The Republican Party Position on Abortion

Let me begin by saying I never expect everyone to agree with me on any given post, and I certainly expect that this one would invite controversy if enough people read it. I don’t need either validation or trolls, so I’ve disabled comments. With that out of the way, there are many reasons I know in my heart of hearts that the Republican Party platform plank on abortion, which is also the Paul Ryan position of prohibiting it in all cases without exception, is unconscionable for a particular reason that irks me. It elevates the value of a potential life far above that of an existing one – the mother who would be called upon to carry the child to birth. Some proponents of a slightly more moderate position, apparently including Mitt Romney, would make exceptions for rape, incest, or the mother’s health. Both the party position and the slightly more moderate position completely ignore a medical fact: the mother’s life and health face some degree of risk in every pregnancy. Furthermore, it is impossible to confidently predict early in the first trimester whether a pregnancy will later endanger the mother’s life. So forcing any woman to undergo an unwanted, or unplanned, pregnancy, whether to  to term, miscarriage, or the mother’s death is immoral.