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36. America's Deadly New Civil War
Sometimes we unwittingly trivialize great social
issues. Once, when our kids were teenagers, I
facetiously told an audience that I was puzzled as to
.why we had the great debate about when life begins -–
at conception or at birth. To a parent of any teenager,
I said, "It's obvious that life begins when the kids leave
home!" ·Mom and I have been so busy raising our
children, that we really haven't had a chance until now
to step back and examine the process.
From the time that our son (presently a husband,
daddy, and a family practice physician), and our
daughter (now a professional accountant) were placed
in our hands at about two to three weeks of
age~
it has
felt as if the calender has had a fast forward on it.
They started out as Dr. Dobson describes all infants" ...
a noise at one end and a mess at the other." And now
here we are relishing the wonderful world of bonus
babies in the form of grandchildren.
I will attempt to start with impartiality, which will at
times yield to passion, as we take on this life and death
matter as it has evolved over the years to become
what the late Mother Teresa recently called the
abortion controversy -- "the great issue of our time."
Really, is it possible to be both pro-choice before
conception and pro-life after conception? I think so.
Most of my thinking came together in the fall of
1993 ·as I prepared remarks as a keynote speaker for
the 30th Annual Celebration Dinner for Christian
Homes·of Abilene. That same fall of 19931 and while
a guest at Parents' Weekend early in
my ..
son's
freshman year in medical school (University of
Arkansas for Medical SC::iences), we found ourselves
·touring an anatomy lab with other proud moms and
dads.
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