Tom Ridge and the resurfacing abortion issue

Written by: Alan Willis on Aug 15, 2008 10:05 PM EDT

John McCain is in trouble with the religious right—this time for suggesting that he might consider Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania as his running mate. Ridge is unacceptable to the religious right because he fails the supposed anti-abortion test.

Facts suggest, however, that the right wing of the Republican party fails that test most dramatically, rhetoric notwithstanding. First, let me make a point regarding the basis of this discussion: even those of us who are adamantly “pro-choice” must admit that an abortion is a traumatic and tragic event, no matter the circumstances. What the Republicans fail to understand is simply this: declaring abortion illegal is an irresponsible way of addressing the problem at hand. A much more responsible way is to follow the example of those nations which have the lowest reported abortion rates in the world: Belgium and The Netherlands where abortions are legal. Instead, the right seems to want to solve the problem in the way Chile has, by declaring it illegal. Unfortunately, Chile has one of the highest reported abortion rates in the world.

So what makes the difference? Two things stand out. First, Belgium and The Netherlands have effective sex education programs and contraception is widely available so there are fewer “unwanted” pregnancies. Second, Belgium and The Netherlands have social safety nets, including health care, so that women do feel secure in bringing their children into the world. Chile has neither the first of second of these, and thus has much higher rates of abortion, despite its being illegal.

What of the United States? We know that those who most adamantly oppose abortion (at least in rhetoric) pursue policies which are most likely to make abortion more frequent. They attack sex education despite clearly demonstrable data that it lowers the rates of teen-age pregnancy and they oppose the social safety net—especially health care—despite the fact that economics is more important in women’s decisions to have abortions or not than other factors.

Us “liberals” with our hopes for national health care, a revitalized social safety net, and effective, honest sex education are the ones who will truly reduce the number of abortions—not by making it illegal, but by reducing the demand for abortion. It would remain legal and available to any woman who believes she needs an abortion, but these policies are proven to actually reduce the number of abortions. Making abortion illegal simply is not.

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