The issue of abortion has been a significant issue looming in the background for several years. When Trump was running for president, Chris Matthews interviewed him about abortion.

Tragically, Trump was elected, and he appointed three ultra-conservative justices to the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. It was only a matter of time before the Supreme Court would have to address Roe vs. Wade.

In February, Justice Alito wrote a draft of his position on abortion, which Trump’s appointees endorsed. Interestingly, that document was leaked to Politico. Talk about a firestorm. It is the one issue that Republicans hate to address. Around 60% of Americans support abortion.

I sat and pondered Alito’s leaked game plan. I couldn’t grasp the litany of issues floating around in my mind. Why are we revisiting a case that the Supreme Court decided a half a century ago? I was ticked. However, it wasn’t long before this question entered my psyche, “Where are Simon and Garfunkel when we need them?”

The Bridge Over Troubled Water was released exactly three years before the Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, allowed abortions. I don’t know whether Simon and Garfunkel were lyrically suggesting to the Supreme Court to function as a bridge over troubled water swirling around the legality of abortions in the States. Women have been suffering and even dying due to backstreet abortions for years. Finally, the court functioned as a collective bridge to help women over those troubled waters.

A bridge over troubled water

People sang that song a half-century ago. Where are Simon and Garfunkel now when we need them? In their absence and in a less lyrical manner, this essay is my attempt to write a bridge of words over the troubled waters that women must feel facing problematic pregnancies.

The rules about women’s reproductive rights were written and rewritten by men. I am a 79-year-old guy who sees a fatal flaw when men decide what is best for women. We don’t do well deciding what is best for us. Why would we not be cautious about claiming some divine right to decide for women? The sexual benefit for men lasts for a matter couple of minutes. That isn’t the case for women if a woman gets pregnant.

In the Old Testament, women were not equal to men and only had two purposes in life. Women provided immortality for their husbands. Jews didn’t believe in heaven. Men were given immortality via their male offspring. Immortality was based upon being remembered after they died. The other role women played was to educate the male child.

We need to face another issue. There is a difference between life and the potential for life. A fetus has potential for life, which isn’t the same as life.

When Thomas Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence, he didn’t think that “all men are created equal.” A century later, the Civil War was fought to give slaves equality. While we still have a long road before blacks and whites are equal, we still have much further to go before men and women are treated equally.

For those committed to racism and sexism, imagine a female who is not white telling you about how you should address your rights to sex and having a family. As we wait to hear from Simon and Garfunkel, remember the end of Bridge Over Troubled Water.