Common Sense for the Common Good

You know you've stepped into a political minefield when you've got a NARAL spokesperson claiming "I've had it up to here with politicians who are agonizing over the issue and trying to place themselves in the position of the great peacemaker" and a Conservative Party spokesfolk agreeing with Planned Parenthood in that a politician has shown a lot of courage in seeking middle ground on the issue of abortion.

No, it's not another speech by Hillary Clinton ... it's a heretofore little-known speech by Thomas Suozzi, Nassau County Executive. Also a pro-choice Democrat who realizes that not enough has been done to affirm that, as part of supporting "the other choice" (ie - life), there's not been enough done. Here's the highlights from his speech:

To be successful we need to recognize that women are often unfairly judged regardless of the choices they make regarding an unplanned pregnancy and men are often let off the hook. Women who choose abortion have their morality questioned. Women who choose to put a baby up for adoption have their maternal instincts questioned and women who carry an unplanned pregnancy to full term when unmarried or financially insecure are often labeled irresponsible. In our culture, boys will be boys, men will be men, but women are too often and too readily judged. Our efforts should not be to judge women. Rather, our goal should be to support women.

I have found that despite the often unfair and unproductive caricatures of the people on both sides of this issue, defenders of the ?pro-choice? and ?pro-life? viewpoints are usually intelligent, thoughtful, compassionate and religious people ? on both sides.

Despite the quality of the people engaged whether it has been at the dinner table or in the halls of congress the abortion debate has generated more heat than light ? as a result we have ?hardened our hearts? and have failed to recognize that working together there is so much we could accomplish in pursuit of the common good.

I am passionate about many things and while I believe our debate about subjects like abortion or a host of issues revolving around the subject of life and death will remain passionate, we should not let our strongly held beliefs blind us to our common obligation to try and help others. Again, women facing an unintended pregnancy deserve our support, not our judgment. People who want to adopt need our assistance, not more expense or bureaucracy and, teenagers and adults immersed in a culture that hypes ?sex without consequences? on TV, in movies, and in advertising 24 hours a day, need our guidance to try and avoid unintended pregnancies, not invective laced debate.

The breakdown on Suozzi's plan is as follows:

• $400,000 per year to support Homes for Single Mothers and $200,000 per year to promote adoptions in Nassau County.
  

Homes for single mothers are a small step, but I think they make a real difference. Not only in helping bring miracles into the lives of the woman and children they serve, but also in helping bring together people from both sides of this debate on a common service to help woman who need our help. Anyone who really wishes to reduce the number of abortions has an obligation to help those women who choose not to have an abortion yet find themselves alone.

• $400,000 dollars per year for three years for such programs to better educate boys and girls, and men and women about the need to try and avoid unintended pregnancies.
  

I recognize that the support of family planning programs is the one part of my Agenda that will not be ideal for either of the two primary sides in the current debate. The Catholic Church, for example, does not support artificial contraception; rather, it encourages abstinence and natural family planning. So there will be some who oppose this particular aspect of the plan. At the same time, there are some who support the right of women to choose who will say that this part of my Agenda falls short because they believe that abstinence education and natural family planning are not effective by themselves.

The family planning part of this program is, I believe, a common sense approach, fashioned solely for the purpose of fulfilling the overall goal. We will cut back on unwanted pregnancies ? and abortions ? by giving people information about family planning, including abstinence, natural family planning and contraception.

Like it or not, Suozzi's approach represents one of the most concrete efforts to bridge the infernal divide between activists on both sides of the issue to address the 90% common ground that has remained attainable - and unaccomplished - for too long.