Ditching The Agenda Or The Rhetoric?
Democrats ditch pro-choice agenda (Caitriona Palmer, Sunday Herald)
The liberal think-tank Third Way has reportedly issued a memo advising Democratic politicians to rephrase their wording on abortion. Instead of talking about a woman’s right to choose, the memo suggests that Democrat candidates should tell voters that they support “personal liberty” but accept a “moral responsibility” to reduce the number of abortions.
Senator Hillary Clinton, apparently grooming herself for a presidential bid in 2008, has dropped her strident pro-choice rhetoric for a more nuanced approach. At a rally in 2005, Clinton spoke of the need for both sides on the issue to work to prevent unwanted pregnancies because abortion represented “a sad, even tragic, choice.”
Toning down the pro-choice rhetoric isn't ditching the pro-choice agenda, as the headline implies.
Some pro-choice advocates say medical advances in neonatal care and contraception have changed the nature of the debate. They say the pro-choice camp should discourage second-trimester abortions and devote their energy to securing more access to sophisticated contraception, morning-after pills and sex education.
Those advocates are right about the nature of the debate (with the imagery we have now, it is impossible to portray the fetus in the second trimester as a meaningless clump of cells), but it's not clear that the Democratic Party's pro-choice interest groups will yield on this issue (hence the desires of some to avoid a fight with those interest groups with "a more nuanced" rhetorical approach).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/21/06 09:23 | American Politics | Technorati
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It's impossible to portray later first-trimester fetuses as clumps of cells, too, with today's ultrasounds. Heartbeats can be seen and heard at 5.5 to 6 weeks, and you can start distinguishing human features at about 7 week. At 9 weeks, my twins had recognizable arms, legs, and were visibly moving, and at 10.5 weeks they were literally turning backflips.
Before I got pregnant, I never realy realized how very human fetuses are even at such early stages of development. I'm not quite 12 weeks along, and it's plain as day just from looking at them that both babies are very definitely living beings, and have been for several weeks.
I suspect that, as very early ultrasounds become more common, public opinion will become increasingly negative toward abortions after 8 weeks or so.
Posted by Atlee Breland @ 08:51 on 03/22/06
This is one of the smartest things I have heard from the Democrats in a while..
the only way they will ever be able to win over religious americans, is through this kind of propoganda.
In the end I dont think it will work, as I think their republican opponents will be able to create their image.
Posted by Right of Texas @ 14:09 on 03/22/06
Atlee -- congratulations! Nothing like hearing great news like this in a Comments box :)
Posted by Cathy @ 19:02 on 03/22/06
It's odd that they've never seemed interested in "sophisticated contraception" much before. The left has committed itself not to abortion for those unfortunate situations that actually require some thought, but abortion as birth control for those who refuse to use any other. Of course they've always supported sex education, because granting that power to the state gives them the warm socialist fuzzies.
Posted by Tom Hanna @ 03:16 on 03/24/06
That's a little simplistic. While it's tragically true that there are people (and if we're all honest with ourselves, it's a very small number) for whom an abortion is a casual thing, it's also true that it's the left that has embraced access to contraception. The right has fought it tooth and nail in favor of an abstinence-only policy that is doomed to failure. That's why the left wants sex education, so that actual accurate information besides "just say no" can get out there.
Posted by another precinct chair @ 10:56 on 03/24/06
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