A Woman in Labor

It happens every day. A pregnant woman feels the pains of labor. She asks her husband, or someone, to drive her to the hospital. The pains become worse. They hurry. Usually they arrive at the hospital in time and, a day or two later, bring home a new baby boy or girl.

But sometimes the routine is complicated. What if the pregnant woman lives in Baghdad? What if she has to pass through a U.S. military checkpoint on her way to the hospital? What if panicked soldiers fire into the car, killing the woman and her unborn child?

Whose country is it? Does Iraq belong to the American soldiers who stand guard in the streets? Or does it belong to the Iraqi people?

I assume soldiers receive training. I assume if someone had a gun and wanted to stop a car, he could do so without killing the passengers. Shoot out a tire. Don't shoot an expectant mother.

Every time an incident like this occurs, we should imagine if something similar happened to an American. Imagine this woman is your neighbor. Or your daughter. Or your Aunt Katherine. How would you feel if this happened to your wife or your mother?

How would you feel if a coalition of countries invaded the U.S. in order to overthrow our unjust leader and stationed troops in the streets? If they raided our houses in the middle of the night. If they set up roadblocks which made it difficult to do simple things like driving to the hospital.

How ever you would feel, that's how an Iraqi feels. We're are all human under the labels.

Giving birth is not without risks. But being shot should not be one of them.