Choices

I remember a time in this world when there really was a sure thing. You know, the stuff that you could count on, come hell or high water. Some people believe that is the stuff of fairy tales and Santa Claus but I clearly remember a time when there were absolutes and I miss that time. Take this past week for instance. That surly little ground hog Punxsutawney Phil finally came through and predicted an early spring, while down south groundhog Beauregard Lee saw his shadow and scurried inside, leaving us to more weeks of winter. Now, its not like I really believe either prediction because we all know that the weather in East Tennessee is dicey at best but is it too much to ask for at least a little continuity in our rodent predictions? Who do we believe? Where is our buy in?

And on the National front, I remember a time when a baby was a baby. I believe in personal rights but just when does one person’s rights end and another person’s rights begin if they are at polar opposition. Not a person, some say, until life can be sustained and that has been the standard for many years. Since when can life not be sustained at 38 weeks or 35 weeks or 30 weeks or..? Let me tell you, as a mother of a thirty week premature baby that turns 26 next month, babies are babies many, many weeks before they draw their first breath. And, there was a time when all the world considered a baby that could have the possibility of living a human being. It was our absolute. But, not anymore. Now some of the powers that be have determined that babies are not babies, even at 38 or 40 weeks. There is no point that a baby is a baby and protected by simple human rights. How have we fallen so far as a society that we have allowed some very confused people to obliterate our absolutes? Absolutes are the lines we draw in the sand. Certainly, they can be moved and have been moved over time. But it should always be with great thought and consideration for the consequences of that move. What benefit comes from late term abortion? It is weeks and months beyond a woman’s right to choose and, if the decision to end a unborn life at 30 or 35 or 38 weeks were made by a criminal in the course of a crime rather than a unwilling mother it would be considered murder. My son is almost 26. He is smart, handsome and makes this world a better place. I physically brought him into this world (with the help of my husband and many, many doctors). If I choose to take him out of this world I will be charged with murder, and rightfully so. What is the difference in 26 years and 26 weeks? Nothing. I know what 26 weeks looks like and I know the possibilities. But, there is the possibility that I will get struck by a car or have an aneurysm at any time. Life is full of chances and possibilities. We roll the dice everyday and usually things come out better or at least okay.

I would never tell another person what they have to do with their body and I believe in personal rights. But three months is enough time to decide what is in your best interest. And sometimes things happen and decisions have to be made. Those are tough times and I would not wish them on my worst enemy. Late term abortion does not leave room for life for the baby. Early delivery struggles to save the life of the baby. Very different end games. One is born of desperation and the other is born of callousness, and a self-centeredness that is almost beyond belief. Almost.

I am ready to return to a time when absolutes are still a part of our world. A time when we absolutely value life and we have some lines that we just will not cross. Then we can consider ourselves almost civilized again. Almost.