A helpful little list from Trevin Wax at TGC (via Challies)
1. You say you support a woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices in regards to abortion and contraception. Are there any restrictions you would approve of?
2. In 2010, The Economist featured a cover story on “the war on girls” and the growth of “gendercide” in the world – abortion based solely on the sex of the baby. Does this phenomenon pose a problem for you or do you believe in the absolute right of a woman to terminate a pregnancy because the unborn fetus is female?
3. In many states, a teenager can have an abortion without her parents’ consent or knowledge but cannot get an aspirin from the school nurse without parental authorization. Do you support any restrictions or parental notification regarding abortion access for minors?
4. If you do not believe that human life begins at conception, when do you believe it begins? At what stage of development should an unborn child have human rights?
5. Currently, when genetic testing reveals an unborn child has Down Syndrome, most women choose to abort. How do you answer the charge that this phenomenon resembles the “eugenics” movement a century ago – the slow, but deliberate “weeding out” of those our society would deem “unfit” to live?
6. Do you believe an employer should be forced to violate his or her religious conscience by providing access to abortifacient drugs and contraception to employees?
7. Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King, Jr. has said that “abortion is the white supremacist’s best friend,” pointing to the fact that Black and Latinos represent 25% of our population but account for 59% of all abortions. How do you respond to the charge that the majority of abortion clinics are found in inner-city areas with large numbers of minorities?
8. You describe abortion as a “tragic choice.” If abortion is not morally objectionable, then why is it tragic? Does this mean there is something about abortion that is different than other standard surgical procedures?
9. Do you believe abortion should be legal once the unborn fetus is viable – able to survive outside the womb?
10. If a pregnant woman and her unborn child are murdered, do you believe the criminal should face two counts of murder and serve a harsher sentence?
Helpful because they’re not over-bearing and yet at the same time do drill down to some very important issues. For that matter, it’s a list every “pro-life” candidate ought to think through too. And the rest of us. How would you answer?
David I hope that you get some interesting views and comments from pro-choicers however if they are remotely like the ones that I met 2 weeks ago at the Melbourne March for Babies Rally then this is unlikely. During an organised peaceful protest we were shouted at by a much smaller group of people banging on large pots, swearing in front of our children, carrying posters with blasphemous slogans. Now I am not for a moment suggesting that everyone in the pro-choice camp behaves like this however this group of people did not appear to have anything helpful to add to the debate and it was clear that their sole purpose was to disrupt and offend. The above questions are interesting ones. Since the Abortion 2008 Bill came into affect there has been a massive increase of late-term abortions in Victoria. The figure that I seen was 600%. I am assuming that these third trimester terminations are being carried out in cases of serious fetal abnormalities where the child would not survive after birth however the law does allow for terminations at this stage without this being the case.
hi Lucy,
I doubt I’ll get pro-choice people commenting here, although I’d welcome it if we did. I’m also interested in what pro-life people have to say.
And I’d also love to see what the recent abortion stats in Victoria are. To their shame the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne produced a report endorsed by the Archbishop which supported the current position.