Wednesday, Jun. 03, 2009

Debate on abortion needs cooler heads

Only days after President Barack Obama appealed to the nation to tone down the rhetoric in the abortion debate, tragic events on Sunday in Wichita have helped make the issue even more heated.

The senseless killing of Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller has overshadowed Obama’s call for each side to find some middle ground. Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson echoed that appeal Monday by saying “cantankerous rhetoric that revolves around the abortion debate is not helpful.”

A cooling down period certainly is needed, and each side needs to honor the necessity for calm at this time. The real problem, however, is that in the view of many there really is no middle ground to be found on the abortion issue. Either it’s acceptable to end a human life—and that applies to the death penalty as well—or it isn’t. There are no shades of gray, just black and white, yes or no, dead or alive.

Some in the abortion-rights camp are rushing to link the alleged act of one man—the accused killer—with the entire pro-life movement, saying abortion foes have lost their moral compass. Most members of the pro-life movement are distancing themselves from Scott P. Roeder, the Merriam man accused of shooting Tiller.

Privately, some pro-life extremists may be saying the end justifies the means. On the opposite extreme, some likely are trying to figure out how to leverage Tiller’s death to advance abortion rights. Neither extreme has any justifiable claim to the moral high ground.

The truth is there really isn’t much to be gained by either side from this sad moment. The appeals from Obama and Parkinson for a cooling off period need to be heeded by both sides.

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