Who’s Waging War on Women?
“I’m not going to demonize you because you disagree with me.” That is what Barack Obama told us when he was asking for our votes in 2008. However, a major theme of the Democrat convention was demonization of “extremist Republicans” allegedly waging a “war on women.” Irony of ironies, this was coupled with the celebration of notorious womanizers, Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy.
The same president who directed the State Department not to use the phrase “war on terror” went into full attack mode on the “war on women,” for a very good reason. It beats talking about his record.
The evidence for the claim? Sandra Fluke and abortion on demand!
Contraceptives are cheap and readily available. No one advocates changing that. That is not the issue. What is? Sandra wants the U.S. taxpayers to pay for free contraceptives so she may have sex without consequences. Give us a break!
Abortion on demand is a real issue. It is the most important article of faith for Democrats, a central plank in their party platform; and it is true the Republicans are opposed to abortion on demand.
Since the courts made abortion on demand legal in 1973, 45 times more American lives have been taken than in all the wars this country has ever fought – more than 52 million lives – at least half of those female. This year, Obama was against, and the liberals blocked, legislation which would have banned abortion for sex selection, usually employed to eliminate a female unborn baby when a male is preferred.
Liberals claim most Americans are in favor of abortion on demand. That is not true. A May Gallup poll revealed only 22 percent of Americans support abortion on demand. There are only three situations with majorities favoring abortion: to save the life of the mother, rape/incest and serious fetal deformity. But saving the life of the mother is not an issue because everyone agrees on that.
According to a study published by the research arm of Planned Parenthood, less than 6% of all abortions in the United States are done for these reasons, less than 6% of the 1.2 million abortions annually; some studies estimate abortion for rape at less than 1%. Yet those reasons are cited to justify abortion on demand.
But when legislation is proposed to allow abortion only in those situations, pro-life groups support it, not because they believe there is no right to life in those cases, but because it would be a vast improvement, saving millions of lives. Liberals, however, oppose it, insisting on abortion at any time, by any means, for any reason.
Barack Obama favors partial birth abortion. When he was an Illinois legislator, Obama even voted against a law requiring medical help for a baby born alive after a botched abortion. [Note: A description of abortion methods originally in this text has been omitted.]
Polls show that most Americans believe abortion is morally wrong. They oppose using government funds for abortion, want parental consent before minors can get abortions and are in favor of waiting periods with full disclosure of what is involved in an abortion. Liberals reject all of these measures.
One result: in many states, a female minor may not be given an aspirin without parental consent but can undergo an abortion not only without her parents’ consent but without their knowledge. Who are the extremists?
Richard M. Coleman