Faithful Democrats
"There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the great pumpkin." These are the wise words of the great philosopher Linus, in Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin. The issue of abortion involves two out of the three and in most cases should be excluded from the norms of conversation. And, as a male, who can neither get pregnant nor attempt birth, I am hesitant to wade into these forbidding waters as I cannot possibly understand what the female gender must endure with this particular choice. However, as a Christian and as a Democrat, I am compelled to draw the distinctions between the moral and political.
On the Faithful Democrats website there have been several well-written articles about this particular issue from many vantage points and all should be read and then re-read and then digested far from the ACLU, churches, or politicians. Abortion is probably the most hotly contested issues in all of American culture and politics. Many who are religious and pro-life believe that abortion is simply murder and those who are pro-choice believe that abortion is a woman’s personal choice – to be made without interference. Roe v Wade seems to be the only court decision directed at human gender – basically protecting freedom of choice for women. Men do not have this same dilemma – only centuries of gender and cultural dominance. Roe v Wade essentially establishes gender equality through personal freedom. For some, there is little room for compromise between the differing positions on abortion even though both arguments are essentially arguments for differing moral views – one morality espousing the importance of life and the other morality espousing equality. I believe it is time to find some middle ground on the issue by supporting choice and gender equality while espousing the virtues of life by giving women better choices when dealing with the abortion decision by offering family assistance and economic protection.
Here are just a few quick thoughts on the matter.
As a Democrat and a Christian, I am both pro-choice and pro-life. I know – it is an oxymoron. I have come to grips with the fact that Roe v Wade has been settled law since the 1970s and there is no going back. Although I find the arguments of the 14th amendment and the implied right to privacy in the Constitution interesting, I do not find them relevant to the overall reason why abortion is so widely accepted, which is the culture shift. If two terms of the Reagan Revolution, Rush Limbaugh, two terms of Dubya, Focus on the Family, Pope John Paul, Evangelicals, and Catholics combined cannot dissuade the political or cultural establishment to abandon Roe v Wade or convince the courts to allow abortion to be decided by the states then the issue is lost for religious conservatives and they just need to come to grips with the fact abortion is here to stay. Religious conservative are fighting a lost cause in the political sense because never, till the end of America, will abortion be thrown back to the states or overturned or curbed in any substantial fashion. If any politician tells the public anything different then they are simply delusional and if the public buys what he is selling on the matter then they should ask the government for a bailout. Both pro-choice and pro-life groups use the abortion issue as a tool to fight political and other ideological battles rather than honestly come to any consensus or compromise.
I also feel that those who oppose Roe v Wade or want the courts to swing the debate back to the states have not offered significant arguments or alternatives to the issue. What would happen if abortion were outlawed in any state or even nationally? What are the criminal punishments for abortion – if it were outlawed? Would the state or federal authorities have the stomach to lock up some poor rape victim for aborting a fetus she finds shameful? Moreover, the American public has stated it doesn’t have the stomach to deal with criminal charges for women who choose abortion. No one wants these women prosecuted or locked up. What about the poor mother who lives off of food stamps or is a drug addict? What will the authorities do about fathers who abandon their wives, girlfriends, and mothers to fend for themselves in a very unforgiving world? What about the culpability of the fathers? The cultural establishment punishes the woman more for the choice she makes in regard to family far more than the man. How is this justice? If the state or federal government tried to enforce any laws surrounding the issue of abortion then there would be massive protest and riots. Conservatives should think this issue out completely before wading into its cultural and political waters. Simply put: accept the law of the land.
But, just because I accept the law of the land and feel it is a politically lost cause does not mean that I shouldn’t speak out for LIFE.
Pro-life individuals and Christians have created one of the hardest arguments to counter in the abortion debate: Thou shall not kill. Well, at least for Christians it is phenomenally hard to counter this argument. The Bible is clear – Life, both physically and spiritually, is to be chosen above any alternative. When I stand before God and account for all of my failings I will not have the luxury of answering my God with the excuse that Roe v Wade was settled argument or that the 14th amendment and Constitution gives the implied right to privacy and equal rights. I will have to account for my personal stance on the matter. So I have decided that my personal stance will be for life.
As a Democrat, being pro-life in a decidedly pro-choice party is difficult. Pro-life members of the Democratic Party are ridiculed and ostracized as anti-women’s rights and patriarchal. I do not feel that I should be demonized for a personal belief that all life is precious and I am not here to criticize or tell a woman what she can or cannot do with her body. Just the opposite – I believe that what a woman does with her body or her decisions on the matter of abortion are between her, her fetus, and God almighty. I am not going to judge anyone because it is not my position as a weak and equally fallible human being to judge. Only a just and omnipotent God has that right. However, I would like to see the Democratic Party be more open to life. Why not support a woman’s right to choose but also support her right to choose life? Why not offer support groups and incentives for women who want children but cannot economically afford them? Why can’t the Party support life and choice as two equally viable options? Why not place an emphasis on family and demonize the neglectful fathers who are the cause of placing this decision on the mother? It seems that the Party is so beholden to its special interest that abortion is almost championed over the alternative… this is simply not right. If the Democratic Party really wants to be a big tent they will find a way to champion both causes. In the end, the Party may find supporters and a new base of support from those who support privacy, women’s rights, and equality but who are also religiously, strongly supportive of the pro-life cause.
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