First, how you arrive at your belief in a person’s right to life, whether as a religious tenet of your faith or as a “pro life” atheist (yes, there are such people just google it), the idea of “life as a right” is actually not based in any of the mainstream religions (just study their histories for that). Instead it grew out of the “liberal” movement of the eighteenth century that was a very secular based idea that people had civil rights including the right to life and no one had a right to take it. This concept that people had a right to life was established long before abortions were even a medical procedure.
One of the most powerful lobbying group in the pro life movement is comprised of African American ministers. This really detracts from the overall argument that racism plays a role in the pro life movement. These often highly educated African American theologians cannot be construed as racist. Again there is plenty of stuff you can browse where they outline why they believe abortion is supporting racism not pro life. So African American ministers are calling abortions a racist tool, they should not be ignored.
As for the nature of my response, many people rarely get past the headline, but if we are going to have an intelligent debate on the issue, we need to address it for what it is. An issue of competing rights. What your religious beliefs or mine are not important, the Constitution is supposed to protect you and me from the imposition of a religion’s tenet and instead provides the framework of rights through the documents that represent the compact of our society.
I am surprised that the media has done such a poor job of addressing this and educating people on the issue. Until we understand the abortion issue from a Constitutional perspective, there is zero chance that the debate, name calling, and violence surrounding the issue will disappear. While I read most of your article, I have read all of Roe v Wade and it is a constitutional based argument, which is what people need to understand or their debate is simple incendiary with little value.
My goal as a retired health care executive with four daughters and five African American grandchildren is to see the issue debated as US citizens over what rights we have as Americans and most importantly when those rights accrue to us and the government’s obligation to protect our rights. I am increasingly concerned when I see progressive liberals in contrast to traditional classical liberals promoting policies that ignore individual rights for what they believe is “the greater good”.
