2 years, 5 months.
Dear Jack,
Before you read this at some point in the future, ask me first to make sure you’re old enough; because the content is dark, disturbing, and designed for a more adult audience:
The story of a man named Kermit Gosnell is finally going viral, even though it is being ignored by the major news networks. That’s why I want to encourage people to talk about it.
I first learned about this over the weekend in an article called, “Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s Trial Should Be A Front-Page Story.”
Basically, a man was caught performing illegal abortions, “aborting” 7 babies after they were already born; plus he was responsible for the death of an adult female who died due to complications of his procedures, as well.
For me, this story raises some interesting points regarding the extremely polarizing topic of abortion; for both sides:
A) If abortion were illegal, there would probably be more similar cases of “botched abortions” like this going on. (Pro-choice point.)
B) Why is this story more disturbing because those 7 babies had already exited the birth canal? Why does exiting the birth canal, regardless of the age of the fetus, determine whether the word “aborted” or “killed” is used? Is a photo of an aborted baby more disturbing than of a child “aborted” after it was born? (Pro-life point.)
According to last year’s Gallup poll, 41% of Americans identify as pro-choice, which is a record low.
As a pro-life Libertarian, I passionately support laws against abortion, though I do recognize that a law simply makes it more difficult for people to commit an action which the majority of the population perceives as morally wrong. The law doesn’t necessarily change the demand for the outlawed action, it just helps prevent the action from being as commonly practiced.
However, something did cause the percentage of people who are pro-choice to drop from 47% to 41% in just a year’s time. So… something caused America’s views on abortion to change within a year’s time… and I doubt it’s people yelling at each other on Facebook in all caps and leaving condescending comments on blogs.
With that being said, I wonder how the story of Dr. Kermit Gosnell will influence the percentage of Americans who are pro-choice in the next Gallup poll.
Love,
Daddy
Photo: www.ehd.org
