[Mb-civic] Two NYT Op-Eds re Abortion

[Ian]

Am I the only person who does not believe that the two Op-Eds in today's NYTimes - "Three Decades After Roe, a War We Can All Support" and "States of Confusion" - are not necessarily mutually exclusive?

True, on the face of it, the former calls for eliminating Roe v. Wade, and the latter fears that doing so - leaving decisions of "choice" to each state - would only create a far worse situation, one that would inexorably lead right back to a federal law one way or the other.

However, I believe that Baude's fears re a post-Roe scenario are melodramatically overstated.  Yes, there would be some elements of it.  But almost certainly not all, and even those that did occur would likely not be nearly as "black and white" as he paints them.

That said, I disagree with Saletan that it is absolutely necessary to overturn Roe in order for his very well-put suggestions to be implemented.  There should be a greater focus on preventing the need for abortions - and pro-choice people should be focusing on that issue, as Hillary first noted in her speech almost two years ago.

As Saletan surmises, it is highly likely that even pro-choice individuals don't like the idea of aborting fetuses, no matter how rabidly pro-choice they might be.  And he is correct that if pro-choicers spent as much time, energy and money on that issue as they do on preserving choice, not only would the number of abortions decrease, but it would serve to create a very necessary "bridge" between the pro-choice movement and the "pro-life" movement.

Finally, consider two sets of statistics.  58% of Americans are pro-choice - but 75% of those people are anti-abortion.  And of the 42% of Americans who are anti-abortion, 75% of them are pro-choice.

Clearly, there is a middle ground here, one that could bear wonderful fruit - and begin to bring both sides together - if, as Saletan suggests, the pro-choice people, without negating their cause, began to focus on decreasing the number of necessary abortions.

Peace.
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