Saturday, November 01, 2003

WHOSE ABORTION VICTORY IS IT ANYWAY?

Planned Parenthood has filed a lawsuit against the Partial Birth Abortion Law before it has even been signed.
"This dangerous ban prevents women, in consultation with their families and doctors, from making decisions about their own health," PPFA President Gloria Feldt said. "We hope the court will recognize the unconstitutionality of this ban and strike it down."

It doesn’t prevent women from making decisions it just changes the scope of when those decisions can be made. The distinction of birth alone has always stood on shaky ground, since pre-mature babies can survive outside the womb. What's been missing from the debate is not whether women can or cannot choose, but whether babies that can survive outside the womb deserve death because it's more convenient to the mother. I’m sure it would sometimes be convenient for the mother to kill her wayward toddlers. Some mothers certainly have done so.

How many of the same people who support all forms of abortion will tell you that they don't eat meat because slaughter houses are cruel punishment to animals? They have always chose to ignore that contradiction because they didn’t want to weaken abortion rights, but those who think this law weakened abortion are mistaken.

As long as abortion was legal to the very last second, the pro-choice movement was going to have many middle ground people lined up against them. The country is divided 50-50 on the overall issue, but polls have shown that people support this law 75-25.

No one from the pro-choice side is going to suddenly become pro-life because of this legislation, but there is a potential for some middle ground people who were appalled by late-term abortions to now be willing to support the other side. When the country is divided so evenly on the issue, just a few percent changing sides is a big victory.

Pro-Lifers get fewer Abortions
Pro-Choicers disarmed many critics

By winning this battle, the pro-lifers have made it more difficult to win the war. And isn’t the war more worth winning? Though they were kicking and screaming the entire way, the pro-choice supporters can now be more confident that abortion will remain. Even if Roe v. Wade were overturned by some future court and the issue returned to the states for a democratic vote, fewer people would have issue with the “keep it legal” side.

Now quit your fillabuster fraidy cats and let's vote on some judges.

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