While reading Tuesday's paper, the opinion page caught my eye more specifically Peter Blair's column ("A Change of Plans," July 19). His tirade against the immorality of Planned Parenthood read like a great screenplay, cast with salacious characters like "The Baby-Killer" and "The Money Launderer" and "The Statutory-Rape-Facilitator" (that one doesn't quite roll of the tongue, but I'm working on it). As amusing as it was to hear how the local New Hampshire branches of Planned Parenthood "accept donations explicitly earmarked for the abortions of African-American children" can you imagine that tasty scene in the hands of someone like Spielberg or Michael Bay?! the article brought to the foreground a more troubling issue facing our society today.
Legislating morality cannot be done. Well, it can be done, but it shouldn't be. There are countless historical examples of nations and societies that, through an established legal system, create a singular acceptable fashion of living. Not coincidently, there are also countless historical examples where those societies championed an atmosphere of oppression, discrimination and intolerance of those who behaved unconventionally. I am aware that societal rules come from a universal understanding of key issues the "wrongness" of rape, murder and theft, for example but it has always been understood that in our free country, every citizen has the right to rights. This means that if a woman has been raped and needs an abortion but cannot afford it, she has the right to attend a publicly subsidized facility that will aid her in her time of need. This also means that a young man or woman from an impoverished area has the right to free and accessible education about sexuality and general health.
Unfortunately, there are those who do not understand the necessity of a Planned Parenthood-esque institution because they themselves have none of the same pressing issues. They have been educated; they have been taught; they haven't been raped. How can I a white, Ivy League-educated male possessing dashingly boyish good looks begin to understand the problems facing those who don't live in the same socioeconomic circles as I do, who haven't been granted the same unbelievable luck in this world as I have? I can't, and neither can Blair. I don't care what conservatives have to say about social issues like abortion and homosexuality because, for the most part, they haven't had abortions, haven't needed the educational facilities offered by Planned Parenthood and aren't in a same-sex relationship.
Point being, it is not for us to judge that which we cannot understand. Only when we stop vilifying those who need Planned Parenthood services, and those who provide the services, can we start having a serious discussion about where and how public funding is allotted. If certain individual branches of an organization have failed to act ethically in the past, fire those responsible but do not punish those who most need the services offered by Planned Parenthood. Please, do us all a favor and stop pretending that the discussion over legalized abortion will end if we terminate Planned Parenthood facilities (pun intended). This is a thinly veiled attack on a woman's right to choose, fueled only by a staunch belief in conservative Christianity.
It is more than fine with me if you don't agree with abortion or homosexuality, and I would never force you to get an abortion or marry a same-sex partner (and certainly not both at the same time!). But do not think that your beliefs are any more moral than mine or those of the young girls who depend on Planned Parenthood for birth control and proper sexual education. It's no coincidence that those who picket outside Planned Parenthood are often whiter, richer and, most importantly, luckier than those walking inside. So you can sit in church and shake your head disapprovingly at me for my opinions, but I don't want to read about it.
