Saturday, November 10, 2012

The Republican Party & Abortion

Mitt Romney, a very honorable man, spoke to the big picture and the national interests during his campaign in an attempt to attract enough voters to form a majority.   It did not work.   Socialists, including President Obama, played interest group politics.  That is, they hobble together a group of single issue voters to form a majority.   While Republicans characterized the Obama campaign as dealing in small things, which was true, Obama pandered to every conceivable interest group possible to win reelection.    Obviously, it worked because many people are only concerned about the issue important to them, even if the world is crashing down around them. 

There are people and women in particular, that will never vote for a Republican, or Socialist candidate for that matter, for any office, who is pro-life, even if the United States was facing Armageddon, or complete economic collapse.  Republicans will never get these single issue, radical Pro-Choice abortion voters that favor unrestricted right to abortion under any and all circumstances.  So forgettaboutthem. 

Instead, in building our Republican majority, we need to focus on people and women in particular that are more moderate and reasonable.   To be clear, this Blogger is ardently pro-life.   Advances in technology prove clearly that we are dealing with a living human being, not just fetal tissue, not long after conception.  And, as such, I believe that abortion is the killing of an innocent human being.  That said, I am also a pragmatist that comes from years of running a business.   I often have to make decisions that are not my preference; but they are necessary to the success of my business. 

Abortion is a much more serious issue requiring even more careful due diligence.  But let's start with the facts.   Roe V Wade, allowing abortion, is the law of the land since 1973.   This court case will not be overturned even by a Conservative Supreme Court.   It is not going to happen so Conservative Pro-Life Republicans have to stop chasing windmills and accept reality.   That does not mean giving up our core principles in attempting to limit the number of abortions. 

The Socialist Party, in their party platform, supported unlimited right to abortion under all circumstances.   The Republican Party in our party platform, which was repudiated by Mitt Romney, supported no right to abortion under any circumstances.   Both these positions are too extreme. 

First,  we have to accept that abortion is the law of the land.   While we don't have to like it, in cases rape, incest, or if the mother's life is really in danger, the right to an abortion should be clear.   However, since abortion is a serious medical procedure, no one of any age, should be able to walk into an abortion mill and get an abortion 30 minutes later.   We should demand reasonable common sense restrictions on abortion that are nothing more than proper due diligence.   The vast majority of Americans agree that partial birth abortion is a heinous crime against humanity and it should be outlawed, out right.   

Next, every woman should be required to have a non invasive sonogram before an abortion is performed to clearly see that it is human being that will be impacted by an abortion, not just a blob of tissue.   This would be no different than getting x-rays, or other tests, prior to surgery, when going in for any surgical procedure.     And, then there should be a three day waiting period, afterwards, before an abortion can be performed.   This will give the mother at least a little bit of time to reflect on her decision, which can have life time consequences.  This three day waiting period will help prevent abortions as potential mother's may reconsider their decision to go forward. 

Finally, the notion that an abortion can be performed on a minor without parental notification and perhaps consent is absurd.   Public schools are not allowed to give a child an aspirin, or send a child on a field trip without a parent's consent; yet they can send a minor to an abortion mill without parental notification and approval.  There is something very wrong with this picture.   If the public school suspects parental abuse, there can be provisions in the law that involve Child Protection Agencies, or even the courts; but barring anything unusual, parents need to be involved in these life and death decisions. 

The Republican Party should remain the pro-life party.   That said, we need to recognize that not all Americans are pro-life and that if we are going to build a majority and a bigger tent, we have to attract more women and young people to our party.    We will never attract people and women in particular, that favor unrestricted abortion under all circumstances.   However, we can attract common sense voters, including women and young people, that see the need for reasonable limitations on abortion because it is a serious medical procedure.   It is time for common sense; not extreme positions concerning abortion.    

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