I have been frustrated by those who oppose abortion but seem to downgrade or ignore other life issues in their moral and political stances. The short piece below is a response to such thinking.
Abortion and War
It is important to understand the historical context of the
1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in order to formulate and
effective strategy opposing abortion.
The legalization of abortion did not occur in a historical,
psychological, and social vacuum. It came at the end of the war in Viet Nam in
which this country’s strategy was primarily and broadly killing. The overall
effects of this war very well could have inured the U.S. population to
unnatural death. This war stretched to near the three-quarter mark of a century
that witnessed the greatest slaughter of human life in history. Is it any
wonder that a country as intimately connected with dealing massive amounts of
death would be ready to accept killing the unborn? I propose this question and
refer to this history not only to point out the consequences of war, but to
help us understand that the broad strategy of addressing all life issues needs
to be the focus of people opposed to abortion. If it is possible that massive bloody
conflict set the stage for legalized abortion then it is necessary to work
against all factors in our national psyche that are based on our habit of
killing as a means of solving problems. Historically, the United States
mentality considering such issues as international relations, the death
penalty, euthanasia, and abortion is that if something is threatening,
uncomfortable, or inconvenient kill it. We must change this attitude on all
life issues if we want to change our policy on any of them.