Origo

Some years back, a pro-life (anti-abortion) group protested outside an abortion clinic in Eugene, OR. Passersby cursed and shook their fists at the protesters. One protester held a sign that read simply: "ABORTION: If it's not wrong, why are you angry." A man rode past on a bicycle, cursing and gesturing...but he stopped a block away. After five or ten minutes, he returned to the protesters and admitted that the one sign had arrested him. "You know," he said to the protester holding the sign, "You're right."

What did that sign mean, and what was going on in the biker's mind? I suppose the passersby were angry because the protesters were hindering women from exercising their right to an abortion. But how were they hindering anyone? Not physically. Anyone could have walked past the protesters into the clinic. Were the protesters hindering women seeking abortions by embarrassing them or making them feel guilty? Perhaps, but that probably explains the power of the sign. Who would feel guilty or embarrassed by crackpots protesting, say, eating peanut butter, or pulling teeth. And who would shake their fists and curse someone protesting the eating of peanut butter in front of a corner market?

My heart goes out to anyone who has had to struggle with abortion issues first-hand. No one who hasn't had an abortion can relate to the emotional and relational issues dealt with by someone who has. However, the issues are not going to go away in our culture. Abortion touches too directly on the question of who we really are as human beings.