Finding Common Ground
Posted by egehl on June 17, 2009
Over the last month the abortion debate has sprung back into the spotlight with the President’s commencement speech at Notre Dame, the atrocious killing of an abortion doctor in Kansas and an announcement by Gallup that for the first time more Americans are pro-life than pro-choice.
It’s an issue that constantly simmers between opinionated ideological divides who rarely find common ground or the ability to compromise. The issue has come back into the forefront of this country’s culture war in part due to a new President with differing views from the last Administration. And after late-term abortion provider’s, Dr. George Tiller, death, we are reminded that this issue is arguably still one of the most heated and contentious of our time.
The labels “pro-choice” and “pro-life” can be very misconceiving. They oversimplify the issue and don’t take into consideration the mixture of feelings people have about abortion. Many people are neither but to a degree of both: we cherish life, value choice and trade them off with uneasy reluctance. Which is why the recent Gallup poll claiming that more Americans are pro-life than pro-choice should be taken with a grain of salt. It tends to be the moderates in the middle who are constantly changing and weighing which restrictions are reasonable. The issue will continually be in flux as a result of who sits in the Oval Office, which side may be considered to have the reigning momentum, the issues at the forefront of the culture war, and how the public is or isn’t being educated.
With much anticipation I listened to President’s Obama speech at Notre Dame because I was curious what a newly elected pro-choice President had to say, and how his speech could symbolize the start of finding common ground between two emotionally-charged camps of people. It was evident from his speech that President Obama is not interested in engaging in further culture war dialogue as he spoke about how the two sides could find middle ground through “open hearts, open minds and fair-mind words.”
He talked about areas where harmony could be found such as decreasing the number of unintended pregnancies, encouraging adoption and making that process easier, and instituting solid sex education and family planning.
I appreciated the President’s attempt to remind the public that dividing views must somehow sit at the same table while also recognizing that abortion is an issue with deep emotional ties. The President may be the first leader in a long time with the ability to remain true to his own feelings about protecting a women’s right to choose and listen openly and intently to the strong reservations of those who believe abortion should never happen.
This conversation is needed more than ever so we may beyond the deep seeded hatred and divide that has plagued our country since the passage of Roe vs. Wade. Regardless of how you feel about abortion, or whether you consider yourself “pro-choice” or “pro-life,” all of us must be open to how the other side feels and why.
If we can move in this direction of open-mindedness we can figure out viable solutions for the health and well-being of the mother and the fetus, and gain a better understanding of the feelings of each viewpoint. Each side has valid reasons for how they feel and it’s based on their experience, gender, religion, upbringing, policymaking or values. And the debate will constantly be shifting based on politics, culture and the media.
For too long, policymakers have made the divide worse by taking sides and not listening to each other. I hope that President Obama can change some of that even, if it’s incremental.
The debate feels like we are all spinning in circles, getting angrier and dizzier as we go along, and the misunderstandings and vilification being thrown at both sides does nothing to help and only leads to more heightened emotions and the issue treated like an ideological toy.
The stakes are too high and the pain too private for whatever choice a woman decides that policymakers and religious leaders need to hear each other so that the life of the fetus and health and choices of the mother can be valued and treated with respect. I hope that leaders will heed President Obama’s words in his commencement speech and realize that while our nation may be divided, many are ready to put their differences aside to work toward a realistic and beneficial common ground for everyone.
