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An Abortionist's Thoughts
on Abortion Part Three of Four By Dave Andrusko "An OB/GYN's Thoughts On Abortion" appears on the blog of abortionist Lissa Rankin, author of the forthcoming book, "What's Up Down There: Questions You'd Only Ask Your Gynecologist If She Was Your Best Friend." The book's cutesy and slightly off-color title only hints at how crudely Rankin writes on her blog, www.owningpink.com. But this is her shtick, and we have bigger fish to fry than her tastelessness. Ostensibly, Rankin has feared to tread into a discussion about abortion, if for no other reason than fear of dividing the community that follows her blog. But now she doesn't want to be "silenced"--and with a book coming out--she seems to have summoned up the courage to speak out. The post is actually interesting for a number of reasons. For one, assuming the abortionist retains even the remnants of a conscience, what they have to say is inevitably revealing. How DO you square what you are doing to another human being with the ethical constraints hopefully imposed on you by being a physician? More than once she talks about "struggle" or being "conflicted." For another, between the lines Rankin is telling us she outgrew her Methodist Sunday school childhood and, more specifically, her mother's strong opposition to abortion. "I was raised to be Pro-Life all the way," she writes. "And when I finished high school, I was. I wanted all pregnant women to keep their babies -- no matter what." Yet she respects her mother's views and apparently they have agreed not to talk about what she did. (At the end of her post Rankin tells us she no longer does "surgeries" in her office.) For a third, it is fascinating to watch how she slides from abortions for the toughest of the tough cases to abortions for pretty much any reason to deciding that's it not for her to question at all--no more participating in a "morality quiz." Rankin writes, "I came to truly believe that a woman has the right to choose what happens to her body -- no matter what." There is a fair amount in her post about respecting the right of other physicians not to perform abortions. But that "respect" is an inch deep and two inches wide. "And in my opinion, if you're an OB/GYN and you don't do abortions, you are acting hypocritically," Rankin writes. "As OB/GYNs, it's our job to advocate for women and their choices. If someone doesn't want to do that, that's cool with me, but they should choose another field." [Speaking of which, Rankin is honest enough to admit that when she applied to for a residency as an OB-GYN, "Most of the best programs offered training in pregnancy termination but towed the party line of 'residents may opt out of the training on ethical or religious grounds.' But almost all of the residents at Northwestern did it. An unspoken pressure discriminated against those who didn't."] Interestingly, God is smuggled back in later in the post--on her side, naturally. When she started a job in San Diego, nobody in the practice did abortions. "But I knew I couldn't work at a practice where our patients didn't feel supported in their times of greatest turmoil," Rankin tells us. Then comes the most revealing paragraph of all. "So I surprised myself by announcing, 'Fine. I'll do them.' The minute it slipped out of my mouth, I felt a pang of regret. What had I done? But I swear -- it's the weirdest thing -- I honestly feel like God made me do it. I know it sounds crazy, but I felt a true calling to provide loving support and tender compassion, without judgment. My mother never understood, but I was being true to my own authentic self, even though it pitted me against her." She ends her post by coming back to this thought, asking her readers, "What about you? Have you stood up for something that made you feel conflicted? Have you gone against the grain of how you were raised? Have you stayed true to your authentic self, even when doing so meant you risked being rejected by those you loved?" My guess is Rankin's mother believes that in performing abortions, Rankin was not staying 'true" to her "authentic self," but turning her back on it. That her Methodist roots did not teach her to condemn women who have aborted, but to help her reach a decision that does not cost her baby his or her life. That in pitting "compassion" against "judgment" [actually judgmentalism], Rankin misses that her mother understands that true compassion chooses life, not death. Please send your comments on Today's News & Views and National Right to Life News Today to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha |