An Abortion Party

There’s this column in AlterNet written by Bynard Duncan that’s raising some eyebrows around the conservative side of the Internet. It’s called “My First Abortion Party,” and it’s easy to see why it raised conservative eyebrows. The whole thing is basically pointless—Duncan describes the infamous party, then seems to realize there’s some more space to fill and asks some questions he doesn’t even try to answer (“what are the inherent emotional features of being "male" or "female?”), and then allows for room for anger and disagreement.

Overall, it’s a pretty poorly written piece, but that’s not why conservatives noticed it. The hook, of course, is Duncan’s “first” abortion party, like invitations to such parties are normal and are just pouring in for most people.

Duncan sets up the situation:

"Have you guys heard the news?" Maggie (name changed) unwrapped the scarf from around her neck and patted her flat belly. "Preggers." It was around 30 degrees outside, and her cheeks were splashed pink from the Indiana wind.
She had discovered earlier that week, after missing a period and taking the test. "I kind of knew already. My boobs and my lower back have been killing me for a while."

Yeah, that’s a confirmed feminist all right. You might think that a 22 year-old college senior (as “Maggie” is) might be a little worried, but “Maggie” is just as cool as a cucumber. Because that’s just how modern girls act, or at least how Duncan thinks they should act.

I’m not even sure how he’s supposed to know Maggie, anyway. She’s supposed to be his girlfriend’s best friend, but he looks a lot older than college age in his Facebook picture (the only information I could find about him), and his girlfriend looks even older than he does.

Anyway, Maggie is going to have a party to help raise money for her abortion, which is the part that gets conservatives mad, and hopefully even makes liberals a little uncomfortable. So Duncan and Ali (that’s his girlfriend) walk in, and

we were bludgeoned with a blast of hot air, followed by the tangy stink of dance floor revelry. Someone had taken a red bed sheet and hung it below a light fixture to resemble a giant womb. Every so often, a dancer’s head or arm or dreadlock would brush against one of its smooth folds, creating a rippling effect. "Let’s Go Crazy" by Prince was playing.

Sounds like a pretty crazy party, huh? They even found a red bed sheet, which I didn’t think existed. (I’ve never seen one, at least). And they have a song with an fitting title playing. Sounds like quite the scene of debauchery, huh?

Or not.

I sat down and struck up a conversation with Eli, the three-year-old son of one of the partygoers.

Given that Maggie is supposed to be a college senior, I wonder how many people old enough to have a three year old son she knows well enough to invite to her parties. And honestly, I’d love to have a look at little Eli’s parents. Given the circumstances, I’d guess the poor kid would be surrounded by alcohol and underage drinking, giving him a head start on alcoholism that most drunks only dream about.

Maggie’s boyfriend was also there, though he was “looking uncomfortably alone,” since I guess Maggie’s friends were angry at him for his involvement in the abortion, though I’m not sure what they wanted. Duncan used this fact to raise his questions about differences between male and female, though since he never even tries to answer them they just come off as silly and pointless.

Now, I doubt the abortion party happened as Duncan said. The party seems sometimes to be a shocking scene of debauchery, and then turns out to be pretty family friendly. Maggie’s calmness in the face of her difficult situation is pretty odd. And I find it difficult to think that Maggie’s friends would be angry at her boyfriend for being too involved; rather, I think it’d be more likely the other way around.

There’s a chance “Maggie” read that article, and I can’t believe that Duncan would make the situation so recognizable that her identity would be exposed to any acquaintances reading. So Duncan probably changed enough details to both conceal identities and make the thing more interesting. The real story was probably a lot less shocking, and a lot more boring.

Still, the article reveals something interesting about the pro-choice mentality. The whole first half is nothing more than an attempt (a successful one) to shock pro-lifers, while simultaneously attempting to portray abortion as normal and commonplace. (Remember, this is his “first abortion party, so presumably there will be many more).

This tactic is characteristic of the pro-abortion movement as a whole. Their position—that abortion is moral—is indefensible. (Not that this proves abortion is wrong—but it is impossible, outside the theological sphere, to say when the soul enters the body. And if you don’t believe in the soul, I honestly don’t understand how one could put a value on human life). So if it is very difficult to win converts via logical debate, the next best thing is an appeal to emotion, where abortion is painted as both normal and necessary.