Banning Subterfuge

The quest for compromise on abortion

In today’s Current magazine, I return to the fraught topic of abortion, which I regard one of the great moral questions of our time. In the context of the current political environment, I consider myself guardedly pro-choice, which is to say I believe that there are a series of circumstances (the usual ones of rape, incest, and the life of the mother, as well as an interval in that hazy zone of viability) when it should be legal. I am willing to grant a discrete measure of medical, as opposed to legal or political, expertise to doctors on the matter. In this regard, I think my views loosely correspond to those of a majority of Americans. And yet this line of argument seems largely lacking. What I’m really after in the piece are two things: 1) to have a serious conversation about compromise, which I believe has been sorely lacking in our collective discourse on the subject; and 2) more precision and balance in mainstream media coverage, which I think has trouble taking a pro-life position seriously. Anyway, I hope you’ll have a look.

Later this week, a final post on religion and the American Dream. Starting next week, I’ll be rebooting a revised version of Americana.