Thursday ii
Today on NPR Talk of the Nation’s subject was women’s issues. A broad subject. Sooner or later abortion did come into the mix. I would posit that we still haven’t learned to talk about abortion without shouting at each other. Or if we’re not shouting we’re evading. I thought everyone was missing something though I couldn’t tell just what until they moved onto another guest, a woman who was talking about gun rights and women owning guns. At one point she said that women take very seriously the power over life and death and don’t feel very easy with it. That is the power a gun exhibits and before a woman gets one she should consider this seriously.
I thought, that’s it, isn’t it? Regardless if someone labels herself pro-life or pro-choice, before we can move anywhere on the subject we must be willing to say that this is a woman exercising the power of life and death over someone else. It’s no use talking about when life does or doesn’t begin or what is or isn’t human. We have to deal with the fact that abortion does indeed terminate life. When we have looked that in the face without either liberal or conservative drama, then and only then can the nation begin to have a rational discussion .