Another Word for Failure.(Brief Article)

One of the most frayed and tattered books in my office is a treasure I found at a garage sale. It was in a dirty cardboard box filled with dusty old volumes. A scribbled sign read, "10[cent] each."

My bargain book is a 60-year-old copy of Roget's Thesaurus. Unlike the newer copy on my shelf, the old one contains words which, in current usage, sometimes have been emptied of their meaning. When I need an alternate word for a speech or article, the old version is a valuable resource.

One day when I was seeking a synonym for the word "failure," the thesaurus provided the following options: "successlessness, blunder, defectiveness, abortion...."

Abortion? A synonym for "failure"? Pretty wretched company, especially since so many people today associate abortion with such benign and positive words as "choice," "privacy," and "rights."

The results of abortion are indeed wretched, as most women know who have experienced this first hand. But, we might ask, if abortion is another name for blunder and defectiveness (and failure and pain and disappointment), why don't more women tell other women?

One reason victims are reluctant to "go public" with their "choice" is because often concealing an abortion quickly becomes their highest priority. These unfortunate women have learned to their everlasting regret that yesterday's "solution" has become today's (and tomorrow's) ever-present problem. Managing guilt, suffering, and loss can absorb all their energies. But the conspiracy of silence is not limited to the grieving woman whose child has died.

After all, she has a family, friends, and the baby has (had) a father. How do we explain the unwillingness of others around her, including those who are personally pro-life, to "go public" with what they know to be true?