Time To

You are right.

I’ve been quiet for most of my adult life about this topic But I’m old now {as much as I hate to admit it] and there comes a time for everything.

I think that time for me is now; the precise moment I must speak, despite any reservations I may have had in the past.

I have never before taken a firm stand on the subject

I never signed a petition or participated in a march. I never stood in silence while other unfortunate females entered a planned parenthood clinic.

My ambiguous decision was based on a variety of reasons, several of which are far too personal to discuss, but mostly, because of my background.

I am the Granddaughter of a woman who bore 12 children in a cold water tenement in Hells Kitchen. I may be wrong, but I have never believed choice was a word in her vocabulary.

My Mother gave birth to her youngest child at 47.

I had four children and while I now wish I had been blessed with a fifth, I have not forgotten the serious medical complications of all four pregnancies.

I would never feel comfortable telling other women how to handle their childbearing options.

However, today two widely discussed new late-term abortion laws have made me re-evaluate an earlier viewpoint. One is the Reproductive Health Act, recently approved by New York State, and the other is currently pending in the State of Virginia.

It seems apparent to me that not only do both the new legislations violate the rights of a viable infant and also take the life of a fetus, but possibly, also are major steps towards legalized murder.

It is also my understanding that in Virginia under the new ruling, the life of a newborn could be terminated after birth with the approval of a Doctor and Mother. I believe the correct word for that is infanticide, despite the widely quoted statement by Governor Northam when he assured the public the infant would be kept “comfortable” while termination was under consideration.

The words survival of the fittest come to mind, and I know without a doubt that some of those I love and treasure would not have fit into that category.

However, they are not only functioning adults, but also contribute daily to society in more ways than one. While they enhance not only my life but also, others whom I may not encounter; they also breathe, laugh, love and feel the same anguish we all endure. They are human beings in every sense of the word and absolutely love life.

Who are those who will ultimately judge which one is “fit?” Will the homeless, the drug ridden, the unemployed, the mentally fragile eventually fall into the same category? And then, who might be next?

Who among us will be ordained to decide which newborn shall be allowed to taste the joys, the anguish, the loves and sorrows of life? Who will be elected to state unequivocally which person with disabilities should be denied the gift of existence? And what will determine the legal definition of disability as the population increases?

No longer am I able to ignore the recently quoted belief that abortion is a fundamental human right or by my silence endorse a doctrine that such a legal position is permissible.

While I cannot and will not ever sit in judgment on another woman who is forced by consequence to choose abortion, I must now disagree with those who are crusading actively for the legal right to murder.

Modern society has advanced with an abundant choice of contraceptives and medical procedures that would have changed the lives of all women in my Grandmother’s era. With such incredible progress, why do we need more legal roads for termination of life? I could not begin to list the various and sundry methods of avoiding contraception available for both sexes. Is convenience a valid reason for such radical legislation? Wouldn’t better education along with more genetic testing be an alternative?

I do wonder about the agendas and I openly admit I have finally relinquished my choice to sit in silence regarding what I now consider a current intent to legalize fetal murder. Are we merely giving it another name by endorsing a new progressive piece of legislation?

We are no longer in a fight to preserve Roe v. Wade, that is merely an excuse. That act is and will remain the law of the land, but in my opinion the issue has now become a campaign to choose who should survive.

The inherent perils of such a radical doctrine should be equally frightening to both male and female society.