Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Only a zealot believes there’s no moral complexity around abortion. Most people believe a fetus becomes a life worthy of protection under the law sometime before birth - the question is when. You see this in polling - 8 per cent of Americans believe abortion should be banned in all circumstances, while 19 per cent believe it should be legal in all cases. And yet the debate is couched in those two extremists, unpopular stances.
Even if they took only the opinions of women into account, U.S. states would allow ready and free access to abortions in the first trimester, with abortion restricted only to medical emergency in the third trimester. So pretty much the abortion laws what every country in Western Europe has.
Instead, the ferocious polarization of American political activism makes it difficult for states to craft abortion legislation that accords with the values of most citizens. So they wind up with many U.S. states imposing far tighter restrictions than anywhere in Western Europe, while many others have fewer restrictions than anywhere in Europe.
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But having fewer restrictions and allowing non-medically necessary 3rd trimester abortion doesn’t actually change policy. So while people are opposed to them they don’t actually happen in the circumstances people imagine.
So the debate between legal in all circumstances and 22 or 24 week bans doesn’t really exist.
So it really is an overwhelming % of people that are in favour of abortion when practical and not the debate between two extremes you describe.