It won't say anything to the pro-choice activists, but the 2008 Democratic platform plank regarding abortion opens a window for a sensible dialogue about strategies for reducing abortion without government mandates for or against.
Rev. Jim Wallis, nationally prominent evangelical minister and founder of Sojourners, explains:
"There is a "parallelism of choice" here in the Democratic platform that is a good and new direction that will make many people feel more welcome. The party is now on record in "strongly" supporting both a woman's right to choose abortion or to decide to have her child with promised support, creating common ground in agreeing for the need to reduce abortions.
All that is a step in the right direction: supportive of individual conscience, of the different decisions a woman can make, and of reducing the need for abortions. By supporting the fuller range of women's choice, the Democratic Party would be empowering more women, including low-income women who might like to carry their child to term for personal or moral reasons, but often lack the support to do so."
Bill Clinton was on the right track during his Presidency when he said abortion should be" legal, safe and rare" and this approach appears to be the Obama philosophy as well. The real breakthrough here is a straightforward show of respect for people who make a different choice. Jim Wallis is one of those folks I called a principled pragmatist, and those are my favorite kind!
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