Criticism of Sen. John Kerry's complex view on abortion is further evidence of the dire need to restructure the debate on the issue.
According to the Washington Post, on July 4, Kerry said, "I oppose abortion, personally. I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception." This has President George Bush's supporters ready with their all-too-predictable attacks as to the incompatibility of such a view with supporting abortion rights.
It's really all too simple.
Put aside "Is abortion morally right?" and "When does life begin?" Both of those are abstract, philosophical discussions that will likely never have solid answers backed up by data and evidence. There's only one question right now: "Will our society function better with abortion legalized or criminalized?"
In other words, it's time to scrap the wide, vague umbrellas of "pro-choice" and "pro-life." The new monikers are "pro-criminalization" and "anti-criminalization." Pick your camp. Sorry they don't have quite the same ring to them. Oh well.
It's here that we return to the tried-and-true pro-choice arguments for which I've never heard any compelling replies. Six words: back alley clinics and coat hangers. The rich women can flee to countries with legalized abortion, the poor are left on their own to mangle themselves. So let's just add another industry to the burgeoning underground economy.
And then of course there's always the logical horror story scenario especially applicable to those who simultaneously support the death penalty: "So teenage girl gets an abortion, right? And since that cluster of cells in her belly is a person, that's first degree murder, right? So she deserves to fry in the electric chair, right?"
Just accept it. There will always be abortion, even if you criminalize it.
If the united cultural goal is for there to be fewer abortions -- and it should be -- then progress toward that objective can be made once both sides come to a truce on the permanent standing of Roe v. Wade. Once that's done, then perhaps legitimate abortion legislation and initiatives -- such as the recently overturned ban on late-term abortions -- can gain more unanimous support without pro-choicers growing paranoid that the pro-lifers are merely planting stepping stones to overturning Roe.
Many pro-lifers have already made this step. According to a fascinating Beliefnet.com article, Michael McConnell, Bush's appointment to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, said that Roe is "as settled as any issue can be in constitutional law" and it is "the consensus of the American people."
He's right. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll from the same month revealed that 66 percent of respondents thought abortion should be legal within the first three months of pregnancy. The poll also showed that 53 percent thought Roe was "a good thing for the country" whereas 30 percent saw it as "a bad thing."
And to put that in perspective with Kerry, a FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll from July 2003 found that 55 percent of people believe life begins at conception. Even more interesting, a May CBS News poll found that, of Catholics, 34 percent believe abortion should be available as it is now with 37 percent wanting stricter limits. Guess most Catholics, like Kerry, shouldn't be getting their piece of Christ next time.
Gee, those constant shrieks of Kerry being "outside of the mainstream" suddenly sound like the vacuous political attack rhetoric they truly are.
E-mail: swimminginbrokenglass@yahoo.com
Visit http://www.bsu.edu/web/dmswindle
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