Log In

Comments (0)

By Vivian Greentree

The battle over abortion is rooted in clashing absolutes. The right of liberty versus the right of life. It has been dressed up by proponents of both sides, but putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t change the fact it is, indeed, a pig. And since the very composition of the arguments both for and against abortion are etched into our national identity, the topic never seems to be far from the public eye - especially during election years.

As court and legislative battles in South Dakota, Georgia, Mississippi, and other red states rage on, many are being forced to reflect on just how far they are willing to go to support the pro-life movement. National Gallop Polls over the last thirty years have shown that two-thirds of Americans have consistently said abortion should be legal in the first trimester. Additionally, polls done by the National Opinion Research Center show overwhelming majorities – between 80 and 90 percent – believe abortion should be available to women if her health is seriously endangered by the pregnancy, in cases of rape, or there is a risk of serious fetal defects.

If Roe v. Wade ends up being overturned by the Supreme Court most scholars are in agreement that while individual states will enact various laws either immediately restricting or protecting abortion rights, the national abortion rate will not dramatically change. As usual, it will be the poor on whom the burden falls – they will be the ones crossing states lines and seeking illegal (and oftentimes, unsafe) providers. It is these women who I pray for when Governor Perry and company espouse their fervent anti-choice views, relying on their disposable incomes to transit state lines should one of their status ever, God forbid, have to make that terrible decision. Because if there is one thing I have learned about the issue of abortion, it is that a lot of people have terribly strong opinions on the topic before the issue ever touches their lives intimately. In fact, a new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research says the same thing. The study found the more female children in a U.S. congressman’s family, the more likely he was to have a liberal position on women’s issues - specifically abortion and contraception. The closer you are to a topic, the more you recognize the applicability in your own life and that of your family and friends.

Does this mean people like me are not concerned over the moral implications and deep ethical questions that come along with such an intense topic? Certainly not. There is no easy answer to the conundrum of life versus liberty. But obviously, there is not an absolute quality to the right to all lives, because most pro-lifers favor exceptions for rape, incest, and the life/health of the mother. What they are really trying to legislate then, is a certain sexual morality. It is the mentality of, "If you are raped it is ok to end a life, but not if the condom broke." Obviously, there are contradictions there that pro-lifers don't want to, or can't afford to, address.

The real question behind the legality of abortion then becomes, how much do we value women’s rights and lives? Implying that we don’t understand what we are doing when having an abortion (the idea behind making patients look at sonograms before having an abortion) is insulting and degrading to women. It usurps our privacy, our bodies, and our own moral decision-making. And, it is even more galling when those with no first-hand knowledge of the topic have the temerity to pass judgment and stand ready to assert control in a realm in which they have no place.

There is at least one thing both pro-life and pro-choice advocates agree on…reducing the number of abortions. But Texas has one of the highest teen birth rates in the country, and an incredibly high rate of unintended pregnancies. If Texans are serious about reducing abortions, we should work to advance, not cut, funding for family planning centers (and not just those sponsored by churches) and support abstienence-based, medically accurate sex education programs in the schools with access to contraception. This two pronged approach has already been proven at reducing teen pregnancy.

I volunteer at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Kingsville. The women there are thankful there is an organization that is willing to help them with their family planning needs. Even as our budgets dwindle from state regulations enacted by anti-choice advocates, our mission has always been and will remain – to provide comprehensive reproductive and health care services in settings which preserve and protect the essential privacy and rights of women. And as I see, firsthand, Planned Parenthood's commitment to women, I find myself admiring their approach to Bill Clinton’s description of making abortions, "safe, legal, and rare."