Doctor How Dare You!

This past week I have heard the stories of two very different pregnant women, their very different experiences with physicians and similar indignation with the way they were treated.

The first story I came across while reading an article by Joyce Arthur on the Pro-Choice Action Network website. The article was well written and I hope to write here about my response to some of the issues she raises in the near future. The part that struck me the most though was near the end when she recounts her own story of accessing medical care during her pregnancy. She writes:

Perhaps an effective way to convey this is to explain how I felt about my own abortion 15 years ago, obtained under Canada's old discriminatory system of therapeutic hospital abortion committees. The thing that enraged me then, and still does today, is this single overriding thought: How dare they. How dare anyone tell me what I can do with my body, my life. How dare anyone tell me I should submit to their preconceived ideas of how a woman should think and feel, decide and act, live and breathe. How dare they.

The second story was told by a woman I deeply respect, Joyce Heron, about her sister. Her sister too accessed medical care but more recently than in the previous instance. Upon investigating some complications of her pregnancy her baby was found to have a serious congenital defect and a late term abortion was recommended. The doctors counseled her that there was no chance that her baby would be born alive and she must terminate the pregnancy immediately. To this she replied, "How dare you tell me to kill my baby. I realize that he may well die soon but I will not have a hand in his death. Women have given birth to stillborn babies for centuries so why should I be any different." She ended up giving birth to a son who lived about six hours and then died.

So what do we do with these two passionate pleas for physicians to stay out of women's decisions about how to deal with there pregnancies. I admit that I have struggled greatly with these two stories as I identify with the physician in the first and the mother in the second, but the two mothers views seem so similar. I also believe that each of the physicians acted ethically. There are three principles though that I believe are fundamentally different in regards to the two women.

1) The second mother chose mystery while the first chose finality. While the health of her baby seemed hopeless the second mother chose to maintain hope and embrace the mystery that the Kingdom might break in and her baby may survive or not. The first mother made the equally difficult decision to reject mystery and make the call herself that this baby was not right at this time.

2) The second mother chose to believe that her baby may be a person with a handicap while the first believed that she may be a person with a parasite. The word "may" is key here. Either woman may be correct but which, if their choice was in ere, would have the greatest moral consequence.

3) The second mother chose sacrifice while the first chose comfort. I certainly do not mean to assume that comfort equates with ease because the decision to terminate a pregnancy must be heart wrenching but it is none-the-less a decision that leads to comfort.

As I've thought about these stories, a third came to mind. A third fourth woman also were pregnant and eventually had their babies. One of the babies died and each mother laid claim that the surviving baby belonged to them. The judge offered this solution; the surviving baby would be cut in two and half given to each mother. One woman was pleased with this ruling while the other immediately withdrew her claim and asked the other woman to keep the whole baby. Needless to say the judge promptly gave custody to the woman who would rather give up her baby than have him killed.

Although this story differs again from the previous two I think that the real mother also chose mystery, personhood, and sacrifice. Although one need not always choose each of these values in order to act ethically, her choice in 1 Kings 3 should be an example as to where to put our bias in our dealings with mothers and children at any stage.

Munich Olympics and Chicago Basketball

The other night some friends and I saw the movie Munich. At a superficial level the movie seems to be a condemnation of "eye for and eye" foreign policy. It shows preemptive and retaliatory violence as a self fulfilling prophecy that will continually be realized. It offers few answers though as to an alternative solution to the international terrorism that occurs in our world. As the credits rolled with the haunting picture of the newly finished World Trade Center standing majestically in the background the question seemed to be asked, how are we dealing with violence in our world today?

To say the American foreign policy since the destruction of the WTC is in some ways similar to the Israeli foreign policy depicted in Munich seems justified. The result of this policy is portrayed as tragic in the film and it can be implied that the result will also be tragic in today's current events. Munich eloquently shows the futility of using violence to stop violence. This concept is difficult for us to comprehend when depicted on a large international canvas but when the cameras focus in on the life of one hired assassin and the damage done to his family and him the tragic farce is evident. The same result may be waiting in the near future for those involved in the retaliation for the events of September 11, 2001. Is it likely that continued violence between the Western and Islamic worlds will result in a conclusion any different than that in Munich?

So what then is the alternative?

Driving home from the film I heard on ESPN radio about Antonio Davis and his trip "into the stands" to defend his wife. It was the play by play announcer that shocked me. He comments were similar to, "DAVIS IS GOING INTO THE STANDS! HE'S CONFRONTING A FAN! DID HE KNOCK HIM DOWN!? DID HE KNOCK HIM OUT!?" It turned out that Mr. Davis neither knocked down nor knocked out the man who was verbally harassing his wife. Instead he spoke quietly with the man and then left to return to the floor. Like the announcer we have begun to look forward to violence for the immediacy it allows. Whether it is a domestic fight or a country prescribing "eye for and eye" solutions, the result is quick and dramatic. Can Mr. Davis' choice to use words first be used as an example for international disputes? It at least a good place to start.

From Racism to Sexism

I’ve been intrigued by Kanye West from the time I heard the hit Jesus Walks. I’ve watched him perform at the Grammy’s along side the Blind Boys of Alabama and make headlines by famously alleging, “George Bush doesn't care about black people." Partly inspired by seeing the trailers for “Jarhead” which feature the infectious rhythms of Jesus Walks, I finally decided to check out the album, “The College Dropout”, for myself.

To be honest I had very high expectations. I was expecting to hear artistic music and witty socially conscious lyrics as manifested in Jesus Walks. The first six tracks or so are exactly that and I was excited that I finally bought this album. But starting with the track, Get Em High the tone of the album shifts from condemning racism to glorifying sexism. Lines like, “Tell me who’s invited your friends and my d*ck”, or “See you is my new chick, so we get our grind on” demonstrate the relegation of women as servants and sexual objects and elevation on the males (not men but males) to a position of control.

I no longer know what to make of Kanye West. On one hand I admire the musical talent and lyrics condemning the continued subjugation of Africans, African Americans and African Canadians. At the same time though I find myself searching for a voice that speaks out about these issues that has not bankrupted itself from any position of moral high ground by viewing women in the same way it publicly blasts the president for treating black people.

Kanye! Keep working for social change because you have the voice in our culture to accomplish great things. But as you stand up for yourself and others of your heritage don’t forget to defend the value of your mother, wife and daughters with equal passion!