Tony Abbott Quotes

Portugal, a traditional Roman Catholic nation where the Church has always had great influence, had laws banning abortion. However, in a national referendum the Portuguese people voted overwhelming to allow abortion despite the Church’s stand. The Parliament then overwhelmingly passed a law legalizing abortion on demand up to the 10 the week of pregnancy. The President, though opposed personally to abortion signed the bill. This quotation illustrates a common occurrence in industrial democracies whereby politicians will not impose their personal moral views on the laws of society but may well have contrary personal views.

This is a wonderful example of a good rhetorical technique. He focuses the attention on the unborn by observing that all his opponents on this point have already been born. Of course, he and all his supporters on the point—those who are against abortion—have already been born also. So what would the unborn say? Well that no one could know nor can any one know if the unborn have any thoughts must less thoughts on the subject of abortion.

At the time the United States was the only developed country where the early abortion drugs were not available without a doctor's prescription. Ironically the drugs were even safer than the previous surgical abortion procedures where were already extremely safe. But the politics of the "culture wars" at the time obstructed scientific and medical decision making at the FDA.

At the time of the debate, the average pregnant woman’s risk of death was much higher from delivery than for an early abortion.

Although abortion was illegal and condemned by virtually all elements of American society, it was practiced in numbers far in excess of anything that occurred after abortion had become legal. The economic and social pressure for abortion was the major driver of abortion then and has probably almost always been so.

Note, that like other feminist leaders of the time, she opposed abortion. However, between the economic pressures and the illegality of birth control devices and information provision, abortion was a critical decision that had to be faced by many women. Later, feminist leadership had to come to grips with the issue of who makes the decision in these areas, and placed the right of the woman to make these decisions, as opposed to husbands, fathers and government, as the highest priority. Then, when the drivers for abortion could not be eliminated, it was women who were criminalized. Feminists then fought for the right of abortion and the right of the woman to make decisions, but feminine leadership has never—in America—been advocates of abortion as opposed to the right of abortion, a subtlety that often is lost.

Describing Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision protecting a woman’s right to an abortion: