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It is so easy, when writing a song on a
controversial topic to take the simple party line, which usually comes across
as judgmental and lacking love. Because
life is not usually as cut and dry as our dogmas. When you add another human being into the
mix, things get messy.
I wanted to write a song addressing the
issue of abortion for some time but was unable to strike a balance between
truth and love. Over the years I have
developed friendships with leaders in two pro-life groups who have taught me a
great deal about addressing this issue in conversation and hopefully the result
of their tutelage is the lyrical content of this song.
The issue of abortion can certainly be
argued from a Biblical perspective, but I find I am often in conversations with
those for whom the Bible holds little or no relevance. Thus the issue must be approached from an
entirely different angle.
For me, it is an issue of basic human
rights. I can agree with every
pro-choice advocate, that if a fetus in the womb is only some bit of flesh
connected to the mother, then the mother can do what she pleases with it. I would not fight against her right to remove
a mole. The question that haunts me is
simply, when does one become a person?
At whatever moment that fetus becomes a person, the right of a mother to
dispose of it becomes immoral no matter what religion or world view you hold
to.
When does one become a rights bearing entity
on the planet earth? Some will argue
that if a child is in the womb they are not yet a person, and yet location of
residence holds no sway on anyone else’s right to live. Some say that a child in the womb is
completely dependant on its mother and thus is not yet a “person”. But that child is no more able to take care
of themselves when they are brought into the world than they were in the
womb. They need absolute care and
provision. The defenses for why it is
acceptable to see a child in the womb as a lesser creature, not yet with its
own set of rights, continue and yet with each one I see a strange double
standard that does not apply to the rest of us.
I would hope that if there was any question
as to the personhood of a child in the womb, we would take the safe tact and
protect it, even if we are unsure. Why
would we err on the side of that which could only be called murder if that
child is a person.
This song is about the difficult journey a
young woman takes in letting go of her rights for that of another human being
who happens to be completely dependant on her.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and
before you were born I consecrated you;”
Jeremiah 1:5
Our Time
Sarah closes her eyes,
the flowers he gave her are wilting
It’s not that she was blind,
it’s just men are good at hurting
And she says, this is my time
She says, the choice is mine
The waiting room smells like magazines
The girl next to Sarah is crying
The distance between her name being
called
And the doctor’s room is like dying
And she says, the choice is mine
She says, this is my time
And what do they know, with their picket
signs
This is, my life
When do I begin to count?
When do I count to you?
When do I become me?
When am I me to you?
She says the choice is not mine
She says I have no right
For if you are, if you are a life
Then this is, our time
Me and you, this is our time
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