There is No Compromise

 As the situation in Texas should make clear to anyone with at least enough brain matter to tip a postal scale, abortion opponents are not interested in any sort of compromise. The draconian restrictions passed in a number of states all have medical exceptions - broadly to protect the life of the mother. Texas at least has made clear that in reality there are no exceptions. Texas is so serious about banning abortion that a number of jurisdictions are criminalizing the use of state roads to leave Texas for the purpose of getting an abortion. Private citizens, even those who have no connection to the woman seeking an abortion, can sue anyone who assists a woman in securing an abortion. Even when a court granted a woman the permission to get an abortion, and specifically immunized her doctor from prosecution, the Texas Attorney General announced that he would go after any hospital where the abortion took place. The Texas Supreme Court subsequently overruled the judge and the woman had to flee the state. Nowhere in the sanctimonious posturing was there any acknowledgement that the fetus has close to a zero chance of surviving, and that the life and even the future ability of the woman to have children was at stake. No, the focus, over and above all else, was that the fetus must be born. 

And that's the heart and soul of the matter. The die-hard anti-abortionists believe (or at least say that they believe), that abortion is murder. That the fetus, from the moment of conception, is a human being, with all the rights attendant with that status. If they believe that abortion is actually murder, why would be even consider that they would in the long run consider anything short of a total ban, with no exceptions? Look at something that seems reasonable, an exception if the life of the mother is in peril. To them, they are being asked to actively kill one human being (the fetus) in order to save the life of another human being (the mother). They see allowing the pregnancy to proceed doesn't necessarily kill the mother (at least not actively), and they leave it up to God. 

And there it is. Religion.

Whether you think abortion is the ending of a fully functional human life or not is an opinion, and the anti-abortion opinions are mostly informed by religion. 

Let me digress for a moment and talk about "the science". Religious people often attempt to bolster their religious views by appeals to science. Not content to be guided by their faith, they have to "prove" that it's "right". I have been told by anti-abortionists that "science" has concluded that a fetus is alive. I don't think anyone is claiming that a fetus isn't alive. But the question is: "in what sense is it alive?". But the question that cannot be answered by anyone, including scientists, is at what point does an embryo become a human being? At conception? That bundle of cells should be considered to have all the rights of a human being? That point is necessarily a matter of opinion. Science can't help us. 

The consensus, even among the pro-choice, is that if a fetus can live outside the womb, then it is a person, and even under Roe vs. Wade, few abortions took place after 20 weeks, and even fewer after 24. 

The funny thing about religious opinion is that it's not the opinion of every religious person or every religion. It's the position of a strict segment of Christianity, including Catholics, Fundamentalists, and Evangelicals. Even within Christianity, there is no mention of abortion in the Christian part of the Bible (aka The New Testament). However, Christians also base their religion on the Torah and the Prophets (which the Christians call The Old Testament)  and it is very clear that, although abortion is not specifically mentioned, the penalty for killing a person is death, while the penalty for killing a fetus is a fine. Obviously the God of the Old Testament did not consider a fetus a person. People today who oppose abortion because they think God is opposed to it, haven't read their own holy book. 

I'm not opposed to people who think abortion is killing a person. They have every right to hold that opinion. They should seek to persuade people to see things their way (maybe by knocking on doors.). They should make alternatives to abortion available. But no matter how deeply held their religious opinions are, no one who doesn't share those beliefs should be compelled to adhere to those beliefs. And that's what's happening. They're attempting to convince us that it's what "the people" want. But even in a conservative state like Nebraska, at best those want to ban abortion are a little less than 50% of the population. When Roe vs. Wade was struck down the anti-abortion talking point was that it should be up to a vote of the people, but states with gerrymandered Republican legislative majorities ignored the opinion of a majority of their people, and even when referendums affirmed the retention of abortion rights, the minority-in-power attempted to circumvent the clearly stated will of the majority. National politicians abandoned their earlier commitment to "let the states decide" and started talking about a national ban. 

And if you think the religious zealots will not impose more of their religious beliefs if they get the chance, or that they are aiming for nothing less than a total, no exceptions abortion ban, you have not paid attention to the words from their own mouths.