Secular Pro-Life has published an article of mine under their paid blogging program.

Two paragraphs in the article read:

Anyway, we can certainly say that Hogue’s remarks were enthusiastically received. But what exactly was the crowd applauding? The first burst of applause that followed Hogue’s remarks about the “tools, the trust, and the chance to chart our own path” might be chalked up to support for abortion “choice.” Some Democrats, in the past at least, have notably said that they personally oppose abortion, but that women should have the choice because of back-alley abortions, or bodily rights, or for the sake of “not imposing beliefs.”

But what of the applause that followed Hogue’s proclamation that women like her make the “decisions that are best for us”? Did the crowd applaud the decision-making power (choice), or did they applaud the idea that abortion is often for the best (as Hogue claims it was in the case of her own pregnancy)? Well, if they applauded choice, it was not choice because of back-alley abortions or bodily rights or “not imposing beliefs.” It was choice because choice is likely to result in “the best” decision—it was because abortion is often for the best, or specifically the best for the woman, regardless of what it means for anyone else. That is what they were applauding.

A somewhat elaborated answer to the question “what exactly was the crowd applauding?” would be as follows:

The first burst of applause followed upon Hogue’s remarks about the tools, the trust, and the chance to chart our own path and then her I made the decision that was best for me. “The tools, the trust, and the chance” clearly refers to choice. Some Democrats, in the past at least, have notably said that they personally oppose abortion, but that women should have the choice because of back-alley abortions, or bodily rights, or “not imposing beliefs.” So even though the second bit goes beyond choice and says that her abortion itself was good, that burst of applause might have been for the first bit and might have been pro-choice, not pro-abortion.

I just said that the second bit, “I made the decision that was best for me,” says that her abortion itself was good. But does it say only that? No, we cannot view it even that charitably – it doesn’t say simply that her abortion was good; it says that it was good for her, regardless of what it was for anyone else.

And the second burst of applause followed upon Hogue’s remark . . . it’s not as simple as bad girls get abortions and good girls have families. We are the same women . . .  each making decisions that are best for us. So that time, did the crowd applaud the decision-making power (choice) or did they applaud the idea that abortion is often for the best? Well, if they applauded choice, it was not choice because of back-alley abortions or bodily rights or “not imposing beliefs.” It was choice because choice is likely to result in “the best” decision – it was because abortion is often for the best, or specifically the best for the woman, regardless of what it means for anyone else. That is what they were applauding.

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Some future posts:

Life Panels

A Trade-Off of a Sensitive Nature

Unborn Child-Protection Legislation, the Moral Health of Society, and the Role of the American Democratic Party

The Motivations of Aborting Parents

Why Remorse Comes Too Late

The Kitchen-Ingredients Week-After Pill

Unwanted Babies and Overpopulation

The Woman as Slave?

Abortion and the Map of the World