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The artist of the Sept. 13 “Plan C” cartoon has ruffled a few feathers. Obviously the cartoonist was not literally suggesting that pregnant women shoot themselves, but apparently no one understands irony anymore. Rather, by depicting the philosophy of abortion taken to an illogical extreme, the cartoonist seeks to show that soft-language titles such as “Plan B” and “emergency contraceptive” gloss over the fact that what is at stake is a potential nascent life.
Few reasonable people are unaware of the nearly insurmountable hardships imposed on any mother, let alone a young, single mother with limited financial means and no support from her child’s father and family. The Louisville Cardinal has been, and remains, a stalwart advocate for campus child care, an initiative whose benefit is limited largely to single parents.
The crucible of single parenthood is unforgiving, and extends farther and in a more complicated fashion than the simple party line. The Cardinal has in its employ, for example, a single father who has raised his children while receiving no financial support from their mother. This does not indemnify the newspaper from criticism (personal experience, no matter how horrific, does not indemnify anyone from criticism), but serves as a reminder that tragedy does not limit itself to the cliches found in Lifetime original movies.
It is not misogynistic to suggest that there are more relevant factors inherent in the abortion debate than those presented by just one group; debate, by definition, is “a regulated discussion of a proposition between two matched sides.”
As usual, the ad hominem manipulation by which an idea, rather than being discussed on its merits, is judged based on whether or not the person speaking is bad does nothing to further understanding or effective community decision making.
While civility is central to any healthy public dialogue, every person will occasionally hear an idea voiced that they feel a strong opposition towards. This is not a bad thing, and is inevitable. Though mutual respect is a necessary component of our interactions with one another, no one will be so lucky as to make their way through life without ever being offended.
A person voicing a belief contrary to our own should not be silenced, and owes no one an apology. Inherent in this sentiment one finds the very nature of liberty.
