Rethinking Roe v. Wade

• Posted by ThoughtsAloud ◄Dave► December 21, 2011 - Filed in Abortion - 344 views

  Roe v. Wade is bad law, which should be overturned on Tenth Amendment grounds. Those most vocal in both the defense and condemnation of it however, frequently seem not to understand the implications of their goals. A case can be made that achieving those goals, by either side, would produce unintended consequences the opposite of what they seek.
   
  As a retired sterile hermit, the incessant abortion controversy ought to be utterly irrelevant to me. It mercifully would be, except the insufferable PC moralists insist on inserting it into national political debate, where it has no business whatever being an issue. Politically Correct and Piously Correct activists alike, muck up our electoral process, by forcing candidates to publicly pronounce their personal moral position, on the question of a woman’s right to abort an unwanted pregnancy.
   
  My natural right to dismiss this issue, as inconsequential here in my hermitage, is under constant assault by these busybodies. Years ago, I analyzed all the shopworn arguments from both sides, and carefully thought through my own position on the matter. None of the constant bickering since, has changed it one iota, nor is it ever likely to. I suspect that a majority of Americans, who are not dogmatic ideologues and are equipped to think for themselves, would generally agree with me.
   
  I am uncomfortable with the idea of 2nd term abortions, 3rd term abortions (once the fetus is viable) are almost always wrong, and partial birth abortions are arguably infanticide and unforgivably abominable to me. It would be far less cruel, and achieve precisely the same result, to wait another minute for the birth and then euthanize the unwanted baby. I regard any doctor who would perform one, any woman who would demand one, and any heartless dogmatist who sanctions them, as evil incarnate. These miscreants deserve no respect whatever.
   
  The first trimester is not so clear-cut. While I am troubled by the notion of using abortion as retroactive birth control, I see no value at all in bringing unwanted, drug addicted, or malformed children into the world, to be unloved, abused, and likely to grow up as criminals preying on those actually wanted and lovingly nurtured. I am old enough to remember when birth control itself, was considered a mortal sin in most of Christendom; so to now suggest a moral distinction, between pills taken the morning before or the morning after, seems a bit disingenuous me.
   
  Ever evolving doctrine aside, there are any number of situations where aborting a pregnancy early in the process, could reasonably be considered the best among poor options. I reckon that such a decision belongs exclusively to the family involved, in consultation with their medical and perhaps spiritual advisors. I will say, that those dogmatic enough to deny the remedy to a victim of rape, incest, or life threatening complications, thereby violating her own natural right to life and the pursuit of happiness, I regard as every bit as evil and contemptible, as those countenancing partial birth abortion.
   
  
Few politicians get away with such a nuanced position, which admits any exceptions either way; yet an unequivocal response to the question, will instantly alienate a sizable portion of the electorate. This, quite naturally, frequently encourages the ambitious politician to simply lie, telling the poll-tested majority what they wish to hear. Who can really blame them? Lying on a job application, because one wants the job, is not particularly uncommon; but how does electing practiced and polished liars, help produce honest government?
   
  For the candidate for national office, this is an easy and fairly safe lie to tell; because there is nothing in our Constitution empowering the Federal government to legislate on the issue anyway. Repealing Roe v. Wade, would not make abortion illegal in America. It would only return that issue to the individual States, where it properly belongs. Then, States could, if their citizens desired, enact laws regulating and/or banning abortion, without regard to the societal norms of other States.
   
  Of course, this would necessarily mean that while abortions could no longer be used casually in such States, as a careless woman’s retroactive birth control, in an emergency one could still be easily obtained legally, for the additional price of a bus ticket to a neighboring State or country. Add the obvious fact that the morning after pill, would become at least as easy to obtain on the street, as any other pharmaceutical (ironically making it even easier to obtain, especially for teenagers), and it would appear that the anti-abortion lobby is powerless, to ever achieve more than placing minor inconveniences in the path, of women determined to obtain an abortion.
   
  That, and perhaps spawning new entrepreneurial opportunities, among border towns, vacation spots, pharmaceutical companies, and illicit drug dealers. I can see the next level of ‘feminine hygiene’ advertising already; “Miss something this month? Make the best of your little accident, with a mini-vacation at our ultramodern resort spa, where you will be pampered, entertained, and cleansed… includes transportation, luxurious accommodations, and tickets to Disney World… Call 1-800-aDoOver for reservations…” Ugh!
   
  The likely unintended consequences, would be to eventually erase all remaining vestiges of shame or doubt regarding abortion, in the minds of modern liberated women in our dying culture. That being the case, it is puzzling why either side of the debate wastes so much time and energy, in their strident effort do defend or repeal Roe v. Wade. There is nothing like a righteous cause to animate the busybodies; but surely there are more worthy causes, with achievable goals, in which to invest their considerable time and passion.
   
  Pro-abortion activists have no reason whatever to fear that abortions might one day become unavailable. Nobody expects there to be a cancer clinic or rehab center in every neighborhood. Just how many abortion clinics do they think we need? Choice? Methinks the zealotry of many, goes way beyond assuring women a ‘choice,’ and approaches something like eugenics. Many women already do travel to distant locations for their abortions, to avoid being seen there by someone they know.
   
  Besides, the overall effect would undoubtedly actually lower the number of unwanted pregnancies taken to term in America. Combine the added inconvenience with the concurrent ubiquity of the morning after pill, and any prudent sexually active female would maintain a supply of them – and then use them far more frequently than is now the case. Clinically, the morning after pill is no different than other readily accepted forms of birth control. It functions to prevent the zygote from attaching to the wall of the uterus, to begin the process of dividing to form a fetus.
   
  If this is an ‘abortion,’ then so too is the IUD et al, which also allow an egg to be fertilized by a sperm; but prevents uterine implantation. Since there is no way to know whether a zygote has been formed or not, until successfully attached to the uterus, it seems even staunch anti-abortion women use these forms of birth control with a clear conscience. Ironically, had Roe v. Wade never happened, the morning after pill would probably have been hailed as the next great leap in contraceptive medicine, and not even thought of as an abortion by most.
   
  Thus, when Roe v. Wade is overturned, and a Pez dispenser full of morning after pills becomes a sine qua non in every purse, fewer ‘accidents’ will ever be born. This is hardly the calamity its defenders predict, quite the opposite. It naturally follows, of course, that it is hardly the victory its opponents desire, quite the opposite. Which begs the question, if the game is as advertised, isn’t everyone playing on the wrong side of the field? And, is victory by either side really going to make enough difference to justify all the ruckus?
   
  Without doing unconscionable mayhem to our Constitution, abortion is here to stay in America. Like it or not, that is reality, folks. By design, our national politicians are not permitted to impose the morality of the majority, on an unwilling minority. Anti-abortion activists are obviously fighting a battle that cannot be won, for a cause which has already been lost. In the process, they are shooting themselves in the foot, regarding far more important issues facing our nation.
   
  When an otherwise agreeable, competent, and likable candidate, who might have garnered enough moderate and independent votes to have won the General election in a purple district, is crippled by having to pronounce his position on abortion to win the Primary, it accomplishes absolutely nothing, other than giving his opponent something to hammer him with in the General, to win those swing voters for himself. This is suicidal insanity.
   
  Were I running for office, I would refuse to play a part in the PC moralists superfluous little drama. I would explain that I was applying for the job of representing all of the citizens in my district, not impose my (or my Party’s) model of the world on them. I would promise that as their representative, I would always vote the way the majority of my constituents wished me to vote, as long as it was Constitutional. Thus, my personal beliefs were immaterial to my qualifications for the office I was seeking, and I would keep them to myself, thank you.
   
  If it were a national office, I would further stress that I intended to take my oath to support and defend our Constitution very seriously, and that it does not authorize Congress to enact legislation that would regulate abortions in any way; so the question was entirely impertinent to my qualifications for the office. I suspect such a simple, honest, straightforward platform, could be a real winner in a General election. If the PC moralists managed to defeat it in the Primary, so be it. I would quietly fold my tent and return to the sanity of my hermitage, where I undoubtedly belong anyway. The world outside has gone mad, and I don’t even recognize my country anymore. ◄Dave►