Bush decided he was pro-life when his mother showed him a fetus in a jar.

That's the gist of the headlines I read this morning.  Headlines that made me hope against hope that someone was making a very bad joke.

But nope:

The most startling anecdote he shared was the story of his mother's miscarriage during his teenage years, when he says he drove Barbara to the hospital while she held her unborn fetus in a jar.
Bush says he included the story "to show how my mom and I developed a relationship," but admits the jarring experience had a lifelong impact on his political beliefs.
"She says to her teenage kid, 'Here's a fetus,'" the pro-life President recounted to Lauer. "No question it — that affected me — my philosophy that we should respect life...There was a human life, a little brother or sister."

 George W Bush said that about his mother.  Barbara Bush.  The former First Lady and who I had thought of until now as a nice old lady.  There are so many many things wrong with this story, lets make a list shall we?

"Hello Deary, I've made you some raspberry jam."

1. Barbara Bush had a miscarriage and asked her teenage son to drive her to the hospital instead of calling for an ambulance.  This is actually the least odd part.
2. She put the fetus in a jar.
3. She put it in a clear jar, who the fuck wants to look at that?
4. She says to her son "Here's a fetus", lets hope he's paraphasing here and what she actually said was more like "Oh my God George, I just miscarried, the doctor says I have to bring it with me, I'm so devastaed, please help me, your father isn't here and I really need someone to help me right now."
5. That made him pro-life. What? It didn't make him feel ill? It didn't make him feel like maybe his mother was unbalanced? Google image search "dead fetus" and tell me if the first thing you think of is "wow, that's a human life".  People shouldn't have abortions because you saw your dead baby brother/sister in a jar?  That makes absolutely no sense although it is quite possibly the most original argument against abortion I've heard.
6. He says he put it in the book to show how he and his mother developed a relationship.  I can kind of see that, him and his mother shared something, he helped her in her hour of need and it created a bond between them that no one else shared.  And maybe that should have been kept private, but I assume it is written  in more detail and if it is a defining moment in his life it should be included in a memoir.  But, but, but do not use it when you are launching your book tour.  That is just disgusting.  He took something that was probably very painful to his mother and uses it when he launched his book tour.  And don't try to tell me that crack journalist Matt Lauer hounded him for answers.  Him or his people told him that this would get him a lot of press and sell more books. Abortion is quite possibly the most divisive issue in the US and he knew this would sell more books which quite possibly the most disgusting thing about it.