"How come life is so important in the nine months before birth, but then we sort of forget about the importance, we're not worried about whether that baby lives in poverty once he or she is born"
About this Quote
The intent is to expose a selective ethic: a politics that treats prenatal life as sacred in theory, then treats actual children as a private inconvenience in practice. Bayh’s phrasing quietly indicts a coalition mindset common in late-20th-century American conservatism: fervent about restricting abortion, skeptical of welfare, hostile to redistribution. The subtext is blunt without being preachy: if you claim to be pro-life, you’re on the hook for what happens after birth, when life becomes expensive, messy, and politically contested.
Context sharpens the blade. Bayh, a prominent Democratic senator in an era when abortion became a defining partisan wedge, understood how easily “protecting life” could become a symbolic identity rather than a policy commitment. By naming poverty specifically, he shifts the debate from metaphysical claims to measurable outcomes: housing, healthcare, nutrition, schools. The line works because it spotlights a gap between sentiment and stewardship, asking whether “life” is a principle or a slogan that expires at delivery.
Quote Details
| Topic | Human Rights |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bayh, Birch. (2026, January 17). How come life is so important in the nine months before birth, but then we sort of forget about the importance, we're not worried about whether that baby lives in poverty once he or she is born. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/how-come-life-is-so-important-in-the-nine-months-44995/
Chicago Style
Bayh, Birch. "How come life is so important in the nine months before birth, but then we sort of forget about the importance, we're not worried about whether that baby lives in poverty once he or she is born." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/how-come-life-is-so-important-in-the-nine-months-44995/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"How come life is so important in the nine months before birth, but then we sort of forget about the importance, we're not worried about whether that baby lives in poverty once he or she is born." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/how-come-life-is-so-important-in-the-nine-months-44995/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
