A couple of years ago when our family took our whirlwind trip of the west we pulled into the driveway of our friends from California now living Colorado. I was surprised to see an anti-abortion license plate on their car. Well, actually the license plate said “Respect Life” on it. But, with the polarization of the country on the abortion issue, and the effort of the religious right to equate abortion with murder the message was viewed by me as an anti-abortion proclamation. I am guessing that the lawmakers who created it had that in the back of their minds as well when they passed the law.
It turns out that the plate was created in the light of the Columbine shootings, so one could easily have jumped on the bandwagon after that tragedy and supported the idea. But, I am willing to believe that some people might venture to buy the plates to voice their opinion on the abortion issue. And, it seems a bit nefarious of the government to voice a message that seems to voice opposition to a procedure that is completely legal. But, it was a way to raise money for the Columbine injured victims fund.
My thought at the time was that Colorado has a few extremists on both sides of the aisle, so what else is new. I wondered about my friends who had bought the license plate when they had moved to Colorado, but I didn’t feel comfortable bringing up the subject, which had never come up before. Some people just get crazy about some issues. Talk about mixed messages.
Time has passed and we still talk to our friends who happen to have a daughter in her early twenties. Their daughter has been struggling with the idea of growing up and becoming responsible. She tends to work very hard at trying to remain as irresponsible as she can. So, I wasn’t surprised to hear that she was pregnant.
I was surprised to hear that her parents were trying to persuade her to have an abortion. I thought back to the license plate that I had seen on their car. Had they changed their minds as a matter of convenience? Or, had they never been anti-abortion at all? Can someone who is willing to persuade their daughter to have an abortion honestly believe that they “Respect Life?” What does it mean to respect life anyway?
Now, as I have written before, I am not against abortion. But, also I could never find it within myself to be able to suggest that someone else should have an abortion. I certainly couldn’t find power within myself to persuade anyone against their convictions to have an abortion. I think that I respect life. I don’t think that the government should take away anyone’s right to have an abortion, if that is what they want to do. But, I have trouble with someone else trying to convince a person to have an abortion that they don’t want to have.
Now, on the reality side of the coin we have a young woman who has been opposed to taking responsibility as long as I have known her. Having a child is a major responsibility. If the potential child were to be born to this young woman I am sure that it wouldn’t be a “Leave It to Beaver” existence. Maybe the event of the birth of this child would trigger something in her that would lead to a sense of responsibility that might change her life. But, chances are quite high that this would never be the case. So, I can see the parents’ side of the issue quite clearly. I just wonder what the best solution to this problem would be. And, I am glad that at least for now I don’t need to make that decision.
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Don't forget what Stephen Colbert said, "Reality has a well-known liberal bias."
Cross Posted @ Bring It On, tblog, Blogger and BlogSpirit
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