Do Democrats Really Really want to have a debate on abortion? Opinion by Martin Tagliafero
Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, the decision to uphold the law passed in Mississippi to make abortion illegal after after 15 weeks, the wailing on the Left has been non-stop. “The right to choose”, “My body my choice”, “Taking away rights we’ve had for 50 years”, and many more have been a rallying point for Democrats seeking to talk about anything besides, inflation, the economy, the rise in violence crime, gas and oil prices, the disastrous consequences of school shutdowns and mask mandates (and dozens of other inane Democrat decisions – Illegal immigration anyone?) . But other than shouting about “rights” – there is never a discussion about what it actually takes to perform an abortion at a certain points in a pregnancy.
We all know the phrase, “The Devil is in the details”, but in the case of late term abortion, the Devil is literally, “in the details”.
The vast majority of reasonable people support at least some restrictions on abortion, but all the Democrat rhetoric focuses only about “rights”, and not the specifics or the consequences of those acting on those “rights”.
The details of a later term abortion are horrific and gruesome. We can spare the details for now, but if Democrats really want to spout their – support for abortion at any time – without any limits – we say, “Bring it on”. If you Democrats really want a discussion about abortion – let’s start with, “What is your choice of how to deal with the parts that have to be removed?” . .
I would suggest you don’t want to debate abortion because it’s difficult to defend your position without marketing slogans. Since we agree late term abortions are rare – it should be very easy to identify exceptions so they can be allowed – Agree? And there are cases where – thanks to modern medicine – fetal operations are possible and the baby could still be born healthy and alive – true?
At the 2020 State of the Union a young girl was introduced who had survived an abortion attempt. It does happen. Are you on the side of former Virginia Governor Northam who stated that in those cases, “it would be made comfortable until the mother decides.” Until the mother decides …what? And once she decides…then what? Why does Planned Parenthood only offer one option? Why can’t other options be discussed, considered or offered to confuse, scare, and hurt women?
Can we start with the premise that abortion is a tragedy under any circumstance? And then acknowledge that in life – sometimes tragedy is unavoidable. And to minimize tragedy – guidelines should be established – as decided by the voters and Legislators or each State – not the Judiciary – because that is the way our Constitution was crafted. Each State as a laboratory of Democracy – Agree?
So, before we continue this debate further…go watch the movies “Gosnell” and “The Silent Scream” then maybe your insight will be beyond slogans.
John – since late term abortion is so rare – it should be very easy to identify exceptions – Agree?
And with modern medicine, most late term problem pregnancies can still give birth to a live baby – True?
So – before we debate further – call me after you watch the movies “Gosnell” and “The Silent Scream”
Gentle reminder: a significant number of republicans are pro-choice, including at least some of our local candidates. While we can share our differing views, I don’t think it is useful for republicans to debate abortion. Also, I don’t think opposing abortion, or seeking to restrict abortion is a winning issue for our party as nearly 2/3’s of americans want abortion to be legal (https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/06/13/about-six-in-ten-americans-say-abortion-should-be-legal-in-all-or-most-cases-2/) and likely a higher percentage in more secular and more progressive Connecticut.
Last, late term abortions are exceptionally rare. And the vast majority of late term abortions are tragic cases where a child is wanted by the mother but that choice is taken away because the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother or the fetus has lethal abnormalities and would not survive beyond birth. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_termination_of_pregnancy ). Arbitrarily outlawing late term abortion would represent a profound and unfair punishment of women and families who find themselves in these unfortunate circumstances.