Saturday, January 29, 2005

what middle ground?

Here is Michelle Cottle (from The New Republic) on the Hillary speech and Jim Wallis as the Democrats "new values guru".

Perhaps I am being dense, but what exactly is the "middle ground" that abortion rights advocates and opponents need to find? Yes, we both agree that abortion is not the ideal. Yes, many of us agree that young girls should not be getting pregnant, but not always for the same reasons (some of us think it's okay that they have sex, we would just prefer that they do so with someone who isn't taking advantage of them). But that's just about it.

They think abortion is an act of murder. I don't. They think that the federal government should have no role in paying for the abortions of poor women. I do. They think that medical students should not be taught the procedure. I think it is a medical procedure that, unless it is morally offensive to the individual student, should be something that they graduate with the ability to do.

I don't hate them for the way that they feel, but they hate me for the way that I do. Where exactly is the middle ground in that?

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