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I am looking for a candidate to come out and take strong stands on the issue they believe in (even if those stands aren't exactly what I believe in). I don't want to have to guess what they stand for after I hear them talk.
There was one example during last night's debate. One of the questions was about the Supreme Court's recent decision about partial birth abortion. All of the candidates gave the basic liberal answer that danced around the issue. Some of their points might be true, it isn't what voters want to hear.
What they should have said about supporting a woman's right to choose is that no one supports abortion, no matter what kind abortion it is. However, instead of outlawing all abortions and forcing women in desperate situations to seek refuge in a back alley, we should be doing all we can possibly imagine to prevent the need for abortions. This includes providing scientifically based sexual education, make contraception more available, helping people out of poverty, and ensuring people receive prenatal care.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Answering Questions on Abortion
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1 comment:
I agree with you generally, but the issue of late abortions has little to do with birth control or unplanned pregnancies.
No woman is walking into a doctor's office at 24 or 28 or 32 weeks saying, I don't want to be pregnant anymore, please give me an abortion. Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa does not even perform abortions beyond 17 weeks gestation. I think the Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City goes up to 20 weeks.
The late abortions that are misleadingly called "partial birth abortions" happen because of compelling medical reasons. Either the mother's health would be severely compromised by continuing the pregnancy (e.g. she has been diagnosed with cancer and needs to start radiation and chemotherapy immediately), or the fetus has very severe abnormalities. For example, one of my friends found out at a 20-week ultrasound that her baby was missing vital organs, including the stomach.
So women are not "choosing" late-term abortions so much as they are struggling with situations thrust on them. Many women personally know someone who got the heartbreaking news midway through pregnancy that their fetus had no chance for life outside the womb.
The pro-choice frame fails when you are talking about late abortions, because the average person understandably doesn't think a healthy woman should be able to "choose" to abort a healthy baby during the second half of pregnancy.
If people understood the compelling medical reasons for terminating these pregnancies, they would be more receptive to the argument that the state should not interfere with the best judgment of women and their doctors.
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