McCain unrealistic on issues of choice
Published Sept. 5, 2008
Thirty-five years after the historic Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, the issue of a woman's right to choose is still seen as a point of contention by many Americans.
Although I am a supporter of a woman's right to choose, I respect the views of those who, like John McCain, believe that Roe v. Wade should be overturned. However, politics columnist Marcus Bowen's article "Let Abortion Decide" fundamentally misrepresents the issue of family planning in today's society. Bowen's characterization of McCain's opposition to Roe v. Wade as in line with "fighting for human rights ... here at home" falsely assumes that family planning, and indeed the fight for human rights, begins and ends simply with abortion.
Rather, family planning is a decision-making process that begins prior to conception. It is a process that requires equal access to information and services necessary for all women. It is a process that attempts, in a realistic manner, to reduce the amount of unwanted pregnancies. It is also a process to which McCain has shown he is uncommitted.
McCain's record in the Senate has shown that he is willing to deny women even the most basic of family planning services. He voted against the Title X family planning program, which according to the Department of Health and Human Services "is designed to provide access to contraceptive services, supplies and information to all who want and need them." McCain's extreme views on family planning would deny women access to birth control and even breast cancer screenings at Title X facilities.
Furthermore, though McCain characterizes his anti-choice stance as one of "compassion," his record has shown that he is unwilling to be compassionate to those women who choose a family planning opinion different from his own. McCain voted against the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which, according to the National Abortion Rights Action League, "provides civil remedies and criminal penalties for a range of violent, obstructive, or threatening conduct directed at reproductive health providers or patients." This is hardly a vote that encourages the compassion McCain advocates.
I want to leave you with the words of Sen. Hillary Clinton: "We should all be able to agree that we want every child born in this country and around the world to be wanted, cherished and loved. The best way to get there is do more to educate the public about reproductive health, about how to prevent unsafe and unwanted pregnancies ... But we have to do more than just send the right messages and values to our children. Preventing unwanted pregnancy demands that we do better as adults to create the structure in which children live and the services they need to make the right decisions. A big part of that means increasing access to family planning services."
Well said, ma'am, well said.
