Transcript

Lately, the issue of abortion has caused an endless chorus of debate, virtue signaling and value judgements, but do you wonder why this issue is suddenly so prominent? Comin up!

Since the supreme court ruled in roe v wade, the issue of abortion has been an element of politics in one form or another. Conservatives sympathized with the religious right but were powerless to take any legislative action. Liberals pushed back against the notion of legislating morality and basically, the two sides remained in a stalemate for almost forty years.

When the affordable care act, aka Obamacare, was enacted, the issue flared up as insurance plans were forced to pay for abortion procedures as well as abortion inducing drugs. This issue was packaged into a pretty little box the left called “women’s health.” And that package was then conveniently turned into a political movement in what was dubbed the “republican war on women.” There were hearings, fundraisers and an endless media blitz… well, that was until Mitt Romney lost his presidential bid and then, like a democrat congressman in the inner city, poof, it disappeared, not to be discussed again until the next election season.

But at no time, did the issue itself gain as much momentum as it has recently. It has been confined to the realm of political rhetoric. And once Hobby Lobby, the little sisters of the poor and other religious groups defeated the Obama Administration’s attempt to force them to pay for abortions, it had settled down. But as President Trump saw two of his conservative nominees fill vacant seats on the Supreme Court, it was though the pro-life army had just received a fresh convoy of supplies and ammunition. Or at least, that’s what you are told.

I have no doubt that the recent changes to the supreme court do play a role in the renewed push by the pro-life movement. Roe v Wade was decided on the merits of a woman’s right to privacy. But even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg questioned the legal validity of legalizing abortion under the umbrella of privacy rights. She viewed abortion rights in a different context, and she was actually scrutinized by pro-abortion groups when she was nominated to the court by president Clinton. So, the idea that a legal challenge to Roe v Wade, in light of the new court composition, might result in a different interpretation is very real. Personally, I’m not sure what the new court will do. I do know that Ginsburg is clinging to life with every fiber in her being so that she can defend the ruling she once criticized. But the court aspect is just one of a few reasons I think abortion is back at the center of the political battleground.

One additional reason is the rift between the conventional majority view of abortion and the radical politics that dominate the rhetoric of the day. Bill Clinton once said that abortion should be safe, legal and rare. That was, in my opinion, the collective opinion of a majority of Americans. Even those who were morally opposed to it held this view because they also believed the issue was complex and there was a litany of unintended consequences of an all-out ban. But one consequence of the weaponization of “women’s health” aka abortion as a political tool was that, like any political movement, many folks began to celebrate the tenants of their political dogma, including, the practice of abortion. Celebrities began celebrating abortion, as if it was a badge of feminist independence. I don’t care whether you think abortion should be legal or not, can we all agree that celebrating it is just grotesque? Recently Miley Cyrus was pictured with her face above a cake decorated with the words “Abortion is healthcare.” As if having an unborn child forcibly removed from your uterus is analogous to getting a mammogram or cervical cancer screening. I’m sure that a plethora of leftist wackos no doubt finds these opinions empowering and inspired. But I think most people find them repulsive and disturbing. And I think that these attempts to normalize the act of abortion have actually had the opposite effect, actually turning more moderate people into more pro-life activists. If not because they want to defend the lives of the unborn, then because they see a need to push back on those who hold the warped belief that abortion is a noble and virtuous act that a woman should be proud of.

Its important to remember that at the time, Roe v Wade was very controversial. And, as such, there was an ample number of legislative attempts to limit its effect. Many were deemed unconstitutional but one in particular, the Hyde Amendment, stood the test of time. Enacted just three years after the decision in Roe, the Hyde Amendment prohibited the use of federal funds for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or the if the mother’s life was threatened. And while President Clinton did expand some of the provisions, or at least the definitions back in the mid-1990s, the Hyde amendment stood firm for decades. This was mainly because it was actually a legitimate compromise. It simply prevented tax dollars, much of which would come from pro-life Americans, from being used to pay for something they found so objectionable. That seemed reasonable enough, we give people lots of free stuff, is it too much to ask for folks to pay for their own damn abortions? Apparently, it is. And as the radical left grew in tenacity and as it weaponized the issue of abortion, Hyde became just one of many attempts to limit access to abortion or, as they like to call it, keep women from having control of their own bodies. Because in today’s oversimplified world, not wanting to pay for someone else to kill their unborn child is tantamount to endorsing the practices of the Handmaid’s Tale. If you think that is a ridiculous notion, that’s because it is. But that hasn’t stopped the call for a repeal of the Hyde amendment that has only grown louder in recent years. Every single democrat running for President in 2020 supports the repeal of the Hyde amendment. The only holdout, Joe Biden, a life long moderate, was recently called out by the left for his support, or at least indifference to, the Hyde amendment and within 24 hours, he flips flopped. Never mind the fact that a majority of Americans, regardless of political views, support the idea of preventing the use of federal funds for abortion. Biden, like his counterparts that are even farther left, are still running for the nomination and while the repeal of Hyde might not be mainstream, it certainly paints a picture of just how far left the democrat party has drifted. This is unsettling, to say the least, for many Americans, many of whom still hold the belief that if abortion is to be legal, it should be safe and rare… but certainly not free, paid for with tax dollars.

One other example of overreach are changes to late term abortion laws in many states. Creative legislation, some of which allows for third trimester abortion only if the life of the mother is threatened also define “life of the mother threatened” as a scenario where the mother would be seriously depressed and possibly suicidal if she was forced to birth and raise a newborn baby. These laws, which essentially legalize infanticide, are wildly misleading and since the conversation is so prevalent today, it’s impossible to keep them quiet. So, Americans now hear about laws that allow for a fetus, should it manage to survive being ripped from its mother’s womb in the 9th month, to be left to die on an exam table and no life saving medical attention must be provided. There was a time when many of these same people protested China’s ‘one child’ policy and the abundance of female infanticide it caused. Now, they are actually promoting the same basic practice under the umbrella of women’s liberation.

Another significant reason for the surge in pro-life sentiment is simple, science. Back in 1973, most men had little experience with the unborn child. Most men received little to no education on reproduction, especially fetal development. Basically, most men really only comprehended a baby at the moment of birth. But that has changed dramatically in the past forty years. Not only do young males receive more education on the gestational process and researchers invented special video cameras to capture the development of an embryo into a fully formed baby inside the womb. Seeing such images puts a face to the discussion. It’s hard to accept the notion that this is just a “cluster of cells” when you have seen video of a similar fetus sucking its own thumb inside the womb. And changes in ultrasound technology have enabled men and women to see their own babies in greater detail. I can still remember when we had a 4-D ultrasound of our second child. It was incredible, it brought the same feeling of the moment of birth but many months in advance. It’s hard to really connect with your growing baby on the weird, whoosh sound from a fetal heart monitor but when you see their face, when you recognize they have your nose or your chin, months before they emerge. And as medical science improves and we see more and more examples of how doctors are able to save the lives of premature babies who grow up to be happy, healthy, normal children, it further solidifies the idea that the alien looking, semi translucent life form floating in a bag of fluid is, in fact, a human life. All of this makes it hard to support the idea that not only should it be legal to end such a life, it makes it virtually impossible to accept the notion that we should celebrate the very practice of abortion.

But as the liberal left continues to push the envelope and as Americans are forced to choose a side in the age of binary politics, it seems as though many are finding they have more in common with the pro-life camp, even if they don’t share the same value-based