Burying my nose in a magazine, I overheard the receptionist and other salon staff members comment on what apparently was a group of pro-lifers picketing the senator. There were all sorts of oblique remarks about Minding One's Own Business, Women's Reproductive Rights, et nauseam. Determined to ignore them…I tried to ignore them. I, after all, had my nails to concern myself with!
Only I couldn't ignore of one girl…I say "girl" because she looked about 18.
Grinning ingenuously at her colleagues, she remarked:
"I LOVE abortion! It makes life so simple! If you want the kid, great! If you don't, you can just get rid of it!"
Apparently I wasn't the only one shocked by this blatant statement, by this innocent looking girl. Several salon voices tried (unsuccessfully) to (a) "educate" her, or (b) hush her.
"Liza! We're not talking about children! We're talking about Reproductive Rights! For Women!"
Liza was evidently unimpressed. Peering into a hand-held mirror, and aiming her tweezers at, for me anyway, a non-existent eyebrow hair, she blithely continued:
"Denny says (parenthetically, she nodded at me explaining, "Denny's my boyfriend") that all this women's lib stuff is pure crap. I agree with him. I can't wait to get out of this place and have him take care of me. Meanwhile," she added, reaching for a lipstick, "I don't have do put up with those damn rubbers. 'Course," she added with a certain amount of virtuousness "I do take my pills…unless I forget to," she chuckled.
Do I leave? Do I stay? Do I deliver a lecture? A fellow receptionist, or whatever they're called, broke into my dilemma.
"Liza! These are not `babies!' They're—it's—well, anyway, they're not human," she declared emphatically. "Only the religious nuts think they are. Anyway, it's a woman's right…"
But Liza merely chuckled again and pulled out from the biggest purse I've ever seen a crumpled piece of paper. Obviously it'd been viewed about a thousand times. Smiling, she held it out to anyone who wanted to see it.
"See, this is my niece," she crowed happily. "My brother's kid. Stacey had this test and, I forget what it's called, but anyway, they can tell she's a she. They're still arguing about names for the baby. I suggested `Liza'," she giggled, putting the precious scrap of paper away adding "She's human, all right. The thing is, they want her. Can't wait 'til she's born…hope they don't want to babysit!"
I had to leave. There were, even then, more important things than a manicure. Keeping my lunch in my stomach ranked right up there.
Walking slowly home, I thought about Liza's comments. Despicable! Horrible! "Get rid of the kid," indeed! Only something about her, incongruously enough, endeared her to me.
I think it was her honesty.
Flash forward to 2013.
* * * * *
"Abortion is not sacred ground; it is sacrilegious ground. To imagine God giving the slightest approval to an act that dismembers a child he created is offensive to both faith and reason."
Father Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
In case you missed it, Representative Nancy declined to answer a pretty simple question last Thursday in a press briefing. The question:
"What is the moral difference between what Dr. Gosnell did to a baby born alive at 23 weeks and aborting her moments before birth?"
She refused to answer.
How come? The question was a legitimate one, particularly given the notoriety of the Gosnell case and the House was about to vote on banning abortion after 20 weeks fetal age. Mrs. Pelosi is the House Democratic Leader.
Probably because she didn't have an answer. Or, rather, the answer—the obvious answer—is not palatable to the "pro-choice" agenda.
Because the simple and true answer is: there is no moral difference. There's no difference at all!
And if you don't believe me? Ask Liza. The manicurist's assistant.
Pelosi did more, actually, then refuse to answer the question. She attacked the reporter.
"You obviously have an agenda. You're not interested in having an answer," was the lady's response.
But that's not the unbelievable part. She went on to say, regarding the issue (which is, if you're not still with me here, killing a baby at 23 weeks in utero)
"As a practicing and respectful Catholic, this is sacred ground to me when we talk about this. I don't think it should have anything to do with politics."
Uh-huh. Right.
Here's the thing, friends. You might think young Liza is an immoral slut. I don't. Not really. Amoral? Perhaps. Not all that well brought up? No doubt. Honest? You betcha.
Because Liza had it knocked. I pray she's changed her mind, of course, but at the time, she had, albeit tragically, nailed the question Nancy Pelosi and most, if not all, pro-choicers refuse to answer.
There is no difference from what Dr. Gosnell did and what pro-choicers advocate.
"If you want the kid? Great! If you don't? Get rid of it!"
Sadly, perhaps, in comparison to most, if not all, Pro-Choicers I Have Know…and Mrs. Pelosi…my respect and kudos go to Liza. The manicurist's assistant.
Because at least she didn't lie.
