by Dick Hall-Sizemore
Republicans are hypocrites when it comes to abortion.
They base their opposition to abortion on the belief that a fetus is a human being and killing an innocent human being is wrong. Hence, the term “pro-life.” (This is a position on which I happen to agree with them.)
But are they pushing for an absolute ban on abortion, perhaps with exceptions for rape, incest, and the health of the mother? Nope. It seems they are settling on banning abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. They are justifying this by calling it “mainstream” and “not extreme”.
Excuse me, but why is a 13-week-old fetus worthy of protection that is not accorded a 12-week-old fetus? Is one “more of a human” than the other?
Then there is our Governor, Glenn Youngkin. He is pushing for banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. As I have pointed out before, that limit is not going to prevent many abortions in Virginia. According to the CDC, only 2.2 percent of abortions in Virginia in 2020 were performed after the 15th week. If Youngkin were truly interested in protecting unborn babies, rather than playing politics, he would push for a near total ban on abortion.
Sorry, Republicans, you can’t have it both ways. A fetus is either a human at conception or it is not. If it is, then what is the basis for deeming fetuses more than 13 weeks old qualitatively different from those 12 weeks or less old? If it is not a human at conception, they why ban abortions at all?
If you believe that abortion is wrong because there is a human life involved, then push for a total ban, with some limited exceptions. Otherwise, you are just being political hypocrites.
I don’t agree with Democrats on this issue, but at least they are being honest about their position.
