The Choice No Woman Wants to Make

The Choice No Woman Wants to Make

The View from the Middle

While I never suggest Bill Clinton as a moral role model and I frequently question his motives, I find myself more and more often in support of his fiscal and even social policies.  In 1997 Bill Clinton said that abortion should be safe, legal and rare.  I think this captures the heart of America and should be our official position on this important issue.  Unfortunately, we have all been distracted by the extremists in both political parties and consequently have made no progress in this area. The left wants abortion on demand and the far right has a no tolerance approach without an exception for rape or incest.  While I believe life begins at conception, even I would be conflicted if the rape victim were my daughter. 

As these two sides battle, we have experienced over 54 million abortions in the US since Roe v. Wade in 1973.  Today, we abort 1.2 million lives per year vs. just 200,000 in 1970.  According to the CDC, that is more than the lives ended annually by heart disease and cancer, the top two killers in the US – combined. It’s time we looked for common ground for the sake of women everywhere and for the yet unborn.

Some would argue that a woman has the right to do whatever she wants with her own body.  Of course, that isn’t true.  If a woman decides to fill her body with alcohol and then drive a car, she begins to infringe on the rights of others.  Others would say abortion is between a woman and her doctor. Unfortunately, that isn’t true either.  When a man and woman conceive a child, a new person is created instantly.  This new person has a new and unique DNA that has never existed in the history of the world and will never exist again.  When a woman decides to have an abortion, she is infringing on that new person’s right to life, which is the first right enumerated in our Declaration of Independence.

The life of the mother is also better off without an abortion.  There are huge risks for women during and after an abortion.  Surgical risks include pelvic infection, heavy bleeding, perforation of the uterus, cervical injury, heart attack and death. Then there are psychological risks even after a successful surgery.  Women who have abortions are six times more likely to commit suicide than women who give birth.  They are also more likely to experience anxiety, depression, fear of exposure and eating disorders.  Many believe that there is also a significant increase in the risk of breast cancer.  Given these facts, I would love to hear the argument that the world needs more abortions.  So, if we all agree that we should have fewer abortions, how do we get there?

First, we need to consider the number one provider of abortions in the US, Planned Parenthood.  In 2010 they performed almost 330,000 abortions and executed a whopping 841 adoption referrals.  Since the government (actually you and me) gave them 487 million dollars in that same fiscal year, we could incent them to reduce the number of abortions they perform or lose that support.  They could do this easily by using their facilities to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies through education and by increasing the number of adoption referrals by honestly discussing all of the options available to the pregnant women they serve.  We should set a goal for them to reduce their abortions by 10% a year for the next five years as a requirement to get continued funding.  Personally, I would be willing to give them even more money if they were able to achieve these goals.

Second, our black leaders are righteously indignant about the fact that 38% of our prison population is African American while they only represent 13% of the overall population.  When it comes to abortion, however, the statistics are even worse, but black leadership is stunningly silent.  According to the CDC, over 40% of abortions are performed on black women and about one half of all black pregnancies end in abortion.  Where is the outcry, and where is the plan to address this terrible inequity.  Black leaders should commit to cut this number in half over the next five years.  This would still represent an imbalance but will save the lives of over 250,000 black children along the way. 

Finally, did you know that over 45% of abortions are performed on women who have already had at least one, and 8% are for women who have had three or more?  Could a national advertising campaign, proclaiming the preciousness of life and exposing the perils of multiple abortions, reduce these numbers by even 5% a year?  If these three strategies were pursued, in five years we could save 500,000 innocent lives and cut our current annual pace almost in half.  It will take commitment and resolve as a nation, but if one life is precious what value do we put on half a million?