Framing the debate
So we're going to have new test cases for our abortion laws now that we've got new supreme court justices. That's fine. But let's reframe the debate here. Even if abortion is made illegal, we all know that they will still go on. Before we had legal abortion, it happened in private, in back alleys, in less than ideal conditions. I have no doubt that this would happen again.
Therefore, I ask you the following question:
Are you pro-coat hanger or anti-coat hanger?
I'm not trying to be gross, but I know this is provocative. And it should be. If we legalize abortion, we will return to the old status quo of non-sterile procedures performed by less than professional health care workers who are willing to break the law to make a buck. Me, I'd rather abortions be performed by licensed doctors with ethics.
I understand that many people are anti-abortion. That's fine with me, and I applaud efforts to educate people in a respectful way on the choices other than abortion, like adoption. I would really like it if the anti-abortion forces worked to change government policy to make it easier for the poor and desperate to raise their children in a healthier environment, with subsidized daycare, universal health care, and pro-family policies. But making abortion illegal will cause the death and serious injury of thousands of women, put mothers and doctors in prison, and ultimately abortion will still go on, like it did before Roe v. Wade.
Pro-choice people are not, in my experience, advocates for abortion. I believe abortion should be a legal choice, but I, and all the pro-choice people I know, would never advocate for more abortions. I believe we should all work on making it less of a struggle to raise a child in our society, and this would reduce the incentive for people to make that choice. If we reached a point where nobody had to make that choice, except in cases of rape or disease, both sides would be satisfied. There is no pro-abortion lobby that I know of, despite how some groups are described by those who disagree with them.
Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. I hope we can all focus on making them more rare by making the choice easier. Making them illegal? That's pro-coat hanger. And I think that is the antithesis of the real goal, of healthy mothers and babies.
Are you pro- or anti- coat hanger?
Therefore, I ask you the following question:
Are you pro-coat hanger or anti-coat hanger?
I'm not trying to be gross, but I know this is provocative. And it should be. If we legalize abortion, we will return to the old status quo of non-sterile procedures performed by less than professional health care workers who are willing to break the law to make a buck. Me, I'd rather abortions be performed by licensed doctors with ethics.
I understand that many people are anti-abortion. That's fine with me, and I applaud efforts to educate people in a respectful way on the choices other than abortion, like adoption. I would really like it if the anti-abortion forces worked to change government policy to make it easier for the poor and desperate to raise their children in a healthier environment, with subsidized daycare, universal health care, and pro-family policies. But making abortion illegal will cause the death and serious injury of thousands of women, put mothers and doctors in prison, and ultimately abortion will still go on, like it did before Roe v. Wade.
Pro-choice people are not, in my experience, advocates for abortion. I believe abortion should be a legal choice, but I, and all the pro-choice people I know, would never advocate for more abortions. I believe we should all work on making it less of a struggle to raise a child in our society, and this would reduce the incentive for people to make that choice. If we reached a point where nobody had to make that choice, except in cases of rape or disease, both sides would be satisfied. There is no pro-abortion lobby that I know of, despite how some groups are described by those who disagree with them.
Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. I hope we can all focus on making them more rare by making the choice easier. Making them illegal? That's pro-coat hanger. And I think that is the antithesis of the real goal, of healthy mothers and babies.
Are you pro- or anti- coat hanger?