[mrsmel]

I have wondered about this hypothetical-what if, by some chance, a “gay” gene was discovered? How would homosexuals feel about women having conceived a baby with such a gene, choosing to abort? (Note-I don’t believe in “abortion”—it’s plain murder, and I don’t believe a “gay” gene will ever be found—it’s a choice)

[ChicagahAl]

"I practice moral relativism regularly"

He's off his meds, I guess.

[MHGinTN]

How can an obviously intelligent person make this assertion?... “Then again, I also believe a government ban on abortion would only criminalize the procedure and do little to mitigate the number of abortions.” Does this person not believe what is legal becomes embraced as acceptable, then okay, then nothing at all just the norm? Or at bare minimum, can this person not reason it out that any behavior/industry made illegal and that is as easily traceable as medical procedures can be severely reduced by making it illegal? I don’t doubt this transactional puke will assert that drug use has only gotten worse with making it illegal and fighting ‘the war on drugs’. And that will reveal the idiocy of equating drug use with murdering the alive unborn.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Then again, I also believe a government ban on abortion would only criminalize the procedure and do little to mitigate the number of abortions.

Logic time class:

If outlawing an activity does not reduce the occurances of said activity, then why have laws at all?

[CaptainMorgantown]

I would like to think that pro-life sentiment is gaining ground, but realistically my guess is that popular sentiment on abortion has remained fairly consistent over decades. When different polls get different numbers it is usually because the question is phrased slightly differently, or because the political context had changed. There are certainly sizeable groups who are solidly pro-life or anti-life, but there is a large squishy middle group.

The squishy middle understands abortion is wrong but doesn't want to outlaw it altogether. They're ok with restrictions on late-term and partial-birth abortion, and with parental notification laws. They don't want government funding or encouragement of abortion, but they think early term abortions shouldn't be banned outright. Whenever a conservative governing coalition starts to get close to overturning Roe v. Wade, they start considering themselves pro-choice. Whenever a liberal governing coalition starts using government to fund and promote abortion, and force medical professionals to participate in abortions regardless of conscience, the squishy middle drifts into the 'pro-life' category.

We've been at an impasse where public opinion hasn't really moved much for 25 years. I wish I knew how to break that impasse and move the public's conscience on the abortion issue, the way the slave abolition movement was able to. It will take a leader with exceptional communication skills to accomplish that.

I'm not yet sold on Palin as the next presidential candidate, but perhaps the reason the left has tried so hard to destroy her is they recognize that she has both the communication skills and the personal story to effectively shift public opinion on this issue.

[Cacique]

ping

[Gene Eric]

>> The more I thought about it the creepier the issue got.

Thinking involves more thought than not thinking at all.

[cpforlife.org]

Just got in and have not read this yet. But pinging anyway.

Pro-Life PING

Please FreepMail me if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.

[exDemMom]

Then again, I also believe a government ban on abortion would only criminalize the procedure and do little to mitigate the number of abortions.

A lot of women began using abortion as a means of birth control after it was legalized, and it actually took a few years for the numbers to climb over a million per year. There is no reason to believe that making it illegal again would not have any effect on the numbers. Personally, I'd like to see more done to educate women, and to change the tolerant attitudes that basically give them a free pass for having irresponsible sex. If a woman doesn't think that this is the right time to be having a baby, there is no excuse whatsoever for her to get pregnant.

[Tribune7]

Now, I happen to believe (as civil libertarian and pro-life activist Nat Hentoff once noted) that the right to life and liberty is the foundation of a moral society. Then again, I also believe a government ban on abortion would only criminalize the procedure and do little to mitigate the number of abortions.

What those who take this view must remember is that we are not a "pro choice" nation, but a pro-abortion one. If this fellow is uncomfortable with a government ban he can certainly fight to end the hundreds of millions of dollars of government subsidies that go to abortionists, and he can certainly oppose giving abortionists privileges not held by real doctors (i.e. parental consent/notification).

And with regard to "government bans" he can at least recognize that the degree to which one should be enacted is one for the legislative bodies and not courts.

[SunkenCiv]

"With respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro-choice or pro-life?" Fifty-one percent responded that they were pro-life, and 42 percent said they were pro-choice. These percentages are the reverse of what was found in the same poll in 2006. What happened?

Who picked up the phone, that's what happened. Thanks neverdem.