Glenn Beck’s radio broadcast on Wednesday morning featured a heartfelt and thoughtful discussion of one of the most controversial (for Republicans) aspects of Donald Trump’s recent policy announcements: abortion.
It got me thinking again about this issue, but I haven’t really ignored it. I can’t ignore it. To say that the abortion conundrum goes to the heart of our values is both a cliché and an understatement. Its overriding importance is undoubtedly true.
Trump’s policies make sense for the world at large in this day and age, any other approach would give our enemies a stick to use and is likely to do more harm than good to our cause.
The debate arose that morning after reports that Trump had rejected calls for a federal abortion ban that had been included in previous Republican policy platforms, including his own in 2020. Instead, he said he would “let the states decide,” an approach consistent with Supreme Court decisions striking down abortion bans. Roe v. WadeHe takes the credit for it as it is due.
I believe that there are some moral reasons (“Some things in the Bible are teeth The science isn’t necessarily right: life with its own DNA clearly begins at conception (when else could it begin?), and ongoing research suggests that the time frame during which that unique human being is sentient, experiences pain, and whatever else goes on in the womb is getting shorter and shorter, eventually to a matter of a few weeks.
And yet, when it comes to abortion, I have to put an asterisk next to my name.
Like countless men and women, I have never faced the issue of abortion in my life, and although I know several people who have, I have never been involved with abortion. De Troff (Even among feminists of the 1960s and their contemporaries) male sperm donors.
I would argue that everything I think about abortion is to some extent theoretical, as are the opinions of millions of people who have not experienced abortion firsthand.
However, some of my theoretical ideas make me shudder.
For example, what if my daughter had been brutally raped by one or more of those Hamas terrorist psychopaths on October 7th and was now pregnant? How would I feel about her getting pregnant and having a baby? More importantly, how would I advise her not to have an abortion if she rightly abhors all that would come with giving birth to such a monster’s child?
Yes, I know this is a pretty dramatic example, but dramatic as it is, it is possible right now.
If you are one of those who support total abortion bans, I have complete moral respect for you: we are all children of God.
But I have to ask if you have ever faced a situation similar to this example. If you had to face it, are you sure what you would do?
To be honest, I’m not at all sure.
The debate over whether nurture can trump natural qualities, and whether such a “union” will produce the next Mother Teresa or cancer cure, seems naive and, at least to me, a little hypocritical in this and similar cases.
And if my example seems overly technical, remember that, ideologically aside, it is not that far removed from the rapes that take place across our country today, in city alleys and remote fields.
Then there is the question of the mother’s life. This is a dangerous question, because since COVID-19, there has unfortunately been a decline in trust in the medical community to make correct and fair decisions (maybe we have taken too many things for granted).
Still, this is a radical choice that, when confronted, can have consequences that, to say the least, are not necessarily what we would like. In fact, no matter what side we’re on—pro-life or, in that weird twist, pro-choice—this can be a ticket to disaster for all involved.
At least for me, it is nearly impossible to know how I would react when faced with this dilemma. With God’s help, I know I won’t.
That’s why I put an asterisk next to the pro-lifer’s name, and I invite those who are in the same blissfully ignorant position as I am to think about this for themselves.
I’ll add two things.
First, I wouldn’t be surprised if Donald Trump thinks the same way I do. While electoral politics always play a role (he’s a politician, in case you haven’t noticed), his policies make sense for the world at large in this day and age. Any other approach gives your enemies a club to use, no matter how unnatural that weapon may be, and is likely to do more harm than good to the cause.
Second, I have always suspected that the real fight over abortion should not take place in the government realm. I am more convinced of that now than ever before. In that sense, I am a (definitely lowercase) libertarian. To have an abortion or not is a matter of the heart and soul, a matter of personal faith or lack of faith, not a matter of laws that ultimately do little more than obscure people’s true feelings on this crucial issue.
Editor’s note: Award-winning novelist and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Roger L. Simon American Refugee Substack This August, with his wife, screenwriter (“Dick”) and journalist Cheryl Longin.
