In the White House briefing room yesterday, President Barack Obama commented on the jury’s decision in the George Zimmerman case. While discussing the consequences of the death of Trayvon Martin, the president was quoted as saying, “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.”
I found it curious that President Obama’s logical train of thought could bring him to the conclusion that “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago,” but that same logic has never brought him to the understanding that that child being aborted could also have been him.
It seemed obvious that President Obama was considering the consequences of “What if it had been me?” So I decided to look up the definition of “consequences” in the dictionary and see how it would logically apply to this situation.
Consequence
1. A conclusion derived through logic
2. Something produced by a cause or necessarily following from a set of conditions
3. a) Importance with respect to power to produce an effect. b) social importance
4. The appearance of importance; especially: self-importance
I’ll address each definition in terms of abortion and the president’s comments.
1. A conclusion derived through logic.
I posed a question of logic to myself while considering this definition: would Barack Obama’s mother have stopped Barack Obama from being elected the first African-American president of the United States of America if she had decided to have an abortion? The answer, of course, is yes. Barack Obama’s mother would have stopped him from being elected the first African-American president of the United States of America by stopping the natural progression of his life while he was still in the womb. This is “a conclusion derived through logic.”
2. Something produced by a cause or necessarily following from a set of conditions.
Again we have the Barack Obama example. The “cause” is Barack Obama’s mother having an abortion. Logically, it “necessarily follows” that the “something produced” is an inability of Barack Obama to be elected the first African-American president of the United States, because his mother decided to end his life while he was still in the womb.
3. a) Importance with respect to power to produce an effect. b) Social importance
Every woman who decides to have an abortion is making a decision of “importance” – a decision of “consequence.” Unfortunately, no woman can reliably predict that her son or daughter will be elected president of the United States. Logically, this means that every abortion is of consequence. Barack Obama’s mother would have had the “power to produce an effect” of consequence for the entire world.
Logically, this confers “social importance” on Barack Obama’s mother and every other woman. It also implies “social importance” concerning the issue of abortion in a much broader sense.
4. The appearance of importance; especially: self-importance.
An image of self-importance is vital to the healthy psyche of every human being. We need to know that our lives have meaning and importance, even if only to our families and friends. But when this sense of self-importance becomes inflated to the point where we believe that we have the right to end the life of another human being for reasons of personal convenience or vanity, we become narcissists.
The animal kingdom abounds with species where the male will kill newborn offspring because he knows that the female won’t breed again otherwise until the newborns have been fully nurtured to adulthood. To satisfy his own sexual desires, the male will kill the newborns. Apparently the human species has decided to devolve to the level of animals rather than evolve as a thinking species.
There are very real consequences to abortion, Mr. President. The consequences to women include increased risks of sterility, breast cancer, psychological disorders, and even death. The consequences for the nation include political gridlock, civil unrest, and a future built on lies. When we as a species embrace abortion, we return to the level of animals, where there are no behavioral boundaries to rein in our basest instincts.
Yes Mr. President, it could have been you 35 years ago. In the case of abortion, it could have been you 52 years ago.
