On Abortion, Obama Chooses His Words Carefully
By Cathy Ruse | FRC Blog
In his answer to the question on the Freedom of Choice Act, President Obama
first said abortion was a "moral issue" and then went on to say:
'[T]his is an issue that... individual women have to wrestle with... And I
think they are in a better position to make these decisions ultimately than
members of Congress or a president of the United States... So that has been my
consistent position. The other thing that I said consistently during the
campaign is I would like to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies that
result in women feeling compelled to get an abortion, or at least considering
getting an abortion...'
These were careful words. Notice that Obama avoided any phrasing that would
suggest that he believes abortions per se ought to be reduced. He
doesn't ever assert that we ought to reduce the number of abortions because that
would cast abortion in a negative light; wanting fewer abortions suggests
abortion is a negative thing that ought to be reduced. Rather he is always
careful to say that he wants to reduce the need for abortion, which leaves
abortion as a "good" and casts the pregnancy (or rather the child) as the bad
that should be reduced.
The Democrat platform under Obama was changed from making abortion "rare" to
reducing the need for abortion -- a move deeper into pro-abortion orthodoxy.
It's like the child is the dreaded disease and abortion is the wonderful vaccine
-- why would we want fewer of those wonderful vaccines? It's the dreaded disease
we want to reduce!
Obama is careful in his choice of words and so should pro-lifers be: do not
ever give Obama credit for wanting to reduce abortions.
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...Obama also said, "I think that those who are pro-choice make a mistake when they—if they suggest—and I don't want to create straw men here, but I think there are some who suggest that this is simply an issue about women's freedom and that there's no other considerations."
It's not just straw men. There are many on the Pro-Choice side who are adamant that there is no moral dimension to abortion . They relentlessly assert that a developing fetus has NO rights and, therefore, there is no reason to oppose abortion on moral grounds.
Obama later said, "The reason I'm pro-choice is because I don't think women take that position casually. I think that they struggle with these decisions each and every day, and I think they are in a better position to make these decisions ultimately than members of Congress or a President of the United States—in consultation with their families, with their doctors, with their clergy."
I agree with Obama. Women are more than smart enough, moral enough and compassionate enough to make the right moral decision with regard to abortion. The trouble is, no one can solve a moral problem (or any kind of problem) if she doesn't know the parameters of that problem.
The woman with an unwanted pregnancy who ultimately chooses to bring that pregnancy to term is either behaving morally or stupidly depending upon whether the phenomenon in her uterus is human life or not. Eventually it will dawn on people that it has to be one thing or another and that it's unworkable to put women in the position of making a moral choice without the information about what that choice is about. We as a society have to decide when human life begins
Paul Bradford, Pro-Life Catholics for Choice