Clarification Appended
It’s always tough to talk about abortion. It’s a divisive issue on which many good people vehemently disagree. This is true at American as it is across America. On our campus, the Students For Life and Students For Choice organizations both thrive. Both are big; both are active. The abortion debate plays out articulately and passionately, to the credit of all involved.
This newspaper has no plans to take sides in this struggle, especially because there is diversity of opinion among our editorial board. However, we are supportive of advancing honest and open discourse on this issue, which is why we appreciate the panel discussion AU Students For Choice hosted this past week.
Clearly, “Exposing Fake Clinics” was a pro-abortion rights affair. Wednesday’s panel featured representatives from Planned Parenthood, NARAL, the National Abortion Federation and the Feminist Majority Foundation. It’s safe to say none of these organizations advocate overturning Roe v. Wade or supporting Sarah Palin for president in 2012. Still, social conservatives can and should learn from them. The panel exposed disturbing misinformation campaigns on the part of anti-abortion rights activists, which undermine the anti-abortion cause and embolden pro-abortion rights activists. More importantly, they are harmful to American women, pro-life and pro-choice alike.
According to a Sept. 21 press release from Feminist Majority Foundation, many anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers in this country use “misinformation, fear and shame tactics to coerce and intimidate women out of considering abortion as an option.” Some call condoms a “con job,” completely misrepresenting their effectiveness in preventing pregnancy and disease. Additionally, some CPCs distribute pamphlets that claim abortion leads to an increased risk of breast cancer. The World Health Organization refutes this claim completely.
To be fair, pro-abortion rights organizations can also be guilty of stretching the truth and omitting information harmful to their cause. This should go without saying. But no serious activist on either side of this issue would justify bad behavior by pointing to more bad behavior. In fact, most activists on both sides of this issue would probably agree on a few things.
Given that abortion remains legal in this country, women should be able to access a wide range of accurate information on this sensitive topic. Social conservatives should stop their scare tactics and misinformation. Social liberals should be honest about abortion’s physical and emotional consequences. Abortions are not a walk in the park. They can be gruesome and they raise troubling moral and ethical questions for an increasing number of Americans, including an increasing number of young people.
This issue is divisive and emotional. For many, gray area simply does not exist. But this is all the more reason why our campus and our country deserve an honest, substantive debate. The abortion argument should never be reduced to competing smear campaigns. Precisely because we cannot render this culture war unnecessary, America must fight it fairly.
Clarification: The term "pro-abortion" was inappropriately used several times in this editorial and should have been "pro-abortion rights." This version of the editorial has been changed to reflect this.
