First let me say that abortion has never resonated with me as a particularly important political topic. On my list of big problems confronting us that we need to deal with, it’s about #72. To me, it’s part of the “God, Guns and Gays” wedge issues that have been co-opted by the right in order to get people to vote against their economic self-interest. How else do you convince the middle class to support the party of big business and tax breaks to the wealthy?
I’ve always been a staunch Democrat and have supported a woman’s right to choose, but had trouble with what I viewed as an open-arm acceptance of abortion and abortion rights by my party. There are inherent contradictions for me in my position of being against the death penalty and supporting abortion rights. I’m even more perplexed by the “pro-life” stance of the right that opposes abortion yet supports the death penalty, guts services that help women and children, fights for destructive environmental practices and supports senseless wars.
So I guess you could say that while I’m against the idea of abortion on a personal level, I’m pro-choice. I look at it from the practical standpoint that if we overturn Roe v. Wade it won’t really stop women from having abortions. Women have been getting rid of unintended pregnancies forever - whether via herbs or now via abortion. And, having a young daughter, I think of the consequences if abortion is not legal. Roe v. Wade came about for a reason - not because people liked abortion, but rather because young girls were dying in back alleyways.
I’ve been happy to hear Clinton, Obama and other Democrats recently coming a little closer to what I think is a good stance: “Abortion should be safe, legal, and most important, extremely rare.” I like the idea of a comprehensive policy that goes beyond the narrow focus of just Roe v. Wade to look at education, birth control, and most importantly, increasing access to health care and improving economic conditions for low and middle class women.
Then, I found the Pro Life Pro Obama website, and I think it made the argument perfectly:
Overturning Roe v. Wade would not end abortion, it would simply send the decision to the states:
* If states with more than 45% "pro-life" sentiment chose to outlaw abortion, this would only impact 16 states accounting for 10% of abortions nationwide, or less than 100,000 abortions a year.
* States with the highest abortion rates in the country, like California and New York, would be unlikely to outlaw abortion
Making abortion illegal won’t make it go away:
* Nearly half of all abortions in the world are performed in countries that have made abortion illegal.
* The lowest abortion rates in the world - less than 10 per 1,000 women of reproductive age - are in Europe, where abortion is legal and available.
Helping women economically reduces abortion:
* Benefits for pregnant women and mothers and economic assistance to low-income families have contributed significantly to reducing the number of abortions in the United States over the past twenty years.
* Economic assistance to low income families is correlated with a 20% lower abortion rate.
* The abortion rate has declined most rapidly from 1990-1996 when there was an economic boom under President Clinton. While rates have continued to decrease, they have declined less rapidly in recent years when poverty rates have been climbing.
If overturning Roe v. Wade won’t make abortion go away and if helping women economically reduced abortion, then you can really argue that Obama is the best pro-life candidate. His policies would help improve healthcare access and economic conditions for middle and low-income families and would likely lead to a greater decrease in the number of abortions than would a McCain administration.
From the Catholics for Obama website:
Is Barack Obama really pro-life?
The answer is “yes.” Looking through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching, Senator Obama has spent his entire career striving for the common good. He supports health care programs that will cover all Americans, a living wage for working families, and solutions that allow distressed families to stay in their homes. And rather than trying to overturn Roe v. Wade, an ineffective strategy for 40 years, Senator Obama will reduce abortions. How? By promoting health care for pregnant women and better infant care, day care and job training. In fact, data has shown that social and education programs actually reduce abortions.