Plenary #1
Although this response is several months after I attended the first plenary, I was prompted to write this because I recalled it after the recent terrorist attack on Planned Parenthood. Robert Lewis Dear, 57, opened fire at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado, killing three people and leaving nine wounded. Bryn Greenwood is a novelist that had worked at a Planned Parenthood at Wichita, Kansas for several years, and she tweeted a response to people calling this incident a rarity. She wrote about the acts of terrorism that she and her coworkers were subjected to, including people attempting to set the establishment on fire and interfering with the ventilation system.
When I listened to Lauren Rankin’s talk, I was not disturbed or shocked by the word “abortion.” I recognize that there situations that are unfit or unfair to raise a child, so I understand that it is necessary to have the option to abort. However, I understand now that it was very necessary to call abortion what it is. It is important to be knowledgeable about the subject. It’s important to introduce the word into our every day language because it is only vilified further otherwise. It should not be a taboo subject, especially because many women face having to make this decision every day. Ignorance kills, and it is very unfortunate that we as a society collectively allow it to happen.