TW: No doubt abortion is polarizing. What should not be polarizing are efforts to work toward minimizing abortions. Those of us on the left do so whilst retaining the women's freedom to choose, those on the right not; but minimizing abortions can remain a common goal. I remain convinced that there should be enough common ground between the two groups for significant progress. Both sides "culture war industries" impede the progress, those abiding moral absolutes as well.
From Newsweek:
"How does a democratic, pro-choice president avoid engaging in a culture war? ...White House officials say the president is as determined as ever to encourage the old warriors on all sides to lay down their swords. Forging common ground on reducing abortion and teen pregnancy and supporting maternal and child health is a top priority, says Melody Barnes, Obama's domestic-policy chief. This is why the president revoked the Mexico City rule—which prevented organizations that receive federal funds from providing abortions and abortion counseling abroad
...Since at least 2006, Obama has been talking about "abortion reduction," a holistic approach to pregnancy and parenthood that includes not just legal abortion, but also sex education; access to birth control; good prenatal care and postnatal support; and adoption services. The goal of reducing abortions is, in principle, embraced by many on both sides and is one of the four stated policy goals of the faith-based office.
...On the right, the old guard remains mostly unimpressed...He rescinded the Mexico City policy nicely—still, he rescinded it. He reversed President George W. Bush on stem cells. He initiated a revocation of the "conscience clause," the broad language Bush instated late in his second term that allows health-care workers to refuse to provide services, including abortions and birth-control prescriptions, because of a moral objection. His Health and Human Services pick, Kathleen Sebelius, is a pro-choice Catholic
...On the left, old-style women's groups remain wary of a conciliatory approach. "I tried a common-ground thing in 1979," says Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority. It fell apart, she says, over the right's insistence on limiting access to birth control.
..."There's a culture-war industry on both sides," says Joshua DuBois, director of the faith-based office. "What's helpful to the president and to us is a lot of people are weary of that. People are looking for ways out."
...The White House says it is just getting started, and Rachel Laser, who works for the centrist group Third Way and is an advocate for abortion reduction, agrees. She is in regular touch with DuBois and believes a substantive initiative will come. "There's a gravity in this town that pulls people to extremes when they're governing," she says. "Given that gravity, we have to be patient. No one can work miracles." As the hopeful wait, you can almost hear the warriors sharpening their knives."
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