Comments: Is Abortion a Core Democratic Value?
The venn diagram for the choice position includes that of right-to-life, so you can choose to have a surgical procedure or choose not to have one. This seems like the big-tent notion Dems have always embraced regarding personal issues; what's insidious is that not one person ever chooses an abortion happily but that the prolifers have framed the issue to suit themselves and sold it to the less aware among us as a disregard for the sanctity of life combined with a very optimistic estimate of when "life really starts". Next week the Pope will no doubt pronounce masturbation to be a mortal sin because of the potential being lost (and Saddam might have had WMDs too).
I think we've got to argue that these legislators of ours in the Georgia house are not our chosen doctors, haven't the scientific expertise to make judgements on issue, have no moral position relevant to issues between a doctor and patient, are not our religious leaders, are not our parents, and need to understand that their position in the legislature assumes the duty to serve their constituencies as a whole whether they received their votes or not.
Posted by bkfab at March 4, 2005 09:17 PM
I'm just as bummed about the waiting period as the next guy, but a huge majority of Georgians were having their priorities expressed in that vote. At some point the majority has to get its way on some things. The real tragedy is the rape exception. I suspect some suburban Republicans will be seeing that in their mailboxes next November (or even in a Republican primary)
Posted by chris at March 5, 2005 01:26 AM
Since when is abortion a "value?" Democrats support a woman's freedom to control her own life. FREEDOM is one of our moral values. The freedom of women to make their own decisions regarding ending a pregnancy. It is an issue between the woman and her doctor and not the business of government.
TRUST is another Democratic value. The trust we place in a woman's abilty to control her own medical decisions. We don't want the government to control our personal medical decisions.
You sir, need to understand the difference between issues and VALUES. The right of a woman to control her own life is the issue. Why do we support this issue? Because we hold certain values to be DEMOCRATIC MORAL values. FREEDOM, TRUST, FAIRNESS.
Posted by Sander Bellman at March 9, 2005 12:36 PM
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