Why can\u2019t we discuss abortion sensibly? I admit the subject is complicated and painful. Yet abortion is easy to oppose with ordinary science, basic morality and plain speech. I would like supporters to use the same simple honesty.<\/p>\n
In the Aspen Times, Maurice Emmer (Aspen Times, Jul 9, 2019, \u201cTime Well Spent\u201d) gave his straightforward judgment. He called abortion baby killing.<\/p>\n
My friend Ruth Harrison right away objected to discussion. She resorted to denial. She might have questioned Emmer\u2019s statement. Had she a case, she might have made it. Instead she told him, in effect, to shut up. (Aspen Times, July 11, 2019, \u201cThe Enemy is Us\u201d).<\/p>\n
Shut up. Really? What have champions of human rights declared over and over, if not every person\u2019s duty to speak up? To protest abuse of any human being \u2014 to get loud in defense of the weak and voiceless. Emmer was speaking up. Good for him.<\/p>\n
Sadly, Ruth is not the only pro-choice to use denial. How often do I hear otherwise intelligent people deny the unborn are even human? That they have no human rights? This denial is, of course, a plain affront to science. To speak plainly, it is ridiculous. And its depravity is blatant. Its record is horrific. We all know what that same dehumanizing lie did to American Indians and African Americans. We know what it meant for European Jews.<\/p>\n
We should know that human rights cannot abide denial. That they require open, honest discussion. We can start where we agree: that when mothers kill their babies \u2014 or, if you like, their human offspring, their unborn human cargo \u2014 that is not a trifle. We all know it can\u2019t be brushed aside. That silence is impossible. All the denials in the world will never satisfy objections, or make the protests go away.<\/p>\n
So let us deal with it patiently. Out of respect for each other, let\u2019s talk sensibly. And honestly. Let us stop denying. For the sake of humanity, let everybody tell the truth, and let\u2019s be unafraid to hear it.<\/p>\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n
Chris King<\/p>\n
Aspen<\/p>\n