FirstSunday33ad
September 20th 2007, 12:46 PM
From 2001 to 2007 the Republicans controlled the Executive, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court. As well, the majority of the mainstream media – both print and electronic – was either solidly Republican or heavily influenced by Republican commentators. On the state level, at least half of the sitting Governors were Republican (I don’t have the exact numbers) and in the grass roots, they enjoyed the support of many large and influential organizations.
At no time in the history of the United States has so much power and influence been given to a single political party.
Yet, despite this enormous political power and influence at no time during this period did the Republicans make even a suggestion of outlawing abortion. The question never became an issue, was never commented on and was never studied. Abortion remained legal and available throughout this period with the actual number of abortions increasing from the same period under the Clinton administration (check Department of Health statistics available online for verification).
That said, it must be clearly obvious to even the most blinkered optimist that abortion in the US is here to stay. It is highly unlikely the Republicans will ever be entrusted with that much power again and even if they are, it is clear that they have no intention of prohibiting access to abortion.
So, in light of this, what is the best way of stopping someone from electing an abortion?
I would suggest the number one method would be to stop unwanted pregnancies in the first place. This would mean making contraception and sex education available in the schools. Educating the young on how people get pregnant and how it can be prevented and then supplying them with the means to prevent it would greatly reduce the number of teen girls getting pregnant at an age when they would be more likely to choose abortion over carrying the fetus to full-term.
Free contraception and surgical procedures to prevent conception for low-income earners would also be advised. One the reasons many people choose abortion is due to financial constraints that make raising another child impossible. Free access to birth control alternatives would reduce this occurrence.
For those unwanted pregnancies that still do occur, subsidized daycare, full tax credits on costs associated with raising a child and paid parental leave for the first year of the child’s life would greatly relieve the burden of a new child on middle-class homes, thus removing the incentive to abort the pregnancy.
Finally despite all of this, there will be some children that are simply not wanted for whatever reason. To encourage the mothers to choose an alternate to abortion an expanded, comprehensive national adoption program that made babies available to foreign homes (Europe, Asia, etc) could be instituted. All the costs of carrying and delivering the baby would be paid for by the state (regardless of personal income). This would help alleviate the demand for foster care, group houses or orphanages to raise children given up to state care.
These are just some initial ideas that could be instituted.
Given that an election is looming in the US, the question is, what programs are you encouraging your candidates to implement and how much are you willing to invest in a finding an alternative to abortion?
At no time in the history of the United States has so much power and influence been given to a single political party.
Yet, despite this enormous political power and influence at no time during this period did the Republicans make even a suggestion of outlawing abortion. The question never became an issue, was never commented on and was never studied. Abortion remained legal and available throughout this period with the actual number of abortions increasing from the same period under the Clinton administration (check Department of Health statistics available online for verification).
That said, it must be clearly obvious to even the most blinkered optimist that abortion in the US is here to stay. It is highly unlikely the Republicans will ever be entrusted with that much power again and even if they are, it is clear that they have no intention of prohibiting access to abortion.
So, in light of this, what is the best way of stopping someone from electing an abortion?
I would suggest the number one method would be to stop unwanted pregnancies in the first place. This would mean making contraception and sex education available in the schools. Educating the young on how people get pregnant and how it can be prevented and then supplying them with the means to prevent it would greatly reduce the number of teen girls getting pregnant at an age when they would be more likely to choose abortion over carrying the fetus to full-term.
Free contraception and surgical procedures to prevent conception for low-income earners would also be advised. One the reasons many people choose abortion is due to financial constraints that make raising another child impossible. Free access to birth control alternatives would reduce this occurrence.
For those unwanted pregnancies that still do occur, subsidized daycare, full tax credits on costs associated with raising a child and paid parental leave for the first year of the child’s life would greatly relieve the burden of a new child on middle-class homes, thus removing the incentive to abort the pregnancy.
Finally despite all of this, there will be some children that are simply not wanted for whatever reason. To encourage the mothers to choose an alternate to abortion an expanded, comprehensive national adoption program that made babies available to foreign homes (Europe, Asia, etc) could be instituted. All the costs of carrying and delivering the baby would be paid for by the state (regardless of personal income). This would help alleviate the demand for foster care, group houses or orphanages to raise children given up to state care.
These are just some initial ideas that could be instituted.
Given that an election is looming in the US, the question is, what programs are you encouraging your candidates to implement and how much are you willing to invest in a finding an alternative to abortion?