Pro-Choice Republicans: Oxymoron or Truth?

Why is abortion an issue? Since too many Republican candidates choose to remain quiet about their stance on abortion, Democrats will always bring the abortion issue to the attention of the voter if it is to their advantage. Many people believe in yanking the abortion plank from politics altogether, but as long as abortion is a contended issue, everyone needs to take a stance.

Pro-Choice does not mean Pro-Death. Do you really believe that each woman who chooses to terminate her pregnancy should be placed in jail? Each year ~ 1 million teenage girls become pregnant, with 85% being unintended. Out of that million ~ 35% of those girls choose to have an abortion, while those girls who chose to have their child tend to drop out of school, raise their child with the help of public assistance, and have their marriage end in divorce. Many states already have or are thinking of enacting laws that would require parental involvement with a teenager's abortion decision. If these laws pass, some teenage girls, who are afraid to tell their parents about their predicament, may resort to illegal abortions or try to perform the abortion themselves. These laws put girls who do not have solid lines of communication with their families more at risk. In 1976, the Hyde Amendment restricted Medicaid, the government program that provides many low-income families with health care, from paying for the cost of an abortion. For each government dollar spent on abortions, four are saved in public, medical, and welfare costs that resulted from an unintended birth. Ten years ago, the cost to tax payers to maintain most families begun by teenagers was $34.3 billion.

Education is a key component of reducing the amount of abortions that are performed each year. Letting teenagers know about the various types of birth control is imperative to lowering the rate of teenage pregnancies. Promoting abstinence is fine, but Capital Hill needs to realize that we are no longer living in the 1950s and most teenagers are having sex. Americans need to be more informed as to what their options are - RU 486 is one option that is not getting enough deserved attention in some circles.

According to the latest California Journal Poll, 71% of Californians identify themselves as pro-choice. And in the Republican Party alone, a little over 60% of voters are pro-choice. The issue of abortion should not be a litmus test for you to gage whether you are a Democrat or a Republican.

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