Twelve Weeks (1.5)

The tight pink bundle has “12weeks©2005HH76,Inc.” stamped into the smooth rubber of its back. The tiny whorls of its ears frame the bulbous contours of its face; it has the pinched fragile features of a new born. Already a thin layer of rubber has started peeling of its right cheek and the loose flakes curl at the edges. This soft little thing is a rubber life-sized replica of a 12 week fetus. The gentle muted pink of the rubber looks so naked, so frail. It was given to her to hand to women outside the Planned Parenthood. It’s so small.  Unable to make eye contact with the other protesters, the girl studies the delicate nude contours of its fingers and the gentle slope of its narrow shoulders. She squeezes its bulging head between her thumb and forefinger, watching its features stretch and swell. Suddenly, she feels overwhelming tenderness for this little rubber baby. It can’t be more than 2 inches tall.

Slipping it back into her coat pocket with the others, she wonders where a person would buy a rubber fetus. Did they come in bulk?  She can faintly hear the group leader instruct them to hand them out to anyone walking in or out of the clinic. How much was it? She dips her hand into her pocket and fishes one of the fetuses out again. The large bulb of its nose seems grotesque. Was it made in China? The thin nude slits of its eyes stare back at her. She imagines a protester pressing it into the palm of a devastated girl and can’t look anymore.