News Flash: Bush is not Pro-Life

Via The Talent Show we are directed to this interesting article by a self-described pro-lifer on some of the problems with Dubya's leadership on this issue:

Under President Bush, the decade-long trend of declining abortion rates appears to have reversed. Given the trends of the 1990s, 52,000 more abortions occurred in the United States in 2002 than would have been expected before this change of direction.

How could this be? I see three contributing factors: First, two thirds of women who abort say they cannot afford a child (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Web site). In the past three years, unemployment rates increased half again. Not since Hoover had there been a net loss of jobs during a presidency until the current administration. Average real incomes decreased, and for seven years the minimum wage has not been raised to match inflation. With less income, many prospective mothers fear another mouth to feed.

Second, half of all women who abort say they do not have a reliable mate (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life). Men who are jobless usually do not marry. Only three of the 16 states had more marriages in 2002 than in 2001, and in those states abortion rates decreased. In the 16 states overall, there were 16,392 fewer marriages than the year before, and 7,869 more abortions. As male unemployment increases, marriages fall and abortion rises.

Third, women worry about health care for themselves and their children. Since 5.2 million more people have no health insurance now than before this presidency - with women of childbearing age overrepresented in those 5.2 million - abortion increases.

Now, for most readers of this blog, these points will be old news. But if you know a pro-lifer who's also pro-Bush, it's worth pointing out to them that we've had bigger drops in abortion rates under presidents who were serious about the social safety net. It's always amazed me that the so-called pro-life movement has such strong ties to the GOP, when a simple look at the bigger picture clearly shows that the fastest way to reduce abortion is to fund programs that support women, children, and the working poor - programs that are, by and large, the purview of the Democratic party. And this really gets to the heart of the problem with the "pro-life" movement: its leaders seem more preoccupied with painting the opposition as scary pro-abortion monsters than with actually working to create conditions where fewer abortions happen. It's not a difficult equation: universal health care + living wage + women's rights = less abortion. It will be a great day when we can all work together towards those goals.