Sophoan Sorn

Healthcare Prof:

The Washington Post on Tuesday examined how efforts by some antiabortion religious leaders, academics and advocacy groups to shift their focus from outlawing abortion to reducing the number of procedures have created fractures within the movement. Based on the Post, some antiabortion groups and leaders are collaborating with abortion-rights advocates to urge Congress to pass legislation that would offer pregnant women with health care, youngster care and money for education to help encourage them to carry their pregnancies to term.

Rachel Laser — a spokesperson with abortion-rights think tank Third Way, which is working using the advocates on legislative efforts — said overturning Roe v. Wade and outlawing abortion “is not going to dramatically reduce the number of abortions in America.” She added, “So right here is actually a complete other way that promises to be very productive in terms of their goals, which is reducing the number of abortions, and that also serves the purpose of healing the divide and reasoning together.” Similarly, Douglas Kmiec — a Catholic law professor at Pepperdine University who opposes abortion and endorsed President-elect Barack Obama — said, “If one strategy has failed and failed over decades, and you have empirical information that tells how you’ll be able to honor life and encourage women to make that option by meeting real wants that are existing and tangible, why not do that?” Laser, Kmiec and other people who support this watch say their efforts “reflect the political reality” that challenges to abortion through the legal system will not be successful, the Post reports.

The Post reports that other advocates involved in the efforts include the groups Sojourners, a progressive evangelical organization; RealAbortionSolutions.org; Catholics United; and Catholics in Alliance for your Common Good, as well as several prominent pastors and Catholic academics. Although these advocates “insist that they are not retreating from their belief that abortion is immoral and should be outlawed, they argue that a more practical alternative is to try to reduce abortion through other means,” based on the Post. Joel Hunter, an evangelical pastor and board member with the Nationwide Association of Evangelicals, said they are “not compromising our values, but with the same time we are finding a way we can all accomplish our agenda, or at least a piece of our agenda, together.”

Traditional antiabortion groups contend that compromise efforts are disloyal to the movement. Joe Scheidler, founder with the Pro-Life Action League, said, “It’s a sellout, as far as we are concerned. We don’t think it’s actually genuine. You don’t have to have a lot of social programs to cut down on abortions.” In accordance with the Post, a study sponsored by Catholics in Alliance for your Common Good found the abortion rate among women with incomes below the poverty line is more than four instances higher than among girls with incomes above 300% with the poverty level. The study also showed that economic and social supports have significantly decreased the number of abortions within the U.S. in the past 20 years. Traditional antiabortion groups have questioned the research and disputed statements that social programs can reduce abortion rates. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said, “It’s still to be proven what the connection is between poverty and abortion” (Salmon, Washington Post, 11/18).

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