Posted by Alexis on April 19, 2001 at 13:37:14:
In Reply to: The abortion issue - lies religions tell posted by Comedywriter on April 11, 2001 at 17:42:42:
If you believe that abortion will soon be viewed the way surgery with a saw and a shot of whisky is viewed, why do you seem to so passionately defend it?
:
: Abortion. There - I said it. It's perhaps the most divisive topic of the last few decades,
: and is destined to become the most divisive topic of the next century or two as well.
: As I follow a car with a "I Vote Pro-Life" bumper sticker, I collect my thoughts, and
: compose a fitting commentary...
: Why will this debate be dragged on for a century? Because it is a problem without a
: solution. Why is this a problem without a solution? Because too many people don't WANT
: a solution. This is best shown by the following conversation with a Christian Coalition member
: who called during a recent election:
: Caller: This is ----- from the Christian Coalition. We were wondering if we could count on
: your support for the initiative to ban partial-birth abortion.
: Me: That's one of the few issues I agree with your organization on.
: Caller: Good! With your support, we can use this victory as a small step for our agenda of
: banning abortion entirely.
: Me: Excuse me, but if the only purpose of this is to take a "step" toward banning abortion,
: you just lost my vote.
: My point: Abortion is not an issue of abortion - it's an issue of furthering an agenda. First it's
: banning types of abortions. Then it's banning "elective" abortions. Then it's banning abortions in
: cases of rape or incest. Then it's banning abortions for medical necessity. Then it's banning birth
: control and family planning. With that victory under their belts, ultra-conservatives would then
: believe that they could control any issue they took on - coerced school prayer, government funding
: of discriminatory religious programs, vouchers to bankrupt public schools in favor of religious ones,
: and worse.
: Don't get me wrong here - I myself believe that some day abortion will be viewed in much the
: same way as surgery with a saw and a shot of whiskey is viewed today. Nobody walks around
: saying "I like abortions. We should have more!" What I'm saying is that we as a country will
: pour money into genome research and cloning so that some day we will be able to create our
: children from pre-arranged "templates", but also pour money into debating an issue that should
: deserve a scientific solution more so because it is not an issue of vanity. Where's the research
: into raising a fetus outside the womb in a special incubator? Where's the money for funding
: more education, family planning, birth control, and adoption alternatives? I've seen some of it
: go into full-page ads condemning Roe vs. Wade rather than funding acceptable alternatives.
: Yes, we do get what we pay for, and we get the best debate money can buy.
: Some of us do realize that the best way to eliminate something is to make it obsolete; to
: replace it with something better. With a combined effort to provide better alternatives, we can
: make abortion obsolete, as well as making the debate obsolete.