pro-life on the brain

you know i always have prolife on the brain.

today in my education class we were presenting our "ideal" classroom environments.

it was a small comment that i actually laughed along with everyone else at first, but then sobered as i thought through the potential reality behind it.

i think it was something like a ladder that kids had to climb to a reading nook, and there was a concern for safety because it was a tall ladder, even for 2nd grade students. the group presenting laughed and said "well, the ideal child wouldn't fall off it."

i laughed at first. but then i was thinking: what kind of student would not be able to climb up the ladder? what about a kid with special needs, or a developmental disability? suddenly, i sobered up. by this flippant, casual, probably well-meaning comment, "those kinds of kids" are not "ideal".

that's dangerous territory. what would our world look like if we got to define and limit citizenship to our notion of "ideal"? who gets to define ideal, and limit rights to certain individuals who fit neatly into that category?

let's take it a step further. citizenship is no longer on the line, but "humanhood". personhood. inherent human dignity. this is what i see so problematic about this idea. when we allow ourselves to define humanhood, personhood, and extend certain rights to people based off of those categories, we must ask the question: who is this including or excluding?

i will tell you right now that in the united states of america, pre-born children in their mother's womb are not fully recognized as people. shocking, i know. but the rights associated with humanhood or personhood, namely the right to life (basic rights here, people) are not offered a pre-born baby...or i should say, not if her mother decides so. that may sound harsh, but the reality here is that pre-born people are slaughtered in the womb in this country every day, and this injustice  is protected under the law. how is that equal human rights, i ask you?

we need to think carefully about ideologies and philosophies. they can have devastating implications.