Max the Militant Moderate

Pro-life or just anti-abortion

By: Max Blaska

Posted: 3/10/10

Abortion is one of the most volatile issues our country faces today. I don't think anyone actually likes abortion. I believe most people would agree that, in a perfect world, there would be no need for abortion; the problem is we don't live in a perfect world.

My personal opinion on the matter is that life does begin at conception. There are currently 1.3 million abortions each year, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Those are 1.3 million lives that I believe are being snuffed out without a chance to live, and I believe that is morally wrong.

But, on the other hand, you have to be empathetic to the circumstances surrounding abortion; you have to understand the poverty in the communities where abortions are more common.

Again, according to the Guttmacher Institute, "The abortion rate among women living below the federal poverty level ($9,570 for a single woman with no children) is more than four times that of women living above 300% of the poverty level (44 vs. 10 abortions per 1,000 women). "

I also understand what might happen if Roe vs. Wade is overturned. Sometimes I think the threat of back alley abortions is overblown, but it is still a threat. One death that could be prevented is one death too many.

Society must have empathy for victims of rape and the parents-to-be who learn that their baby has a defect that might result in excruciating pain followed by death a few days after birth. Politicians and pundits who have not been in these situations are in a hard place to cast judgment. That is why abortion is such a tricky issue. People on both sides try to make this a black and white issue, but it is an issue with painful shades of grey.

I do believe one of the best ways to lower the amount of abortions is to target poverty by increasing job availability and better social programs for the poor. Many conservative politicians, while staunchly anti-abortion, support fiscal policies that hurt poor families and make it harder for them to support their children and make them easy targets, I believe, for Planned Parenthood and the like.

Another unfortunate statistic from the Alan Guttmacher Institute is that 60 percent of all abortions performed annually are on minority women while they make up only 30 percent of the population. This makes one think. Might it be possible that abortion providers target the poor and the minority, or is it that individuals in these groups are most likely to see no other option? It is also not a coincidence that most "pro-life" conservatives are against programs that help these segments of society.

George Carlin had a biting bit about the hypocrisy of some in the pro-life movement.

"Boy, these conservatives are really something, aren't they? They're all in favor of the unborn. They will do anything for the unborn. But once you're born, you're on your own. Pro-life conservatives are obsessed with the fetus, from conception to nine months. After that, they don't want to know about you. They don't want to hear from you. No nothing. No neo-natal care, no day care, no Head Start, no school lunch, no food stamps, no welfare, no nothing. If you're pre-born, you're fine. If you're pre-school, you're[bleep]."

Rep. Steve King from Iowa, Michelle Bachman from Minn. and Wisconsin's own Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner all received 100 percent ratings from the National Right to Life committee. While all three representatives have a staunch pro-life position when it comes to abortion, they voted against Bill HR 2749 that expands the FDA's authority to regulate food products and food facilities that would help prevent salmonella and E. coli outbreaks, like the one concerning peanut butter last year. Bachman, to her credit, did vote for that bill. They all voted against providing health insurance for poor children (the CHIP program.) Both bills would prevent unnecessary deaths.

Their voting records, which can be found at www.votesmart.org, are very anti-abortion but not very pro-life. I am pro-life. I believe that it is a decadent society that ends the life of its young before they have a chance to live it. But I also know that we live in a cruel world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. When people speak against abortion on one side but pursue policies that hurt the people that are most likely to have abortions, that is hypocrisy and that hurts the pro-life movement.