The feminist movement, despite all of the rational arguments it brought to elevating the status of women in society, destroyed the moral bedrock that anchored women to life. We became the "me too" movement before the current incarnation of the phrase. Feminism, instead of empowering women, made us selfish.
Reading articles by the Native American writer Jacqueline Keeler, I discovered an anecdote that works well in all cultures. It is about life and experience and demonstrates that the stories in every person's life history contain profound truths that can be manipulated in Machiavellian ways.
There was an elder who held tribal secrets and stories. The woman refused to relate the oral history to the younger tribal generation for fear that the stories would be corrupted and reinterpreted.
The Montana elder was the last of her tribe to remember. She asked that someone read them to her after they were published in a book. After listening, she slammed her cane down on the floor and said, "No more! See? That's why I won't tell my stories! I'm going to die with them intact!"
(In fairness to a cherry-picked anecdote, read Keeler's full article about Native Americans and abortion.)
Why are feminists, liberals and so-called "progressives" rejecting the teachings of the Bible? The Bible is the foundation of Judeo-Christian society. The Bible has remained intact, unlike the stories of the Montana elder, and the wisdom codified there is over 6,000 years old. It comes from an infinite source, far more powerful than human memory. Abortion goes against the Bible, it mocks Church teachings, and it negates millenniums of human development. It is composed of many stories. I am not a religious scholar, but there are answers to every human condition to be found there.
Walking along a Gulf beach while composing this narrative in thought, I watched a tern flying over the water. Stories are like a seabird. They fly through generations, and sometimes they dive for more truths. Without clarity of mind and soul, they either come up empty, or accept what they encounter as nourishment. It might be an organism contaminated with poison, or it can also provide needed sustenance. The success or failure of the search for truth requires discernment.
Every person on the planet has a narrative; forged over time, circumstance, and a sincere or not-so-sincere effort to define right and wrong.
Perhaps readers are hanging on, waiting for me to say I had an abortion. I did not, but I did have a miscarriage. There is some comparison because any woman who has been pregnant knows intuitively that her body is nourishing another life. Writers should write about what they know, for those are the only "true" stories.
My story and moral "evolution" goes back to the early days of the feminist movement in Chicago. I travelled in circles that were academic as well as politically oriented. Post college, the early 70's were days when abortion was illegal. I knew women who were the abortionists in the Jane collective (Abortion Counseling Service of Women's Liberation), but was not a member. Those women were considered the sages of the feminist movement, and what they said was "gospel." There was something about those women that felt "wrong" to me. Their personalities were harsh and haughty. Liberation? I doubted that, even at the time. My oral history will suggest there was no "liberation" involved. Ordinary women, with no medical training, performed abortions (both dilation and curettage and induced miscarriages) for over 11,000 women in Chicago when abortion was illegal.
In 1972, police raided the Jane Collective and seven of its members were arrested. "Each was charged with eleven counts of abortion and conspiracy to commit abortion, carrying a maximum prison sentence of 110 years. Court proceedings were delayed in anticipation of the Supreme Court's decision on Roe v. Wade. The Court's decision on Roe in 1973 struck down many abortion restrictions in the US, and the charges against the Jane Collective members were dropped."
So there I was. I see it clearly now, but the waters were muddied at the time. Did I have a moral imperative to turn those women in before Roe? What they were doing was consistent with the New York law of today. I could have. Would have. Should have. Maybe. Memory fades with years. Interestingly enough, I felt powerless, even though the mantra of feminist leaders in Chicago at that time was that women should reclaim power.
Two memories will not fade, however. These are my oral history that will support science, the Bible, Church teachings and a moral compass that says abortion is an abomination.
One evening, pre-Roe, I received a telephone call in my apartment, located not two blocks from Wrigley Field. The Jane collective had just "delivered" a fetus in parts that still had a beating heart. My acquaintance, who happened to be involved in performing the abortion, was absolutely hysterical. I did not know she was a member of the collective until that moment. To say I was a shocked confused and frightened 22-year -old cannot begin to paint a picture of the situation. Understand that the person who called me was not a medical professional. She would be protected under the current New York statute.
My mind and stomach began to churn with the implications. It was over. There was nothing I could do except offer comfort to her and suggest she quit, which she did. Counseling for her was imperative. I do not remember if she sought a therapist.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
