sleeper;1840755 wrote:No. There does not need to be a litmus test on abortion. It is entirely a choice between the patient and the doctor.
Agreed. Inasmuch, discussing the success rate of birth control is relatively fruitless, is it not?
sleeper;1840755 wrote:It puts the government into the bedroom and into the wombs of free Americans. It's definitely not a "Small government" principle to have government interfering with the decision made by a patient and her doctor.
In the event that a person believes, for whatever reason, that a fetus is a person, then it is protecting a person's life, be it in the bedroom or wherever else. In this case, government would, at least in theory, be enforcing only minimalist ethics, which is well under the purview of small government.
I actually don't even think the whole "Is it a person or not?" argument is relevant, as I still would contend that personhood doesn't give the fetus the right to another person's body without consent, regardless of whether or not the fetus needs it to survive.
sleeper;1840755 wrote:Pro-life people are anti-abortion. There is no other option. You can be anti-abortion and pro-choice because you advocate that abortion should be available but you, yourself,, would never get one.
I'm not sure how you can have an abortion without killing the fetus.
We're speaking in broader terms than personal preference. Using your description of being "anti-abortion," that would make me "anti-mixed race marriages" because I married a white woman, and I am also white.
And while I agree that those who identify as pro-life are, at present, against abortion, what I'm suggesting is that it isn't necessarily so. They oppose the killing of the fetus, and not the absence of taking responsibility for it. As such, if future scientific endeavors and technological advancements allowed us to abort a fetus ... that is, to remove it from the pregnant woman ... without killing it, then there would be some who would no longer oppose abortion. If we were able to remove a fetus and artificially incubate it, there are those who would no longer oppose it.
At present, it isn't possible. However, that doesn't necessarily mean it never would be, and moreover, it demonstrates that it is the "kill" part that so many object to, and not the "not carry with your body" part.
sleeper;1840757 wrote:Plus, if Republicans were truly trying to reduce abortions, they would advocate INCREASING substantially funding to Planned Parenthood. They provide a lot of cheap/free healthcare services to women and have drastically reduced the amount of abortions in areas where they operate.
Remember, every time you say "Defund Planned Parenthood" you are directly advocating for an increase in abortions and a decrease in women's health services. No federal funding pays for any abortion so its directly taking dollars away from prevention for the most vulnerable population.
Well, you'll note that I'm not decrying Planned Parenthood. I think it should be defunded, but I'm pro-choice, so I'm not suggesting it out of a desire to prevent abortions. I merely think it should be private.