Advice to Dear Abby: Remember the child.
In her latest column, Abigail Van Buren, aka Jeanne Phillips, claims that the decision to have an abortion is “nobody’s business” but the couple who conceived the child.
“Cheryl’s Fiance in Phoenix” writes that he and the woman he’s engaged to recently decided to have their baby aborted at six weeks’ gestation. He notes that his future sister-in-law, “Nicki,” is opposed to abortion and didn't want to associate with him anymore.
Cheryl’s fiancé asks Abby whether he should continue asking for Nicki’s forgiveness, or whether he’s done enough already. That gave Abby the opening to launch into a response which ignores the rights of the pre-born child:
“So how did Nicki get inserted in the middle of something that was none of her business in the first place? Surely, she didn't have a vote.”
Neither did the child.
Certainly, if a couple made a “personal decision” to batter a two-year-old, it would be somebody else’s business. It would be the business of child protective services, law enforcement, neighbors, friends, and family. Intervention would not be just an option, it would be a duty.
Abby had a perfect opportunity to describe the development of the pre-born child—the fact that at 19 days the eyes start to develop, that at 20 days the foundation of the entire nervous system has been laid down. She could have pointed out that at 24 days, the heart has regular beats or pulsations, and at 42 days the skeleton is complete.
Instead, she took the tired approach of attacking the pro-lifer.
Abby goes on to say: “The decision to terminate a pregnancy is an extremely sensitive one and never one that is taken lightly. Every decision has consequences, and I am sure that you and your fiancée accepted that when you made yours.”
But did the couple actually realize the full consequences of that fateful decision? That a child’s life would be lost? That the mother would run an increased risk of substance abuse, depression, and other psychological problems? That their relationship might be forever impaired or possibly destroyed by the knowledge that they had ended the life of their offspring?
Abortion does have tragic consequences. Unfortunately, so can newspaper columns that promote the idea that abortion is really nobody’s business.
As the poet John Donne wrote, “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.”
Readers wishing to respond to Dear Abby can write to her at www.DearAbby.com or at P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA, 90069.