Sssshhh... Ix Nay on the Condom Tay.
This weekend's Wash. Post, contained an article about a group called Democrats for Life (DFL). These folks, headed by Rep. Mark Ryan (D. Oh) were all set to push a bill that dropped the abortion rate --they hoped -- by about 95%. Trouble is, to meet these lofty goals, DFL would need to emphasize contraception, the only proven method to reduce unwanted pregnancies.
One might think that in this day and age, it would be easy to build a coalition around such a utilitarian idea. You would be wrong. Ryan's bill lost half its backers once he atarted talking about contraception, most of them religious groups. Now there are two competing bills and the chances of either passing is reduced.
This is really a story about an opportunity wasted. There are many Americans who believe that abortion is an ugly thing all around, and that decreasing abortion rates is a legitimate goal. This is, I think, a fairly reasonable and common position. Unfortunately, progress on this idea is stalled by folks who believe that you should not have sex without risking pregnancy (and disease). This is, I think, a fairly antiquated and reactionary idea, probably only held by a tiny sliver of the American population.
As the DFL found out though, the latter shackles the former and the whole episode ends up to be an illustration of how a small set of zealots can undermine what would otherwise be a perfectly attainable goal, a goal that might have actually united Americans rather than divided them. a goal that would have reduced the number of abortions while maintaining a the right to privacy we all enjoy. The episode also shows that much of what passes as the pro life movement is not really concerned with abortion. (They had the chance to take a huge bite out of the abortion rate and took a pass.) It appears instead, that, for reasons difficult to discern, they want to regulate sex generally. I suppose that is permissable --whacky, intrusive and perhaps unconstitutional -- but permissable. I guess I just wish they were honest about it.
One might think that in this day and age, it would be easy to build a coalition around such a utilitarian idea. You would be wrong. Ryan's bill lost half its backers once he atarted talking about contraception, most of them religious groups. Now there are two competing bills and the chances of either passing is reduced.
This is really a story about an opportunity wasted. There are many Americans who believe that abortion is an ugly thing all around, and that decreasing abortion rates is a legitimate goal. This is, I think, a fairly reasonable and common position. Unfortunately, progress on this idea is stalled by folks who believe that you should not have sex without risking pregnancy (and disease). This is, I think, a fairly antiquated and reactionary idea, probably only held by a tiny sliver of the American population.
As the DFL found out though, the latter shackles the former and the whole episode ends up to be an illustration of how a small set of zealots can undermine what would otherwise be a perfectly attainable goal, a goal that might have actually united Americans rather than divided them. a goal that would have reduced the number of abortions while maintaining a the right to privacy we all enjoy. The episode also shows that much of what passes as the pro life movement is not really concerned with abortion. (They had the chance to take a huge bite out of the abortion rate and took a pass.) It appears instead, that, for reasons difficult to discern, they want to regulate sex generally. I suppose that is permissable --whacky, intrusive and perhaps unconstitutional -- but permissable. I guess I just wish they were honest about it.
posted by Jack Reed at 3:19 PM
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