After all these years growing up together, now the two sisters stood on stage -- thousands looking on -- opponents in the Great American Abortion Debate. Jennifer gave a gentle smile, Janice nodded, and the debate was on.
"Janice, I've always wanted to sit you down, always wanted to explain why I'm pro-choice, why I believe it so important that a woman's rights be a woman's rights," Jennifer ventured. "Now, I get my chance."
She looked over at her sister standing at the other microphone. She smiled softly, caringly. "Janice, a woman's body is her own. It's her domain. Of all things she owns, nothing does she own more than her body. All of these other things -- car, phone, clothes, whatever -- none of them belongs to her more than her body. Everything else came after she got here -- somebody had to give them to her, or she had to buy them. But, her body was her body right from Day One, right from birth."
"Excuse me," Janice interjected. "Jennifer, you are great. I do want to note one thing here, though." She smiled back at Jennifer and her smile was equally as soft as that of her sister.
"Jennifer, when you were born, that body still had a caretaker, other than you. You couldn't even take care of it on your own. Our mother had to do it. You were reliant on Mother. All the choices being made for that body were being made by Mother. "Same as before you were born."
She paused to let what she had just said sink in, then continued, almost crying, and somewhat in a pleading voice. "Mom also provided your every need before you were born." Another pause. "The difference? You could breath. Before you were born, it was almost as if you were holding your breath. Figuratively speaking, perhaps you were. You were holding your breath to see whether Mother would allow you to be born, or whether you would be aborted."
"Janice, Janice, Janice," Jennifer broke in, putting out her hand in a motion for Janice to stop, a touch of anger entering her voice. "We said we were going to be civil with each other, but I don't think you are being fair, nor nice."
They stared at each other for a moment, before Janice responded. "Oh, Jen," she said. "Before we were born, Mother provided everything. But, all that she did was automatic. She fed us. She kept us warm." Another pause.
"Agreed," Jennifer said. Another pause, and it was unclear which would speak next, each waiting for the other. Finally, Jennifer continued. "I see what you are saying. Mom took care of us both before we were born, and she just kept on taking care of us after we were born."
"That body of yours, it was no more yours right after you were born than before you were born," Janice said, dipping her head, as if to be reverent. "But, even if it weren't 'your own,' Mother would have been wrong to take it away from you after you were born . . . and it follows that she would have been wrong to take it away from you before you were born."
No comments:
Post a Comment