Are you anti-abortion?

If so, you should read this article from the Washington Post. It's quite interesting and makes several noteworthy points:

• "Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, which calls for a 'consistent ethic of life' on such issues as poverty and capital punishment, argue that economic policies may be the most effective way to combat abortion by providing social services, such as affordable health care, for pregnant women." I COMPLETELY agree with them. The way to reduce abortion is not to criminalize it, but to address the root causes of the issue: (1) why do unwanted pregnancies happen and (2) why do women choose to abort their pregnancy. Similarly...
  
• Douglas W. Kmiec, an anti-abortion scholar, argues that "that overturning Roe v. Wade would not end abortion, and that the bigger priority should be addressing 'the economic and cultural and social circumstances that force women to believe that they must make a choice against life.'" YES, once again I completely agree that overturning Roe v Wade would not end abortion.

I found the article somewhat heartening. It is nice to see that there are some anti-abortionists who understand that being "pro-choice" or "pro-life" is not simply a position regarding the Roe v. Wade decision. There are so many factors in our society that influence the amount of abortions that occur. Certain politicians may say they are pro-life, but at the same time they may promote policies that increase the number of unwanted pregnancies (e.g., abstinence only education). When you increase the number of unwanted pregnancies, it's a good bet that you'll increase the number of abortions, too. I wonder if, despite George Bush's pro-life intentions, his policies actually indirectly increased the number of abortions that occurred compared to if he had not been President. Think about it: Roe v. Wade still rightfully stands, thank God, but we've had huge setbacks in the number of poor women with access to affordable health care/ health insurance, the way we educate our young people about sex, and socioeconomic factors that influence whether a woman thinks she can afford a child.

Long story short, if you are pro-life you can go ahead and VOTE FOR OBAMA with a clear conscience!