The Political Is Still The Personal

Operation Rescue is pretty satisfied that John Roberts is their saviour:

"Roberts has shown strong conservative credentials with indications that he will not uphold Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that decriminalized abortion. Roberts coauthored a 1990 legal brief that stated, "The court's conclusion in Roe that there is a fundamental right to an abortion ... finds no support in the text, structure or history of the Constitution."
"A culture of life can never be built as long as Roe v. Wade is the law of the land," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman."

Good old Troy Newman, speaking from the expertise of personal experience. Just like the heads of the majority of the anti-abortion clubs. The group bio of OR says it all:

"In 1986, a cadre of men, including Randall Terry and ORW principle board members Rev. Joseph Foreman and Ken Reed, founded Operation Rescue. "

And over at American Street, echidne skewers John McCain and Chris Matthews for their paternalistic and Godlike discussion of what they would allow women to do, or in their absence, allow their male physicians to do. (Note also the assumption on their part that said physicians would also be male.) But let me pick up the small end bit left out of her post:

"MCCAIN: Which is why we come down to the position life of the mother.

MATTHEWS: Right.

MCCAIN: Then you—then you don't get into this equivocation.

Look, this is—can I just add, finally, this is a tough issue.

MATTHEWS: Yes.

MCCAIN: As males, all of us, at least most males that I know, are not totally comfortable with it, because we're never going to have to make those kinds of decisions."

Even these blowhards have enough conscience to recognize when they've been pontificating a little too hard about something they will never have to face.

I propose a moratorium on all discussion about abortion for one week, unless one has actually hadan abortion. That's right, just for a week: to actually hear from people who can speak on the subject from first-hand experience, and nothing at all but blessed silence from the rest of the yipping, snapping hyenas, especially those who will never have to face making such a decision through the grace of the Y chromosome. I know women will speak out who've aborted and who regret it, and who will come out against it, but from them I can accept a differing of opinion, because they, at least, have been there. Everybody else, please, give it a break. It would be refreshing to actually hear a dialogue between people who have something to say that's grounded in the personal.

And while we're meandering down this river, how about only allowing people who have actually lived through war as civilians to make the decision as to whether to wage war on others?

The possibilities are endless.