A Kind Grandma, Bill Mahar, and I Discuss Prolife

 I can't tell you how many election cycles ago it was, but it was a long time ago. I was talking to a dear, sweet, older lady. This woman was a life-long Democrat. She had probably voted for Franklin Roosevelt. Clearly she cherished the heritage he had established. John F. Kennedy was rightly admired by her. 

For most of my friend's life, abortion had been a non-issue. The questions related to the life of the unborn were not something that dominated political and ethical conversation the way it does now. All of that changed with the 1973 Roe v Wade decision. Not only was there a legal ruling, that "discovered" a right that had never been seen in the US Constitution before, but an important semantic shift began--a shift that has led to our current situation.

In the past the dominant word that applied to how a mom and a dad, indeed society at large discussed life in the womb, was "responsibility." All of us were expected to behave differentially toward a pregnant woman. Comments like, "You are eating for two, now," were common. At the very pinnacle of acts that marked an army as barbaric was the bayoneting of babies in the womb. Like sand working its way through an hour-glass, a shift took place. If the polls can be trusted the dominant word in the discussion is now "rights." The ethical weight, as seen by a huge portion of our society, is no longer on the side of protecting a baby's life but on protecting a right--which by the way was only recognized in 1973--of the mother.

Getting back to my older friend: She recognized this shift. In particular, she recognized it in the political party to which she was loyal, and in many ways loved. The trend was underway which has led to the overwhelming commitment to a pro-abortion stance by the National Democrat Party. She saw what was happening. She knew that the unwarranted taking of the life of the unborn was wrong. I can still remember the plaintive look on her face, when she asked, "Isn't there just a little bit of room for it?" In the context there was no doubt as to what "it" referred.

Our current situation brings many of us to the same crossroads where that dear lady stood decades ago. We are pulled, or pushed, or, in some cases, bullied in two directions at once. This crossroads was recently clearly identified by someone I don't think I've ever quoted before, Bill Maher.

I can respect the absolutist position. I really can,” he said on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher.” “I scold the left when they say, ‘Oh, you know what? They just hate women, people who aren’t pro-choice.’ . . . pro-lifers “don’t hate women” and that the opposition “just made that up.

Anti-abortion people “think it’s murder, and it kind of is,” he said on the Friday show. “I’m just OK with that. I am. I mean, there’s 8 billion people in the world. I’m sorry, we won’t miss you. That’s my position on it. (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/apr/16/bill-maher-inflames-abortion-debate-by-saying-its-/)

How much of this is shock-jock rhetoric and how much is true conviction? I'll leave that to you. I agree, though, with the point Al Mohler made in a recent article. Maher pretty accurately identified the issue. I unequivocally find Mahar's final conclusion repulsive. I see little difference between what he says and the genocidal practices of some arimies that I mentioned earlier. In a sense, though, his candor is appreciated.

As I write, I see that grandma's face and hear her plaintive voice. I don't remember how I answered her question. Maybe I just let it hang as rhetorical. I'd like to think that she answered it correctly. Today, though, how do we answer? I ask that knowing that this is a case where one thing leads to another. The courageous answer may not seem wise and the wise answer may seem cowardly. It's complicated and it's tough. Clearly, though, I must answer with two realities in mind. Maher almost arrived at the first. For me, I must remove the equivocation. Science and a clear understanding of the Bible indicate that the life in the womb is a human being. Unlike Mahar, I do care. I must care. In the same way that I don't want to live in a world where bike-riding seniors (that would be me) can be run over because they are seen by some as being in the way, I don't want to live in a world where womb-dwelling babies can be killed just because someone finds them inconvenient. 

I give Mahar credit. At least he acknowledged the reality. I hear too many trying to give answers as if the reality doesn't exist.

It Does!