abortion: causes and consequences
It's almost amusing to observe how clueless people
can be sometimes. How many of us take the time to
carefully consider the consequences of our actions?
Of course, even if we do, there are some things that
we just can't foresee. On the other hand, there are
some consequences that should be obvious, but
which are overlooked, especially by certain political
leaders. It's hard to see with blinders on.
Case in point: the abortion issue. George W. Bush
has run for office twice as a 'pro-life' (read: anti-
choice) candidate. One would expect that the rate
of abortions would decrease under his presidency,
but the rate has actually increased. In contrast, the
number of abortions decreased during the Clinton
years.
To understand why the abortion rate has risen, one
must look at the reasons why women get abortions.
The most common reasons stated by these women
are "inability to afford a child" and lack of affordable
health care, according to Glen Harold Stassen--who
is not only pro-life, but who is also a professor of
Christian ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary.
An article on this subject, which was co-authored
by Mr. Stassen with journalist Gary Krane, Phd, *
gives their analysis of available abortion statistics.
This article has appeared in several publications,
including the Christian magazine Sojourners.
It seems that the economic policies of the current
administration--which support large corporations
while shafting the middle class and working poor--
have actually contributed to the rise in abortions.
Such is the consequence of bad economic policy,
questionable ethics, and a lack of compassion.
As objectionable as one might consider abortion,
many women apparently find it more irresponsible
to have a child that they can't care for properly,
than to terminate a pregnancy.
Strident voices will say that women should just
use birth control, or that they should "just say
'no'," but some women get pregnant even when
using birth control; and some of those who get
abortions are married. Are the anti-choice crowd
saying that married women should tell their own
husbands 'no'? It seems that certain segments
of the population enjoy making assumptions and
then dictating to others how they should live,
based on those (often incorrect) assumptions.
The bottom line: Americans need employment--
with living wages--and affordable health care.
Write to your elected officials and tell them that
if they're 'pro-life,' then they must be pro-worker,
as well. If abortion concerns you, then speak up--
let them know that economic causes of abortion
need to be addressed at least as diligently as the
moral ones.
In truth, to the extent that economic factors affect
health and other living conditions of individuals
and families, the economy of our nation most
undeniably is a moral issue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* You can read the text of their article online at
Kansas.com or Minuteman Media
A related article appears at the FortWayne.com website.
can be sometimes. How many of us take the time to
carefully consider the consequences of our actions?
Of course, even if we do, there are some things that
we just can't foresee. On the other hand, there are
some consequences that should be obvious, but
which are overlooked, especially by certain political
leaders. It's hard to see with blinders on.
Case in point: the abortion issue. George W. Bush
has run for office twice as a 'pro-life' (read: anti-
choice) candidate. One would expect that the rate
of abortions would decrease under his presidency,
but the rate has actually increased. In contrast, the
number of abortions decreased during the Clinton
years.
To understand why the abortion rate has risen, one
must look at the reasons why women get abortions.
The most common reasons stated by these women
are "inability to afford a child" and lack of affordable
health care, according to Glen Harold Stassen--who
is not only pro-life, but who is also a professor of
Christian ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary.
An article on this subject, which was co-authored
by Mr. Stassen with journalist Gary Krane, Phd, *
gives their analysis of available abortion statistics.
This article has appeared in several publications,
including the Christian magazine Sojourners.
It seems that the economic policies of the current
administration--which support large corporations
while shafting the middle class and working poor--
have actually contributed to the rise in abortions.
Such is the consequence of bad economic policy,
questionable ethics, and a lack of compassion.
As objectionable as one might consider abortion,
many women apparently find it more irresponsible
to have a child that they can't care for properly,
than to terminate a pregnancy.
Strident voices will say that women should just
use birth control, or that they should "just say
'no'," but some women get pregnant even when
using birth control; and some of those who get
abortions are married. Are the anti-choice crowd
saying that married women should tell their own
husbands 'no'? It seems that certain segments
of the population enjoy making assumptions and
then dictating to others how they should live,
based on those (often incorrect) assumptions.
The bottom line: Americans need employment--
with living wages--and affordable health care.
Write to your elected officials and tell them that
if they're 'pro-life,' then they must be pro-worker,
as well. If abortion concerns you, then speak up--
let them know that economic causes of abortion
need to be addressed at least as diligently as the
moral ones.
In truth, to the extent that economic factors affect
health and other living conditions of individuals
and families, the economy of our nation most
undeniably is a moral issue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* You can read the text of their article online at
Kansas.com or Minuteman Media
A related article appears at the FortWayne.com website.
posted by Jack T. Marlowe at 11/14/2004 04:23:00 AM
4 Comments:
It's too bad that we Americans "can't afford a child." My personal observation had been that above a certain baseline there is an inverse relationship between the economic well-being of a child and their general happiness. It would be interesting to compare disposable income (what's left after the necessities are paid for) and abortion statistics. Do we sometimes choose between a big-screen TV and a child?
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Aren't you making an assumption? Not everyone has
a big screen TV. I've never owned one, and none of
my friends have one--of course, none of us has had
abortions in our families, either. But some people
have more dire circumstances than we do.
Perhaps you're unaware of those who live very simple
lives, yet who are still struggling from paycheck to
paycheck, despite being quite responsible. We are more
concerned with food, clothing, rent, and health care
than with entertainment. Many folks can barely--if at
all--afford health care.
Of course, the 'haves' are often out of touch with
the lives of the 'have-nots.' And that's a major
part of the problem with politicians: they're out of
touch with the lives of many hardworking Americans.
Hence their lack of empathy.
Great post! The links were helpful, too.
I took up this issue, with a different but like-minded approach, in my recent post, "The Fight for the Unfetus."
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