Edit from 2014: This post certainly still accurately describes my feelings towards many who support abortion. HOWEVER, I know that to many women who actually go through with it, it is a difficult choice that often seems like the only viable option. If that is you, or someone you know, I'm sorry: This post was written by a college student who hadn't yet learned that "simple" things are rarely so simple, and that to the desperate and hurting, sometimes a terrible choice can seem like the only option, without ceasing to be terrible. END edit.
A while ago, it seemed as though every time I would drive to Fresno I would see this sign off the side of the freeway. It had a picture of baby in the womb, with the words, "I would have found the cure for cancer" next to it. It was a pro-life sign, implying that abortion has the potential to deprive the world of incredible things that the aborted people would have been able to offer it. As I drove, I thought about how an abortion advocate would scoff at the sign, saying that an aborted child could just as easily grow up to be a serial killer. They could point out that it is by no means certain that an aborted person would grow up to be a positive influence on society. Then I realized the fundamental problem with using the term "pro-choice" to describe someone in favor of abortion: it is the furthest possible from the truth.
As the sign implied, an aborted child could grow up to discover the cure for cancer. He also might grow up to be a serial killer. The really interesting thing, however, is that this would involve a choice. A choice that child no longer gets to make. In fact, that child no longer gets to make any choices. The act of abortion wipes an entire lifetime of choices from existence. Justify it how you will, if you choose to use the rhetoric of choice to defend abortion, you will lose. You will drown in the sea of choices that will never be made, that can never be made, that should have been and were not. From the view of the child, abortion makes all choices impossible.
What, then, shall we call those who support abortion? In this age of catchy slogans and soundbites, it's important to have a name. Pro-death has been advanced by some--this has the unfortunate disadvantage of being too simplistic: it describes the effect of abortion, but not the cause. I considered pro-self--and this, while strictly accurate, doesn't carry the full weight of the idea. After a few minutes, I tried ditching the "pro," and as soon as I did so, I realized I had the perfect name: Narcissist.Or if you want a two-part label: Bloody Narcissist.
Wikipedia, the ultimate compendium of all knowledge (mostly) says, "In everyday speech, 'narcissism' often means inflated self-importance, egotism, vanity, conceit, or simple selfishness." This applies perfectly to what we're talking about here. Inflated self-importance. Vanity. Conceit. Ultimately, it comes down to "simple selfishness." By stripping abortion supporters of their falsely worn "pro-choice" and labeling them as Narcissists, we strip abortion down to its most basic premise: my convenience is more important than another person's life. Is this not Narcissism in its most horrible form? Ending a life--killing--for the sake of convenience?
Branching out a little bit... this just boggles my mind. Think about where we are today. As a society, we have come to a point where killing your own child is not only permitted, but hailed as a glorious exercise of choice. In our self-centered society, Freedom itself has become a god, a crimson idol, soaked daily in the blood of unborn children.
I've been sitting here for over 20 minutes--30, now--trying to figure out how to end this. Nothing. Except--God save us.
ADDENDUM: I do have to address a few points. Let's say a teenage girl is raped and becomes pregnant. That is the go-to scenario for abortion activists. I say: it does not matter. It's horrible, yeah. It may derail your life for 9 months. But it won't derail your entire life. That's what adoption is for. The 9 months that it would inconvenience you is not enough to warrant killing another human being. The only time where I would say it does not come down to a type of narcissism is when the mother's life is endangered. Then it's life for life: and that's a choice I pray that I never have to make.
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