Abortion's shades of gray (by Michael Medved)

Townhall.com ^ | October 24, 2007 | Michael Medved

[EveningStar]

Though activists attempt to corral presidential candidates, such as Rudy Giuliani, into a specific camp, beliefs today are much more nuanced. It’s no longer a black-and-white debate.

The battle for the Republican presidential nomination might serve to clear away prevailing confusion and contradictions about public opinion on abortion. Rudy Giuliani seeks the White House by reaching out to that majority of Americans who say they are pro-choice — and anti-abortion...

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

When you reply to the person that starts a thread, replies are to the writer not the poster.

[teenyelliott]

If a woman has an abortion now, it is legal. She would not be considered a murderer under current law.

I do not know, however, if women receiving illegal abortions prior to Roe v. Wade would have been charged with a crime.

Interesting point.

Of course, if abortion were illegal, far fewer women would seek them simply because they don't want to do anything criminal.

[teenyelliott]

Did God say there should not be slavery in the south?

I must have missed that.

[Salvation]

Didn’t even look at the article. Just posted my opinions and moved on.

[Sadecki]

In 1970 the populist view was that all abortion should be illegal.

So what? it is not 1970 anymore. As tragic as it is, the reality is that almost every American alive now either has made the decision to have an abortion or knows someone who has -- if the majority are like me, the women I know who have had an abortion did so only after much soul searching and concluding that they were not in a position to have a baby at that time. All of them that I am still in contact with now have children. Including my own mother, who had a backroom, illegal 1st trimester abortion in the 1950's after she was raped.

My mother's been a Republican for over 60 years, and I've been a republican for over 25 years -- but here on FR, both of us are called "Lefties" because we support keeping abortion legal in the first trimester. So be it. Thankfully most of the voters in this nation have to deal with "life on Life terms" and all the curveballs that entails -- few of us have the luxury of living in the simple Black and white theoretical world of the conservatives here on freerepublic.

And I think that's the main point Medved was making. That it is not a black and white issue anymore if it wver was -- and to just deny that reality -- does the republican party a real disservice because there are still huge distinctions between what most republicans beleive about abortiopn and what most democrats believe.

Popularity doesn't = good in itself

I never said it did.

A Rudy Presidential nomination = a democrat president

As medved has pointed out, and many other right wing pundits as well, to say such a thing is a naive and ridiculous statement

[Salvation]

Romney will not be the nominee either.

[al baby]

Evening Star and I have broken Bread many of times He is a fine and honorable man

[teenyelliott]

Execute? That’s stupid and not prolife.

So you are against the death penalty?

Welcome to FreeRepublic.

[Swordfished]

If abortion really is murder, why not support the death penalty (or at least life in prison) for both mother and abortionist? At least 25% of all women have received abortions, but I've never heard sane advocates for human life suggesting we should execute or imprison these millions of females.

This article was posted as another thread a few days ago and I brought up this question...crickets. Everyone wants to use the talking point about murder of innocents and genocide, but when you ask them the above question, they either backtrack or don't respond.

If the belief is that abortion is murder equal to or worse than a traditional murder, it is clearly premeditated by the mother, and the doctor is an accomplice. There should then be NO hesitation in calling for just punishment of the murderer: the death penalty for the mother. The fact there is so much hesitation shows the rhetoric to be mostly for emotional effect and inconsistent at its core.

[jwalburg]

This did it for me.

[madprof98]

It’s compelling, all right . . . to Rudyshills like Hannity and Medved and to Rudybots like you. Any decent person would reject it at once.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

see 24

[EveningStar]

I’m pro-life. I haven’t made up my mind about the candidates yet but I will support the GOP candidate, no matter who he is. I think Medved likes Romney, BTW.

[Sadecki]

so Rudy dressing up in drag as part of a comedy routine makes him unfit to be president?

It’s comments like yours which is the reason why so-called Conservatives are being increasingly marginalized in the GOP.

It begs the question, “If conservatives can’t even make a distinction between someone dressing in drag as a joke and real transvestite, then why should they be leading our party?”

[puroresu]

The alleged popularity of legal abortion will fade as science increasingly makes it impossible to maintain that abortion isn’t the taking of a human life. That, combined with the eventual passing of the self-indulgent baby boomers, will bring the abortion cult to an end.

In Europe, it will be Islam that brings it to an end, after the Europeans abort themselves into extinction.

[jwalburg]

Gravitas

[the808bass]

At least 25% of all women have received abortions, but I've never heard sane advocates for human life suggesting we should execute or imprison these millions of females.

Stupid argument. The women had these legal (though immoral) procedures performed with the blessing of the legal system. To advocate someone's punishment (on earth) for doing something legal is a dumb argument and a shell game.

If abortion was ruled a state issue and some states subsequently made the procedure illegal and then some women subsequently had illegal abortions, they should be tried for their crime based upon the law of the state. It's not rocket science.