Thursday, January 20, 2005

The human face of controversy

Ayelet Waldman wrote a very moving post about partial-birth and late in term abortions.

I don't think I could have an abortion; with my thrid pregnancy I chose nto to go for some of the tests because I felt that no matter what I couldn't see myself aborting, so why borrow trouble if there was any? But I do want the option to abort if my doctor, rabbi, husband, and I think it's the right thing to do.

But she raises a point which I think is more widely valid than the abortion debate:
To be relevant to the contemporary world, to be valid, the pro-choice movement must listen to pregnant women. We must listen to the woman and value her words.
In teh current political debate, is anyone listening to the people who will be affected? I think the most effective campaign run against Sharon's plan was that run before the Likud Central Committee vote, when settlers went door to door, talking to people, introducing themselves, putting a human face on the issue. It's one of the few battles Yesha has won lately. So why are we backing away from it to go back to ineefective mass protest rallys?

2 comments:

Amie said...

Great post today - very valid point, and one that's been argued probably since the beginning of time. We, of course, are dealing with similar issues in the United States (which are not so united anymore, especially not today). It's like that poem, which I must paraphrase, that says something like "They went for the Jews, but I'm not Jewish so I didn't stop them. They went for the Catholics, but I'm not Catholic, so I didn't stop them... and when they went for me there was no one left to stop them."

It amazes me that as much as humans have progressed over the centuries, we still can so rarely acknowledge that caring for others is a strength, not a weakness....

Amie said...

Great post today - very valid point, and one that's been argued probably since the beginning of time. We, of course, are dealing with similar issues in the United States (which are not so united anymore, especially not today). It's like that poem, which I must paraphrase, that says something like "They went for the Jews, but I'm not Jewish so I didn't stop them. They went for the Catholics, but I'm not Catholic, so I didn't stop them... and when they went for me there was no one left to stop them."

It amazes me that as much as humans have progressed over the centuries, we still can so rarely acknowledge that caring for others is a strength, not a weakness....