Those of you who have come here regularly know my personal feelings on the subject of religion. It is very difficult to approach an issue like abortion without talking about religion. So many of the justifications either way are based on religious views. However, I know so many readers are tired of religion. I get it. So, I will do my very best to avoid the subject completely.

My main source of frustration with this subject is how each side has been mislabeled. The pro-life side is not and really never has been pro-life per se. They are pro-birth. The issue of life is a continuum. It includes quality of life issues for children in general, it involves issues with access to health care, and it involves issues as it pertains to the death penalty and wars of choice. Obviously, it also involves end of life issues. Whatever the source of one’s beliefs, it is very difficult to defend a position of pro-life if one is against easy access to health care, easy access to food and shelter, against the sanctity of life for those accused of murder and other crimes, and against abstaining from international conflicts we have no business of being a part of. To be pro-birth and then anti everything else is really cherry-picking the pro-life position.

Pro-choice is not really a good label either. In an absolute sense it is. Abortion is a privacy issue where each person has dominion over their own bodies. So, the essence is correct in that I acknowledge there is a choice and I acknowledge that it isn’t mine. From there it gets dicey because the opposition wants to call pro-choice people pro-abortion. I don’t know anyone that is pro-abortion. None of us run around and recommend abortions to random strangers. Simply put, if I’m not involved then it’s none of my business.

What is so maddening is that most people want the same thing. In the general sense, we all want fewer abortions and when you look at abortion rates, they consistently have gone down during Democratic administrations. In fact, the rates have fallen more under Democrats than they have under Republicans. That could be random, but I think it has more to do with policy choices and posturing. If you want to reduce the rate of abortions then you reduce the demand for abortions.

You do this through comprehensive sex education and easy access to birth control. You acknowledge that abstinence is the preferred choice, but you also acknowledge that people are going to be sexually active. They might as well know how to do so safely while also knowing the physical and emotional implications of sex. That includes both the good and the bad.

After someone becomes pregnant they should get easy access to top-notch medical care. They need to be treated with love, grace, and respect. That means calmly and lovingly laying out all of the choices they have before them. It means giving them the facts about all of those choices and not alternative facts. If we want them to make the “right” choice then we need to make sure none of the choices are beyond their capabilities. Most importantly, it means completely removing shame from the process.

That’s been the best way and the only way to reduce the amount of abortions that occur in the United States and Texas. Instead, the good folks in the legislature and the governor have chosen a path that won’t really reduce abortions and will just criminalize behavior that’s perfectly normal and reasonable. More than the criminalization is the shame that’s getting attached. Pregnancy is a scary enough time for anyone. Including shame is just cruel and hateful.