports the stronger team at the expense of the weaker team.
In that fight, the weak team has NO chance of survival.
If we have decided that we support “the woman,” it means we have chosen a side, and it is not the side that protects the vulnerable.*
On this side of history, we can look back and say with pride that we would have supported William Wilberforce in the fight against slavery, Martin Luther King Jr. in the fight for civil rights, or Lewis Hine in the fight for child-labour laws, but what all of them have in common is that they looked at a fight between the Stronger Team and the Weaker Team, and chose to side with the Weaker Team. This side of history is also this side of the future, and if we won’t do the same as they did, we can reasonable assume that on the future side of this fight, we will be the ones to look back with shame that we chose the wrong side.
----
*I would like to clarify that I’m using the wording “I support the woman” in direct response to the way it’s used in response to my question, “What do you think about abortion?”
I will be the first person to say that if a woman is facing difficult circumstances surrounding pregnancy, we should ALL be supporting her. Anyone and everyone who can. She deserves no less.
That question is a fundamentally different one though. Had I asked, “What do you think about women facing difficult circumstances?” then “I support the woman” would certainly be an appropriate response. However, since I asked, “What do you think about abortion?” the answer “I support the woman” is to directly pit the mother against the child, and say that you are taking her side.
We should NEVER take the woman’s side against the child’s, nor should we take the child’s side against the woman’s. Both deserve support, respect, and as much care as we can provide them, since both are human beings who deserve to be treated with dignity.
