A Path Forward - Pro-Life Ideology on The Left
Alabama has recently passed the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the United States, with the clear intention to force the courts to revisit the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Under the passed law, Doctors who perform abortions any time after six weeks into a pregnancy could be charged with up to 99 years in prison. While women are not punished for seeking out abortions, the severe limitations and punishments given out by the law would all but dry up options for women who do seek to do so. While it is unlikely that this law will ever take effect, this is a regressive attempt to return to a time before the 1974 court decision to legalize abortion for women, and would represent an enormous step back in Women’s rights if found viable by The Supreme Court. Listening to the responses from Pro-life advocates, politicians, and lawmakers - it is clear that they are dead-set on preventing access to abortion at all costs - even going so far as to challenge long standing conservative positions on states rights and constitutional support.
Hearing all of this, it makes one wonder if there isn’t a better way forward, one that can continue to support the values of those who are pro-life, also supporting the rights of women, and work to bring the rate of abortion to effectively zero. I can imagine such an ideology - a Pro-Life argument for the left, one that retains the understanding of the pro-choice population who feel that losing the option to abort would be a permanent infringement of their rights, while also encouraging and proving with data and intention to reduce the rate of actual abortions performed to zero. After all, the goal has always been to not abort - for both sides. One side, the left, simply recognizes the choice as a necessary one for many in the country who are unable and/or unwilling, either economically, medically, or morally to bear a child into the world. That does not mean, however, that the Pro Life people on the right don’t also have a point. If you believe that life starts at the moment of conception, or at the moment of a fetal heartbeat, than it’s not difficult to imagine why abortion is murder from your point of view. Not wanting to murder unborn children does not make you evil. I don’t believe anyone wants there to be a necessity for abortion outside of medically or legally necessary circumstances. However, to again deny that the necessity exists is bordering on lunacy.
Both sides have a reasonable argument and stake in the outcome of this problem, which is why the issue is so contentious. So what is the path forward? I believe that with a Pro-Life argument on the left, we can find a way to politically resolve the issue of abortion without violating anyone’s rights, while also greatly reducing the rate of abortion over the next twenty years. The answer lies in statistics. According to NPR and the Guttmacher Institute, Abortion is at it’s lowest rate since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1974. The progress is largely due to Americans increased access to contraception, sex education, as well as increased economic opportunity for women across the country. How do we know this is where the progress lies? It’s simple: Look at the states with more access to contraception, abortion, and sex education and compare their birth rates to states with less access to those things.
The results are clear. Sex education works. Contraception works. Contraception is not abortion. Despite some religions strict interpretation of the role of contraception in family planning, Christian ideas about contraception come from church teachings rather than scripture, as the Bible has little to say about the subject. Furthermore, allowing non-religious, non-Christians access to contraception is not a violation of church teachings - If you are a practicing theist, you must follow the rules of your faith, but preventing lay people from having access is not really within your control, and is frowned upon within christian teaching. So what message should a potential Pro-Life Democrat share with their constituency? Empathy. Empathy for the victims of rape and incest, for single mothers in a terrible situation, for families who are experiencing the toughest decisions they have ever faced. And yes, empathy for the faithful who feel that the law is not on their side in this issue.
The second thing a Pro-Life democrat needs is a plan. They need a focused platform around the reduction of abortion rates in their states, using a variety of methods. The great thing about sex education and contraception is that results are nearly immediate as they are delivered at the exact moment they are needed - during the vulnerable teen years. However, they shouldn’t stop with just contraception and education. There should be state-sponsored events for the faithful, helping to deliver messages and teachings about family planning geared towards the denominations practiced in the community. Christian and religious voices against abortion should be brought to the table for discussions and planning around reducing abortion. Faith leaders should be kept in the loop about the progress being made. Again, the goal is to make abortion unnecessary, NOT illegal. This means tackling other issues that will help combat the problem if resolved. The wealth gap, the education gap, racial bias. All of these things contribute to the rate of abortion and all of them will help lower it if resolved. Remember, it was found time and time again that the rate of pregnancy in developing countries decreased as female literacy and education increased. That doesn’t just apply to the developing world. We have the ability to solve this issue, to greatly reduce the rate of abortion, and to appease both pro-life and pro-choice citizens if approached properly.