There's no such thing as a safe abortion.

The myth of a false compassion

One of my kids recently learned how to do air-quotes, and his misunderstanding of the gesture is hilarious.

“Mom,” he told me excitedly, throwing his bright yellow background on the floor of our mudroom. “When you do this with your hands, it means what you’re saying isn’t real. So, like…” he grinned extra wide, holding up his fingers and making slow, exaggerated air quotes. “My pizza’s growing legs.”

He proceeded to do this 18 times a day for the next week. “I don’t love soccer.” “I’m not going to school today.” “Mom is not the best mom.” His tiny fingers, making those little air quotes, made me chuckle. Sarcasm and nuance are not his forte; he’s seven, so I’d like to keep it that way for a bit longer. But as I scrolled through the ‘gram, source of so much tension and annoyance in my life lately, I came across yet another Catholic writer claiming that they believed in access to safe abortion. I instantly thought of those finger quotes: “safe abortion”.