Abortion and Compromise
First, I apologize. I only realized late last night that the comments were turned off on yesterday’s post. That was not intentional. Now, today, talking about abortion and compromise, might as well really fire up the comments. LOL.
On abortion, I think the pro-life movement is going to have to decide if it wants to save the pro-life cause or see abortion on demand up until birth.
What I mean by that is that some states will go along with a six week ban. But a lot of states will not. If the GOP cannot accommodate the needs of voters in various states and make a cultural case to change the hearts of voters, it risks serious set back across the nation.
The upper Midwest is pretty supportive of expansionist abortion rights, even though those voters might accept a 15 or 20 week ban. But if you offer them six weeks or else, they are going with or else.
In the South, you can do a six week ban, but if you try an absolute ban, you might see voters revolt.
The reality of our times in our fallen world is we live in a hyper-individualistic, sexualized and licentious culture where people have been told for decades they can have sex without consequence. If you seek to change that legislatively without changing hearts and minds, you risk the voters changing the legislature.
I’d prefer zero abortions. I also know if I were to try to advance that in, say, Wisconsin, I’m getting Democrats elected.
Republicans moving rapidly to the abolitionist position may make them hold their head high and sleep well at night, but it is also risks Democrats elected in swing states that then enact abortion on demand until birth.
We actually need to realize politics still matter and voters still matter. We cannot always get our way, even when we are right. We have to be prepared for reasonable compromises and can fairly articulate that what works in some states won’t work in others.
I’m as pro life as they come, but safe and rare seems the way to go. Along with that, there should be a huge safety net for woman and girls who choose life - not welfare, but a helping hand until they can get on their feet. Also not frowned upon, looked down on or tossed to the curb.
I’d rather have limited and very rare abortion than killing babies at full term.
I will begin by saying that I, reluctantly, believe that abortion should be legal in the first trimester with no restrictions and illegal after that except to save the life of the mother. But I am pretty conflicted about it and it is because the issue is not simple, from either side of the debate.
To me, what is missing in the whole abortion debate, from both sides though I would expect it from the progressives, is the baby. IMHO, the pro-life movements need to retreat a bit from hard-ball tactics and start with a soft sell. It will be hard; I cannot get my prochoice friends and family to even admit that the fetus is actually a baby, much less that any consideration should be given to "it." See, we even call the fetus "it."
On the other hand, the pro-life side is all in denial 't (la, la, la, I can't hear you) about the fact that pregnancy involves one human being living in another's body and dependent on that body for life. and that human being in whose body the baby resides deserves agency over her body while that is occurring. While pregnancy is, of course, common, there is no other situation in human existence where that is the case (except in the case of conjoined twins which is not a normal state of being). The human being in whose body the baby resides deserves agency over her body while that is occurring.
I also think the prolife side (of which I consider myself a part) should hit hard on late-term abortions. One thing I believe the pro-abortion side has never had to answer for is why, if the woman does not want to raise a baby, it is necessary to kill it. Once that baby is inside her, it is going to come out. Why not allow it to come out and live? I have zero sympathy for those who say "but it is too hard to give up a baby for adoption." Ok, I get it. It's also to raise a teenager. It's also hard to raise a baby, but does that mean it's okay to kill it?
It is my understanding that the single most powerful tool that abortion crisis centers can deploy is the ultrasound, because the mother sees that she is really carrying a baby, not a blob. So why aren't we hearing more about babies in this debate?