pawatercooler.com

I happened to see a bumper sticker on my way home yesterday that I used for the title of this post. It struck me as particularly appropriate after reading about the married idiot vet in Upper Gwynedd killing his pregnant girlfriend so his wife wouldn’t find out about his affair. Inky:

A married Montgomery County veterinarian has been jailed without bail on charges that he shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend in Lehigh County last week.

David A. Rapoport, 30, of Upper Gwynedd Township, was arrested Tuesday, accused of fatally shooting veterinary technician Jennifer Snyder and killing the unborn child believed to be his.

State Police found the body of Snyder, 27, Friday in a nature preserve in North Whitehall Township. Authorities said the Lower Macungie woman had been shot twice by a gun placed inside her mouth and once in the lower back, then doused with bleach, wrapped in black plastic with duct tape, and left in the woods along Game Preserve Road.

According to court records, Snyder’s roommate told police that Rapoport, who is married, had been dating Snyder. The two had formerly been coworkers at a veterinary hospital in Lower Macungie.

Rapoport had become “very angry” upon learning that Snyder was pregnant, said the roommate, Hilary Schiavone, but they had “made up” after not speaking to each other for several days.

Snyder had been scheduled for an ultrasound exam the day after she allegedly was killed. An autopsy showed she was about two months pregnant with a male fetus.

Let’s forget for a moment the rather morally bankrupt behavior on the part of both parties that led to this unfortunate situation. What interests me this evening is that following the article are a series of comments trying to reconcile the “murder” of an unborn child and the rather mundane practice of abortion (Are you still wondering why Kermit Gosnell was surprised by the charges of murder that he faces?). Here’s the jist of it:

I’m basically pro-choice, but am baffled by how he can be charged with murder of an unborn child. If the pregnnt woman had rolled out of bed this morning and decided she didn’t want the child, she could end its life. She can, because science says at two months the fetus is not actually a “life”. But, because she WANTS the child….it’s now a life? — jabs69

getoveryourselves….Sorry about the double post. You don’t know where I’m coming from, apprently. All I’m saying is I find it amazing that what truly determines whether that fetus inside her is a life or not, is what SHE says it is. We are told it’s determined by science, but that is apprently not completely true. If it was, it would then be impossible to charge the man with the murder of the fetus. She’s not a murdere, should she choose to terminate, that “non-life”. You following this? — jabs69

Subsequent commenters can’t decide whether jabs69 is trying to make a point or really trying to figure out the disconnect:

jabs, I get it wholeheartedly and wonder the same thing myself. Apparently it’s a “baby” or a “human being” ONLY if it’s wanted, otherwise it’s just a “blob of tissue” or a “bunch of cells” that can be yanked out like a bad tooth.
This guy has to be one of the stupidest ever. Can’t imagine what kind of “vet” he was. I shudder to think of any poor animals who were under his care. — catharine_christian_carpenter

Interesting logic jabs. You actually believe a woman has the power to determine if a human is actually a human? If she decides it’s a a hamster, will it become a full-grown hamster some day? — Mr. Underhill

I have to agree with jabs. Since when did a 10-12 week old fetus become a murder victim? So if a woman miscarries then she should be charged as well, with that logic. I could possibly see the logic if it was viable outside the womb, but that’s not the case. Though it is uniquely an American concept to revere the fetus and ignore them once they’re born….. — SBL

oops! I probably am not in complete agreement, jabs! I’m referring more to the legal interpretation, rather than the personal. It’s my understanding that the law is designed to protect it’s “citizens”. And I don’t recall when embryos, zygotes, fetuses became part of that legal class. But, like I said, it’s distinctly American. — SBL

The comments on this story pretty effectively encapsulate what the abortion debate has degenerated into on the left: dishonestly manipulating the language. Enough with the tortured parsing. Call it what it is: What was she 2 months pregnant with if it was not a baby?