December, 1997
Once again the
erroneous proposition that scarcity of abortion services is a function of suppression
by the religious right has surfaced in a recent letter from the Dukes. Allow me to make readers aware that there are
many non-religious reasons for an anti-abortion stance.
Consistent civil
liberties advocates are against abortion on the same grounds that they are
against any re-definition of some human beings as non-persons, or persons
outside the protection of law. Certain
homosexual groups are against abortion because they fear the possibility of genetic
identification of homosexuality could result in abortions of children based on
their apparent sexual orientation. Some
feminists stand against abortion because of the demonstrated disproportion in
gender selective abortions of females.
Women who have had abortions are often glad to see the practice less
available when they find themselves undergoing severe emotional distress, or
experiencing difficulty conceiving in later years due to scar tissue. Doctors whose patients include the pre-born
are often unable to make the mental leap of logic necessary to include killing
the pre-born in their practice; especially those who have actually performed in-utero treatment for such patients prior to their
births. Non-religiously-motivated
spokespersons from the black community have decried abortion, because of the
tremendous disproportion in numbers of babies of color killed this way, as a
racist practice with its roots in the grisly eugenics Hitler counted on for the
creation of his master race. Breast
cancer researchers are increasingly opposed to abortion based on the clear
connection between today's 'choice' and tomorrow's deadly disease.
We must not let
pass the simplistic notion that abortion provider scarcity is due to one little
obnoxious and ignorant religious sector of society. There are, in fact, a great variety of sound
reasons why many otherwise disparate groups of people find themselves linked
intelligently in their efforts to make abortions rare.