He leaned in across the table.
“I have a confession to make,” my date said. “I’m actually kinda pro-life.”
The statement shifted a conversation–my ranting monologue, really–about the Bush administration’s aggressive attack on reproductive rights, seemingly timed to overlap with the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the historic Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide.
With the Republican takeover of the Senate, abortion opponents are expected to push several bills that could ultimately undermine the legal foundation of Roe.
Meanwhile, several key federal judgeships are expected to open up, including seats on the Supreme Court.
The administration delivered the coup de grace last week when it proclaimed Jan. 19 as national Sanctity of Human Life Day, three days before Roe’s Jan 22. anniversary.
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Anyway, isn’t Bush busy enough making a case for war?
But to raise alarm over what I view as the latest Washington missteps assumes a common starting point. The announcement from my dinner companion surprised me, though it shouldn’t have. According to a January CNN/USA Today poll, most Americans–60 percent–stand in the middle on abortion rights. The numbers fluctuated depending on the circumstances of conception (e.g. rape) and developmental stages (e.g. partial birth).
Still, I think many people–like my friend–haven’t followed the slippery slope to the end of their arguments, something that recently became clear to me as I tried to convince him.
The most compelling reasoning is the simplest, I used to insist: A woman deserves the right to control her own body without government intervention. But last week, after spending hours speaking with women on both sides of the issue, I focused on one word that was missing–every.
If Roe is overturned and abortion becomes illegal, women will continue to seek out abortions, but it is poor women without access to safe medical procedures who would suffer most.
Illinois outlawed abortion in the 1860s, but Chicago police records demonstrated that it was women at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder who not only were most likely to die, but were often jailed.
Abortion is one of the most common outpatient surgical procedures for U.S. women. For $300 to $400–which is still too much for some–every woman with an unwanted pregnancy has access to balanced, thorough counseling and a safe procedure at a clinic. Hospital abortions can costs thousands of dollars. What would furtive, illegal abortions cost?
My friend, an attorney, did agree that legal abortion protects less fortunate women from the kind of back-alley butchery that would resurface if the law changed.
But, he countered, it’s not for the law to determine when a zygote becomes a constitutionally protected person.
Further, abortion foes say people should be responsible for themselves. And I agree abortion should not be a primary form of birth control.
Opponents also say sex is emphasized way too much in our culture. Indeed legalized abortion may have removed some of the natural social constraints to sex, increasing pressure on both women and men.
The present law properly responds to the way life is–not as it should be.
Besides, I told him, if you were really pro-life, you’d personally accept the consequences of an unwanted pregnancy or choose abstinence. Yep. No sex. Maybe that helped convince him, too.