Monday, February 08, 2010

The Ad That Wasn't

The much anticipated Tebow ad turned out to be pretty much a nothing. Pretty interesting given that The Washington Post ran two articles by anti-choice individuals (Walker and Land) that talked about Pam Tebow and her pregnancy. The expectation was pretty much set as to what the content of the ad was going to be, except that it wasn't after all.

If there is any value in the dustup that resulted it is only that our division on this issue remains, and it runs pretty deep. As a people we are repulsed by anything that appears to deny human life and dignity, at least if a baby or fetus is involved. We seem to have less concern when its's adults under discussion. If that were not true then racism, sexism and probably a lot of other "isms" would be lying on the dust heap of history.

We respond viscerally to babies and pregnancies because once we were that helpless and dependent. They are what we once were. The human species propagates via sex and procreation, followed by a nine month pregnancy that generally results in a live baby. That's the way it works. Except that now we live in a time when we can choose to become pregnant, and even terminate a pregnancy. Most folks can live with contraception. Abortion is another matter.

Abortion is a serious matter. We can't know everything about each individual abortion although the Guttmacher Institute has come up with information that suggests who is most at risk for one, and why. When you read it you realize we still, as a species, have a lot of growing up to do in the matter of personal maturity, interpersonal relationships, and under what circumstances we choose to have children. We also have a lot of work ahead of us to ensure that every pregnancy results in a healthy child with no disabilities. This is hard for those who believe that a fetus has the same rights as a living person. They cannot imagine a reason to terminate a pregnancy that isn't murder. Until of course it happens to them, and then sometimes they can.

Choice is the only option that encompasses all options. Including the option not to terminate. We need to keep it that way.

1 comment:

The North Coast said...

We also seem unconcerned about the sanctity and dignity of the lives of children over the age of three months or so.

Every state has tens of thousands of children in its child welfare system who are living in deep poverty, or passing from one foster home to the other, and onto the streets at extremely young ages. I see these children now and then- kids fourteen or younger who are on the run from abusive environments, or have been put out of the house by uncaring parents and step-parents. The authorities seem pretty careless as to what kind of homes foster parents operate, or the present well-being and future prospects of the hapless kids living the hard-scrabble, unstable life of a foster child.

And I wonder, why are not the people who are so concerned for the life of a 12-week-old fetus so unconcerned with the brutal lives of hundreds of thousands of children in our country whose chances at a half-decent life are crushed as they pass through our brutal child welfare system?