Angry Mouse and others want an answer to a question about abortion and I will give you mine. You may not like this but here goes..
I disagree with the idea that the Democratic party should be supportive of a woman's total "right to chose." I will agree with the idea that in the case of rape or incest or if the fetus were seriously deformed or diseased in some way abortion should be permitted but I think we should stop supporting what some call the absolute right to abortion.
I will explain in a moment but first let me make something clear.
I do not support this out of any religious beliefs as I am not religious. Read my post on the Creationist Museum if you think I am. I was raised a Catholic and at age eight I was already praying to God promising to " "Amend my life" and fearing " the pains of eternal damnation" because I was so sinful. It was a horrible experience and I never taught a word of religion to my children as a result. I just don't buy the idea of some benevolent God smiling down on his children ready to damn them all to eternal hellfire if they cross him. So lets be clear on this.
So now with that out of the way, let me explain my position.
People talk about "abortion rights" or " a woman's right to choose". The other side will talk about "rights" too, only about the "rights of unborn children." And people who think that abortion is murder claim they have a right to be free from being coerced into having their money used for this purpose. They talk about rights too. Endlessly arguing about these "rights" is a never-to-be-resolved discussion. It's all based on personal beliefs which will never be resolved because nothing can be proven, there are no absolute principles to appeal to, and there is no agreement on basic facts or values, nor even agreement on what a "right" is in this case, and who has them and under what circumstances they can be used.
It's a dead end discussion and decades of fighting about it should make that clear.
My belief is purely practical. The fact of the matter is there are millions of citizens that would join our party if it were not for our absolutist position this one issue. Many Church goers have written us off because of this. Right or wrong, many think this is murder and religious people are highly motivated and they do vote. Why should we forfeit them to the Republicans?
Let me explain what I mean with this story..
A friend invited me to a Church service about the time President Obama got elected. I went a couple of times just before and after the election and honestly, after looking into the matter, I still don't buy it.
However you should be aware of what went on.
I could tell from conversations that many in congregation did not like the election of Obama but the pastor urged the parishioners to accept the new President and pray for his success. Then he said that we all should be happy whether Republican or Democrat that black people finally have achieved such a victory. Most in the congregation applauded this line. These people could be our friends and allies and instead of antagonizing them we should reach out to them. I might add that several weeks later the Pastor told his flock that President Obama had lifted the ban on US money for overseas abortions. I could tell that was hard for him to report and potential support was being lost. To these Church people it is horrifying that abortions are committed because someone simply doesn't like the sex of the "child" or didn't take precautions and, worse still, their money is being used to finance it.
Now here is the key, to my mind anyway. Think how little it takes for us to do deflate a good portion of this inflammatory and alienating issue. Pregnancy is easily preventable with just a bit of planning and responsibility. It's inexpensive and available to all and if someone cant afford birth control devices or information we could make that available. Is careful and prudent sexual conduct too much to ask under these conditions when the return could be so beneficial to the party as a whole?
Instead of endlessly fighting over concepts that have endless interpretations and no resolution, lets discuss the world as it is..
I believe that we are not as safe from a Republican reemergence as we might like to believe. We love to talk about how few people identify themselves as Republicans and we seem to think that Americans will reject their extremism, especially if it intensifies. But I would not be so sure. Practically speaking, there are only two parties and if Republicans continue marching to the far right that is not an assurance they will be rejected. More economic problems and more discontent and you might find the Sarah Palin's of the world in charge. Don't kid your self into thinking it cant happen here. It can. And if you wake up to find that has happened, what will become of all your rights then? What will then become of the entire country
I think that a small compromise on our part to cut away, just a bit, at the Republican base could prove to be very worthwhile. I think we should make birth control freely available, insist on responsible sexual activity and support abortion only in extreme cases.