Going There, Part 2

If you are truly Pro-Life and actually care about women and also want to reduce abortions there are some very clear steps you can take and policies that you can openly support.  Before we get there, it helps to know why women have abortions, because any meaningful solution has to address the underlying causes.

While is over a decade old, this report from the Guttmacher Institute is still the most often cited report on the actual reason women seek an abortion.  It was quoted in several different articles addressing the why question.  There are several interesting results from the survey (using 2004 data).  In the broad categories, 74% cited the impact on life and 73% listed financial considerations.  More specifically, 28% of women cited the “cost of a baby and child care.”  38% listed the impact on their professional life as a factor.  38% were done with childbearing and 32% were “not ready for a(nother) child.”  Meanwhile, only 12% cited physical health issues as a reason.

There are multiple ways to address these issues, from better sex education to better access to health care; from more access to financial resources to more family friendly workplace policies.  With help from a recent Facebook meme making the rounds, here now is my list of policies that real Pro-Life supporters should get behind (includes some items not directly related to abortion):

1)      Actively pursuing an economic policy that ensures everyone earns a true living wage on a single 40-hour/week job.  No more families where dad works 3 jobs, mom works 2 jobs, and the kids go to work as soon as they are old enough to hold a work permit.  We need an economy where families can spend time together; where parents have time and money to do more than put food on the tables and clothes on the kids.  This might put a dent 73% of women who cited financial considerations among their primary reasons for getting an abortion.  Side benefit - it might also allow us to start addressing a myriad number of other social issues.

2)      Actively work to change our healthcare system so that women have easy, affordable access to basic healthcare.  FYI – Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of women’s health services in the country.  Women need access to basic healthcare; they need access to affordable birth control.  This should help the women who were either done having children or weren’t ready for a child.

3)      Repeal the Hyde Amendment.  The reality is the federal government does numerous things that various segments of the population find onerous – unjust wars (Iraq, Yemen), the death penalty, fossil fuel exploration, etc.  Should we pass amendments that ban the use of federal dollars for these as well?  We all know the answer is no, so let’s stop treating abortion like it is somehow more onerous or egregious than these other things.

4)      Expand access to the social safety net so that families in need can easily get the financial assistance they need to provide for the basic needs of the family – healthy nutritious meals, basic quality clothing, homes with proper heat/ac, homes with doors/windows/roof that don’t leak, reliable transportation, etc.  Life is full of unexpected surprises; we need a safety net that ensures those surprises don’t leave people destitute.  There’s also a larger conversation to be had around financial planning, but that’s for a different post.

5)      Hold men accountable.  In the entire history of humanity there has NEVER been a pregnancy that happened without a man contributing to the process.  As men, we need to hold our gender responsible for the role we play in pregnancy.  We need to call out the deadbeat dads and absent fathers.  We need to challenge them to take responsibility for their actions and own up to the consequences of their actions.

6)      Teach our young people a sex-ed curriculum based on science, not theology.  Sex is not just for the sole purpose of procreation.  Even the Bible is pretty clear about that.  So let’s teach our young people a holistic view of sex that conveys the deep respect for intimacy; a view that encourages respect for intercourse, not fear or shame.  Let’s teach a curriculum where young men learn about women’s cycles; where everyone learns about all the various types of birth control – how they work, how effective they are, and their risks/benefits.

7)      Make sure companies provide plenty of time for both parents to bond with their newborn.  It should be fully paid leave that is separate from any other vacation/sick leave available to the employee. We need a greater push for fully covered maternity AND paternity leave.  We need to change our corporate culture to one that supports and strengthens families.  We do that by ensuring that both men and women have time off after a birth to recover and bond with the newborn.  It’s important for everyone that proper bonds be formed as they lead to a better and stronger family.

8)      Advocate for serious reform of our prison system.  If you are serious about the sanctity of life, then we have got to stop throwing young people in prison and tossing the key.  We also need to severely limit the use of the death penalty.  It’s impossible to be Pro-Life and actively support the use of the death penalty in so many cases.  I won’t advocate for a complete end to the death penalty because there are a few limited circumstances where the death penalty is fully justified and sadly necessary.  We also need more support for addiction treatment.  We need to stop throwing users in prison as a first move.  We need to get them into robust addiction treatment that addresses the addiction itself AND the underlying causes. 

9)      Support comprehensive gun control reform.  This should be fairly obvious, but the NRA has done a masterful job of blinding people and politicians to reality.  A universal background check for any gun permit would have prevented incidents like the Aurora, IL shooting earlier this year.  A three day wait allows authorities to actually check to ensure that, as a society, we are okay with the individual owning a gun.  Reinstate the assault weapons ban.  Assault weapons like the AR-15 and AK-47 are designed for one thing – killing the maximum number of people in the shortest possible time.  KILLING PEOPLE IS NOT PRO-LIFE!  I’m fine with owning handguns for personal protection.  Shotguns and rifles for hunting are perfectly fine.  Guns designed solely for the mass killing of other people – NO.

In case you haven’t figured it out, most of these policies are supported by many in the Pro-Choice camp.  I know many people in the Pro-Choice camp who wouldn’t personally seek an abortion.  Many of these same people are saddened by the reality of abortion and the need for it.  They also see these policies as the best ways to support women and effectively address many of the reasons women seek abortion.  If you can get behind these ideas then go ahead and call yourself Pro-Life.  If not, well then maybe you’re more concerned with power and controlling women than living, breathing human beings.  Because here’s the reality – abortion is ALWAYS A CHOICE; it’s just a matter of who is making the choice – the pregnant woman or a stuffy politician sitting in the capitol.  Frankly, I prefer letting the woman make the choice.