Arguing to restrict the public funding of abortions within the District of Columbia, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kans., suggested on Thursday afternoon that if such "financial incentives" were available some 47 years ago, Barack Obama himself may never have been born.... "If you think of it in human terms, there is a financial incentive that will be put in place, paid for by tax dollars, that will encourage women who are -- single parents, living below the poverty level, to have the opportunity for a free abortion," said Tiahrt. "If you take that scenario and apply it to many of the great minds we have today, who would we have been deprived of? Our president grew up in a similar circumstance."...."If that financial incentive was in place, is it possible that his mother may have taken advantage of it?" Tiahrt asked.
There are few things more tired and predictable than a rabid opponent of abortion playing the "What if?" card. In this case, Todd Tiahrt, no mental giant he, has seen fit to use the argument while employing President Barack Obama as his Exhibit A. Gee, y'all usually use Beethoven in this argument, don'tcha??
At first glance, it's an argument of particular appeal for those look for something simple and certain to buttress their inability to think anything but reflexively. True enough; there's no way of knowing what or who an aborted fetus will turn out to be. Of course, this could be said for any number of diseases or disabilities that limit or kill people. Unanswered questions and unrealized potential are part and parcel of the human condition. If I were to shed my mortal coil today, we'll never know if I would ever have written that epic, world-changing masterpiece of staggering genius, will we?
The reality is that, like it or not, the right to abortion is a matter of settled law (Roe v. Wade, anyone?). Though those on the Right might see things differently, and be actively working to deny women control over their own reproductive functions, Supreme Court precedent is what it is. Instead of trying to force their narrow religiosity down the throats of those of us who think differently, perhaps anti-abortion zealots could keep their powder dry long enough to think about working with those on the Left to try and make abortion an unnecessary and rare event. Instead of forcing into law an outright ban, and thereby potentially risking the health of women, those of us on both sides of the fence might examine how to reduce the need for and the number of abortions. No reasonable person would argue that abortion is necessarily a good thing, yet those who think like Tiahrt toss labels like "baby killer" around as if it's the coin of the realm. Why compromise when you can demonize?
Yes, there are those on the Left (of which I occasionally am one) who fall into the trap of rhetorical and ideological excess and inflexibility. Then again, defending a woman's right to control her own reproductive functions isn't exactly an abstract academic concept. There are people out there willing to kill doctors who provide abortion and other reproductive services...so keeping these zealots out of positions of power and influence is not only a good idea- it's imperative. There are far too many inflexible wackjobs like Todd Tiahrt who are more than willing to force their narrow, intolerant ideology upon anyone and everyone...regardless of the impact it might have. Then again, it's not about the welfare of women. It's not even about "saving babies". It's about winning, ruling, and forcing their beliefs and prejudices upon all of us.
Of course, if you consider women to be the property of men, you probably think Tiahrt is spot on...and you wouldn't be reading this, anyway.
