Via many sources (and specifically Drudge and The Washington Times), the results of a poll by the Center for the Advancement of Women show that a majority of American women (51%, margin of error 3%) believe that abortion should be prohibited or limited to extreme cases, such as rape, incest, or life-threatening complications. This is quite a jump from the 45% who felt that way in 2001. In 2003 only 30% of women believe that abortion should be readily available, down from 34% in 2001. Further:
The results, announced with a series of women's responses to issues such as domestic violence and affirmative action, found that fewer women — 41 percent — consider protecting abortion a top priority, an 8 percent drop from 2001. Of the 12 top priorities, keeping abortion legal was second to last, beating only the percentage of women who want to increase the number of girls participating in organized sports.
It goes without saying that these changes are probably related to demographic shifts, and reflect that younger women tend to view abortion with far more aversion than baby-boomers do. 100 years from now, I think we'll look back at the 40 million babies killed in America over the past 30 years with disgust and revulsion.
As an additional note, it's not often reported that although blacks make up only 12% of the population they account for one-third of abortions. According to BlackGenocide.org, 3 out of 5 pregnant African-American women will abort their child. Where's the outrage from Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton? [crickets]
If abortion does become criminalized throughout the U.S., and dead women with coat hangers sticking out of them start appearing once again in hotel rooms and back-alley butcher shops, I think you'll see the pendulum swing back. Baby boomers support abortion more than younger people do because they saw what happened when the procedure wasn't legal and safe.
I think you're drastically exaggerating the conditions of pre-Roe America.
Besides, your argument is irrelevant. That people do illegal things and end up getting hurt is no justification for making that activity legal. Bank robbers get hurt sometimes too, maybe we should just make it legal to rob banks. Muggers get hurt, maybe it should be legal to mug people.
The point is, if you believe that abortion is killing a baby, then it doesn't matter if making it illegal will result in women hurting themselves while in the process of committing a murder. I have zero sympathy for a woman who injures or kills herself while trying to purposefully murder her child.
On the other hand, it's a good thing to see the opposition resorting to scare tactics. Desperation comes before the fall.
Good note. Fetus killing must be considered a mean, selfish act, and adoption the preferred answer for those pregnant women who don't want to be responsible for raising a baby at that time.
More support for single mothers would help, too. For instance, part-time gov't work from 8:30-12:30; and 12:00 - 5 (no lunch) should be available for some 10% of gov't positions.
Scientifically accurate visualizations of what an abortion is, pictures of the baby-fetus being cut and bleeding, will also be as disgusting, or more, than similar pictures of factory farms of seal killings.
More whites need to adopt black babies.
While I am 100% pro-life, I would like to respond to M. Williams' statement that he would have "zero sympathy for a woman who injures or kills herself while trying to purposefully murder her child." Let us remember that with every abortion there are two victims: the murdered baby and the mother, who often undergoes severe psychological trauma after the abortion. Women feeling that they need to get abortions to deal with unplanned pregnancies is a sign that we as society have failed women. We need to be a more loving, supporting society, and in this way, protect both women and the unborn from the harms of abortion. So while I wholeheartedly agree with Williams' pro-life stance, I respectfully disagree with his underlying anti-woman message.
Rosemarie: I'm sorry my position seems anti-woman, because that's not my intent. I think you're right that a lot of women who get abortions are deceived by the abortion industry, but I don't think that excuses them from all responsibility. Ignorance of the truth isn't a good excuse for committing an evil act, although it may mitigate it somewhat.
I don't know, maybe I do have a little sympathy for the women who get abortions, but their hardship needs to be put into perspective with the murder of a baby.