Forgive me but this is the most center/left place I'm aware of and I'd like to pose some serious, gentlemanly questions about this issue. Given my the location of my domicile, and the people in my local orbit, I often only get one side of this debate. After reading the Tennessee bully thread, I concluded that most members here lean left on this issue...
My question is not to stir the pot, but a point of genuine curiosity.
I'd respectfully ask those who participate in this thread remain civil and polite, and if at any time it gets too heated, I won't feel slighted if the thread gets locked...
It is, after all, the most important issue in all of politics, and in fact, that is actually my question.
Why?
Why is abortion the most important issue of all of politics?
I understand it's important, but I would imagine that this issue actually doesn't physically touch most voters the way other pressing matters do like healthcare, gun rights, religion, economic theories (socialism/capitalism/communism), LGBT, racial matters, climate change, etc. Granted, I understand that there is some overlap with abortion with regards to healthcare and religion in particular, whereas the hard left looks at abortion as vital in women's health care and the hard [religious] right takes a very dim view of abortion over the matter of essentially ending what would eventually become a viable human life.
I just don't understand, with the thousands on top of thousands of other issues plaguing life right now, why does abortion seem to be the issue that gets virtually ALL voters to the polls?
I've said in previous post that I consider myself pro-life, and generally this about sums it up for me. But I feel this way because I view abortion as an unfortunate reality of our society and customs. Of course I hate to hear of a would be human life being terminated, I can't imagine anyone being happy of such news. I do NOT believe in judging or casting stones at women who have them. So in that light, I believe myself to be by definition "pro-life".
Now do I think they [abortions] should be banned or
Honestly I really don't care either way. And frankly I believe there is nothing short of at least a few hundred larger fish to fry at the moment, mainly that it makes no sense to be pro-life but against healthcare for all. Health after all, being a primary factor of life. Do not misunderstand me, I have long accepted that the Democratic party has just about as much interest in fixing the health care issue in this country as the Republican... they have no such interest.
Personally I have a suspicion that abortion is the issue that all politicians like to jump on because it is a perfect political catch 22. There really is no perfect answer to the problem. The fact of the matter is, this situation involves two lives. The life of the mother and the life of the fetus, which will eventually become a baby, a full, bonafide, air breathing human life. Regardless of the legislation, the rights of one life or the other will be discarded. How does one support the rights of the mother but disregard the rights of the baby? How does one support the rights of the baby but disregard the rights of the mother?
It's the perfect political stalemate to tie up the system and see to it that nothing else EVER gets done in this country.
Frankly I have long struggled with this issue. And I've been questioned on it by several people over the years, and I can only look down at the floor, shake my head and simply utter a faint "I don't know" when pressed on the abortion issue.
Now I imagine some members will chime in here and take me to task about my apparent disregard for women's rights. They will encourage me to support the right for a woman to choose whether to keep her baby or not. Let me be proactive and ask a a few questions to those people:
Why should I? I have several plaguing issues going on at any given time. Most of us do. I have to deal with the public, medical bills, rising inflation, keeping the lights on, a roof over my head, staying employed, keeping the vehicles running and road worthy... why should abortion matter to me? I wouldn't expect a woman in an abortion clinic to cast her vote based on issues that matter to me, I wouldn't expect her to worry whether I'm filing bankruptcy over medial bills, or whether I'm about to lose my home in foreclosure, or whether the transmission goes out in my car.
And what about the father's rights? What if my wife and I wanted to have a baby, and we made it happen, but three months, or hell, even five weeks into the pregnancy she just up and changed her mind and terminated the fetus? Note I stated "wanted to have a baby", this child was not a mistake, accident, or product of rape or incest... what about the father's rights?
But lets flip it, what if a guy accidentally gets his girlfriend pregnant with consensual sex. She wants the baby, but doesn't want the father. They split up, she has the kid, but he is forced to pay child support for the next two decades.
But lets make it more interesting... lets say she raped him and got pregnant. Now what?
It's the perfect political issue.
Thoughts?
[0] Edit: "encouraged" was not the word I was looking for, partlyscot caught it and I have made the correction.