General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I had an abortion... [View all]gratuitous
(82,849 posts)But it's the stories, and yes, quite often the details, that bring the discussion down from some lofty bloodless discussion about when life begins or how God gets mad at humans for using all their body parts. For me, the facts matter and show how complicated and personal each person's story is. It's not a binary this-or-that. It's also the messiness that is each person's life, a messiness that doesn't yield to facile analysis and sloganeering. It shows up the callow reasoning of legislators trying to practice medicine.
Does anyone owe anyone else an explanation? I don't think so. But it's in the stories that people can hear and consider facets of the issue that haven't occurred to them, opening them to a broader understanding, and a comprehension that this is not a cut-and-dried, one-size-fits-all issue. And legislators should leave it the hell alone.