Posted by Comedywriter on April 11, 2001 at 17:42:42:
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.