Opaque Lucidity

Soccergirl's Abortion

I rarely mention abortion here because it is a very divisive issue in American society. There are other issues that divide us----Iraq, gun control, immigration---but nothing seems to evoke the same emotional response as abortion.

So when I heard about the latest episode of Soccergirl's podcast, I was less than enthusiastic about listening to it. Until today, I had never listened to a full episode of her show. Some clarification before I go any further: Soccergirl is signed with Podshow, the same company with whom I signed back in February. The difference is that her show is very popular and I don't post topless photos of myself on my website (I wouldn't want to scare anyone). But sex sells, she's willing to be "expressive" and life goes on. It didn't take long for podcasting to appeal to our most base instincts. We get the media we deserve.

You should go listen to this episode of her show, if for no other reason than to see how one woman justifies her abortion. It is not enough, it would seem, to simply have the procedure (or in this case, take the pills) and then move on; the abortion must be cast as a sort of victory against those who would take away that "right" and replace it with something sinister, like a sense of responsibility for one's actions. Abortion is a sacrament of womenhood, a sort of "F*&^ You" writ large in the sky and aimed squarely at The Man. To outlaw abortion would be to take women back to the days when they were all sex slaves and unpaid laborers.

I received an e-mail today telling me that my friend, Christy, and her husband are now the proud parents of a set of twins. What a juxtaposition this is: the new, happy mother and the sad woman who must make sure that everything she does is OK. Christy's e-mail made me think of November, 2005 and the birth of our twin nephews, Nathan and Noah. They were very premature and incredibly small. I had never seen premature babies before and the sight of them was shocking. There were those tiny feet and those little hands and two heaving chests fighting to carry on. They were so helpless, so innocent.

Millions of Nathans and Noahs are aborted every year. They are killed in the name of convenience, most of them---their mothers simply couldn't be bothered to carry a baby to term and then give it up for adoption. Yes, it's hard and yes, it's heartbreaking to give up a child you have carried for 40 weeks and yes, I'm a man and I don't know. But I do know this: every woman I know who has had an abortion and has told me about it regrets it. She may not say it, but there is always something that shows me the pain is till there, even if it's flippancy. I could write a book about flippancy and women, but I digress.

Some of you will think I am too judgmental; you are entitled to your opinion. I do not hate Soccergirl because of her actions. Instead, I pity her. Even though she doesn't know it yet, her life will never be the same. And she will never admit it, instead probably preferring to throw out the fact that she has had an abortion as if it were an act of bravery.