Hazardous Work

WSJ:

 The White House has begun bringing together a diverse group of abortion-rights supporters and opponents to help craft policies both sides can embrace: preventing unwanted pregnancies and reducing demand for abortion.

President Barack Obama appears to be trying to make good on his pledge to defuse tensions around polarizing issues.

The effort could also be in his political interests. While he may not win over abortion opponents on the issue, if he is seen as having a genuine interest in finding common ground, that could persuade some to judge him on other policies where they may agree with him, such as economics.

There he goes again: building bridges.

Not everybody ostensibly on "my side" likes the notion of reaching out and finding common ground on the issue of abortion.  Some object to the formulation "safe, legal and rare."  Emphasis on the last part, which they contend should be nobody's business.

Ordinarily I'd agree, 'cept that I'm thinking of this philisophically, pragmatically, politically on two levels:

1. Abortion is a medical procedure, as our side oft notes, and as with anything medical, prevention is better than cure, "elective" surgery should be minimized because the human body doesn't need the trauma of such intervention, etc.
2. 'Rare' buys us more people who might otherwise be on the fence politically, and politics is a mechanism by which we defend reproductive freedom.

I tackled this approach a few years ago, and even as an expectant father I hold that a person has an absolute right to control her body while I also submit there are always opportunities to build bridges and love your enemy when dealing with the most divisive issues.  Empathy is a good thing, even if you don't like shrimp.

ntodd