Stretching my convictions
Almost everyone agrees that a woman should have control of her body and have the
choice whether to bear a child when her life is in danger. And a lot of us believe
that a woman should have the choice when the general welfare of the child or the
mother is at stake, when she is too young or severely in trouble economically,
is emotionally distressed, has been the victim of abuse or rape, or already has
more children than resources . But what if a perfectly healthy woman with a good
income, a stable 3 year relationship, and presumably healthy 8 week fetuses (natural
triplets!), decides to abort two of them because the perceived strain of bearing
and raising three children is too great? Cases like this
one, reported in the New York Times, stretch the convictions of those of us who
believe ardently in women’s choice.
Thirty some years ago, my aunt had triplets. And although it was not easy–in
fact at times it was extremely hard and all consuming--she and my uncle could
manage, and they did. And now that all three triplets are grown into wonderful
(and decidedly different) personalities, it is hard to imagine only one of them
surviving. My aunt and uncle would have been different surely; but would they
have been better? How can avoiding life make the future better? There are some
things that can only be chalked up to an ‘act of God’, ‘destiny’,
‘fate’, or ‘karma’. There are things that are put in
our path to challenge us and make us grow. Shirking the bad stuff can only make
us remain children ourselves.
We assume that no woman would take their choice frivolously, and that giving
women the power to choose will result in a societal ‘good’. But
of course the reality is never that cut and dried. And although this story fills
me with sadness at the mother’s action, it doesn’t change my opinion
that women should be able to control their own bodies. It does however, point
out to me a weakness in our society–that a 34 year old has the immaturity
of a fifteen year old is the fault of society as a whole. This is the ‘Me
Generation’ to the extreme! Those of us who are parents (or teachers,
aunts and uncles, day care givers, mentors, neighbors, and friends) owe it to
the young children to share with them some of the wisdom of the ages--that life
is an unknown journey, that the road is not only rough, it is often about other
persons than ourselves, and that the greatest joys sometimes come from the things
we fear the most.
Life is a journey with many unexpected turns. But should we want it any other
way?
10:06:55 PM 
|
|
