Abortion: Focus on the Issues, Not the Personalities

Annaleigh at the Feminists for Choice pro-abortion blog writes of her experience meeting pro-life activist Randall Terry. Even though this man is radically pro-life and anti-abortion, and has been widely criticised for his tactics both within pro-life and anti-life circles, she is surprised to discover that he is polite and reasonable. Below is the conclusion of her interesting article which both pro-life and anti-life advocates would do well to read.

Too often we want our opponents to be wild caricatures of themselves, raving and irrational. But this is rarely the case. I am reminded of the stories about how much Saddam Hussein enjoyed cookies while he was in custody. But… I like cookies, too! How can this be? Another example would be Mike Huckabee, I disagree with him on tons of policy issues but gosh if he isn’t a nice guy! I’d have a beer with George W. Bush. The list goes on… I think Terry’s positions are irrational, I think that when he and Bill O’Reilly call health care providers “mass murderers” and “baby killers” that no one should be surprised when a crazy person takes them at their word. Don’t let down your guard, stay focused on the issues, not the personalities and remember that, at the end of the day, we’re all people and we ought to be able to get along. As long as the pro-choice movement keeps coexistence as one of our main principles, we’ll be on the right path.