The next Cafe Society on April 26 will discuss “The Perils of Politicizing Abortion.” Few subjects can generate more heat and less light in U.S. political and public fora than the subject of abortion. It is the deadly “third rail” in American politics which most politicians studiously avoid, although not infrequently they are maneuvered into taking a stand for, or against it. As a nation, we have made little progress in attaining a consensus on this important medical procedure, its propriety in terms of moral and ethical tenets, or access to the necessary professional expertise and counseling to protect the life and well-being of the mother as well as the fetus.

These informal weekly discussions are held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. in the Rumsey Room of the Shepherd University Student Center each Tuesday morning. Pre-registration is not required and there are no fees or charges.

Cafe facilitator Mike Austin stated, “Our normal attendees will be augmented for discussion of this challenging topic by the participation of Dr. Craig Winkel, a retired Ob Gyn specialist and highly regarded member of our community. It will provide an excellent opportunity to inject some rare professional insight based on his extensive civil, military, academic and research experience as we examine various aspects of the subject. We often hear of people taking extreme “black and white” positions about an abortion scenario in which there are many grays, and in which well-intended action to save a life may end up destroying others.

“Nobody takes lightly the fact that we are talking about human life, but more than one life is involved and there are critical psychological, social and even economic conditions, in addition to the purely medical factors that must be considered.”

Austin went on to say, “There are numerous ramifications of the abortion issue, all in play concurrently. Abortion and the survival of “Roe vs. Wade” is one of the forces driving maneuvers to prevent President Obama’s filling a Supreme Court vacancy. Our state legislature just passed laws preventing certain medical procedures while conducting an abortion. We had a recent case of an anti-abortion group falsifying evidence about practices of a Planned Parenthood Clinic to further their efforts to close it.”

Those with suggestions for future topics or who want more information should contact Austin at 304-876-0598.