Blunt truth

By Tony Staley
Compass Editor

Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark did the nation a favor with his blunt statement on abortion in New Hampshire.

Clark told editors of the Manchester, N.H., Union Leader, the state's largest newspaper that, "Until the moment of birth, the government has no right to influence a mother's decision whether to have an abortion. Life begins with the mother's decision. I don't believe people whose ideological agenda is to burn the law or remake the law or reshape it should be appointed (judges), whether they are from either side."

He said he would not "be appointing judges who are pro-life.... I'm in favor of choice, period. Pure and simple. I don't think you should get the law involved in abortion. It's between a woman, her doctor, her faith and her family and her conscience. You don't put the law in there."

Although Clark said he was "not going to get into a discussion of when life begins," he did just that when he said "Life begins with the mother's decision."

This is not an attempt to single out Clark. He and all the other Democratic presidential candidates support unrestricted abortion. Nor is this about pointing a finger at them.

The real point is that Wesley Clark has bluntly and concisely stated what the country's abortion laws really mean: "Life begins with the mother's decision."

If she decides to carry her child to term, for her and the baby, life begins at conception. Throughout her pregnancy, she and others will call the fetus growing inside her"the baby." She may even learn the gender of the baby before the child is born, allowing the definite selection of a name.

However, if she decides - chooses - to have an abortion, we're assured by Planned Parenthood, Supreme Court rulings and abortion rights advocates, there was only tissue, not life, not a baby.

Either way, the nation's abortion laws boil down to Clark's succinct statement: "Life begins with the mother's decision."

Perhaps Clark's bluntness will lead more people to consider what abortion means and how irrational the country's abortion laws are. Even Clark seemed to have some second thoughts. Later in the month, he said he supported the Roe vs. Wade ruling as modified by the Supreme Court in 1992 with the Casey ruling that allows some restrictions on abortion. At the same time, Clark restated his acceptance of abortion and his opposition to any laws restricting abortion.

But maybe his statement caused him to briefly consider what abortion-on-demand really means. If his blunt statement causes others to do the same, life will win out.