This picture was taken in January 1977. The trio in the center are my sister Cindy, me and my dad. We were headed to Washington DC for “March for Life.” It was an anti-abortion rally. It was a cause I was passionately committed to. My parents were leaders in the Right to Life movement. Our Catholic religion adamantly opposed abortion. So, I stuffed envelopes. I made speeches. I picketed clinics. I was young. And the world was black and white.
As I got older, I met girls who had abortions. Their decisions were not easy. They were young. They weren’t ready to be a mother. Their choices seemed right under the circumstances. My perspective broadened. I was confused. And the world turned gray.
When people I loved found themselves unexpectedly and maybe devastatingly pregnant, abortion is one of the options I’ve suggested. I say it with a neutrality that surprises me. It’s odd to swing from one extreme to the other. But life has taught me multiple lessons on this issue.
First, not everyone should be a mother or parent. Some people do not have the stamina or selflessness to love and care for a child. Second, children should be born into -minimally- adequate circumstances. Poverty sucks. A child born to a mother or parents without the means to support him/her sentences that child to suffer. And maybe, a simpler lifestyle in other countries can still be a happy one. In America, childhood poverty directly correlates with education and career. The cycle of poverty continues because poor neighborhoods get poor schools that lead to poor jobs or criminal activity. Third, a child having a child narrows her own ability to thrive as an independent, self-sufficient person. What chance does she have especially if she doesn’t have a support system? None.
I was recently asked to review a play about abortion. It was a comedy. I told the Artistic Director that I was going to abstain. Although my views on the abortion issue have shifted, I still struggle. Philosophically, I believe no one has the right to end anyone’s life. I oppose murder, war, capital punishment, euthanasia and abortion. Without any other adequate measure, I must conclude life begins at conception and ends at death. ‘The end‘ determined by natural selection and not human interference. I understand the reality over the conviction. I am older. And the world continually changes color depending on my view.