Euthanasia

The first time I heard the
Word euthanasia my first
Thought was Japanese
Boy Scouts but then I
Realized it meant choosing
Who and when to end life.
I was teaching a class at UT
In world cultural geography
As an instructor when asked
To allow some group spokes
Person for ten minutes of class
Time to speak on euthanasia.
It was the summer of 1970 in
Summer classes so miss a day
Miss a continent but I said OK.
The speaker was a hunk and
My class was mostly females
Who seemed to hang on his
Every word about first trimester
Babies being only blueprints.
I asked him if his motto was
Back to the drawing board
But legalizing abortion was
A popular movement on
Campus which is why I
Allowed him ten minutes
Plus we were looking at third
World population control.
When he drew a two-foot high
IUD on the blackboard and
Did a statistical analysis of
IUDs distributed in Uttar
Pradesh and the resulting
Birth rates one young coed
Raised her hand and asked
If the IUD were drawn to scale.
Taboo subjects are what a
Liberal Arts College or a
University is all about,
The exchange of ideas
And questions that
Otherwise could
Not be asked
Or learned
For fear
Of anger or
Ridicule.
A place to
Nurture not
Just knowledge
But wisdom.
I kept my
Mouth
Shut and
Did not reply
The IUD on the
Blackboard was
Drawn to scale and
One just stepped in
And pulled it up.