Why A Woman’s Right To Choose Is Still Under Attack
By
Leonard Zwelling
The easy answer is that men don’t get it. But there are many, many women in the Pro-Life movement who agree with those on the right who believe that abortion is murder and it must be outlawed.
The reason this is such a hot topic is that the two sides disagree on both the substance of the law and the philosophy behind it.
The substance of the law is settled. Abortion is legal in the United States. The days of the rich women who get pregnant being flown to the Bahamas for abortions and the poor women getting inferior care or being forced to have an unwanted child should be behind us. Why? Because those were the bad old days when women died from botched illegal abortions or were forced to become parents long before they were ready to be parents. Bill Clinton is still right on this one. Abortion should be legal, safe and rare.
That being said, the Pro-Life forces still see abortion as murder of an unborn child and make their case by trying to erode abortion rights by making abortion illegal after 20 weeks and even sometimes after six. This is counterbalanced by the fact that abortion is legally obtainable and that the morning after pill can terminate an unwanted pregnancy prior to implantation. Women do have more options, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who wish to erode those hard gained rights.
For the Pro-Choice folks, it’s about civil rights. A women should have the right to choose what to do with her body and if that means terminating an unwanted pregnancy of an as yet unborn child, well they think that should be within the law. And, it is.
So one side sees the matter of abortion as the duty of society to protect all life. The other sees abortion as the duty of society to protect the rights of all women.
There’s no right answer here and those who cannot see the arguments of both sides are just blind. That does not mean you need to AGREE with both sides. Most people have made up their minds on this one and may well have different conclusions for their own personal beliefs and that which society ought to adapt. Either side is trying to impose its will on people who adamantly disagree with their conclusions and philosophy.
I know of no other reasonable stance than that of President Clinton. I also know that Donald Trump used to be Pro-Choice and has now conveniently changed his mind to endear himself to his base. My guess is that he has no strong conviction about this issue or any other beyond those which affect him personally.
Perhaps it is time to agree that we will not all agree on this one and there really isn’t a viable middle ground because the philosophies of the two sides are so different.
Still, I’m with Bill. Legal, safe and rare sounds right to me.
Now, shall we discuss guns next?
