Last week, South Dakota's legislature passed a ban on abortion, except in the case of the life of the mother. There are no exceptions for rape or incest, and doctors face up to five years in prison for performing an abortion. Newspapers have also chronicled how the abortion dividing lines are being drawn increasingly according to the Red State/Blue State electoral map. We feel the country is moving backwards on the issue with all the loaded rhetoric and nonstarter solutions that have been proposed. Abstinence, while being the only surefire way to never get pregnant, is not applicable to every person in America. People are going to have sex, and as such, they should possess knowledge about how to go about their behavior in the most responsible way possible. America would certainly be better off with less abortions, but keeping people ignorant will not get us there. Controversy recently erupted over the Plan B pill and whether pharmacists should be allowed to refuse to fill perscriptions based on their religious beliefs. More than 20 states currently allow them to choose. While we understand that people have deeply held beliefs, their morals should not outweigh a doctor's signature. They are not the women's priest. Recent changes on the Supreme Court bench have given President Bush and American conservatives their best shot in years at remaking abortion policy. That said, this issue always falls along moral lines, and there will never be complete agreement.
