Sadly I think that the Roe v Wade decision has created yet another binary dichotomy and pushed us into one camp or the other. I have already gotten a flurry of texts from Democrats assuming that I am appalled by the Supreme Court decision. I am mixed. Already I have heard very sincere and heartfelt feelings expressed by Pro Life women. Whereas they are saying that abortion should not be an option they are also advocating for a higher quality of support services for the mother and child.
As for myself, I am Not Pro Abortion, as I said in the last post, but I am Pro Choice up to 20 weeks or extenuating circumstances. Since the ‘choice’ has now been eliminated it puts states in the position of providing abortion services to those who want them thereby making that state Pro Abortion for those who have made that choice. I think that being Pro Abortion is a weak position for the Democratic Party to embrace. I would rather that they adopt a policy of state and parental responsibility. Hence, if/when the state prohibits abortion welfare roles are likely to increase. The state now shares in parental responsibility because the State now requires the birth. States taking that position should increase Aid to Families with Dependent Children, AFDC end the Cap Baby policy and increase other support services; Medicaid, WIC, Food stamps and public housing. The cost of that increase in services can be reduced by increasing the amount collected in child support. Republicans are highly unlikely to do any of that and much like other dead beat dads are more likely to simply blame the female for her sexual indiscretions. Blaming women or not, Democrats will inherit the responsibility to advocate and provide for this growing underclass. Already branded as tax and spend bleeding heart liberals they will need to assert a different solution than raising taxes and expanding social programs. Democrats need a meme that is simple, repeatable and defensible. Call it the Parental Responsibility Act or the Right to Parent Act, borrowing from the Right to Work Act, which gives companies the right to fire workers. The Right to Parent Act would require genetic testing at birth. The national database would use DNA to identity and record both parents and the child for life long accountability. The Father, regardless of marriage status, will be held accountable for the financial support of the child. The child and both parents would be free to pursue life without fear of Identity Theft and would also provide law enforcement with DNA evidence, should the need arise, at crime scenes. Opposition to such an amendment, law or practice might argue on the grounds of a right to privacy but that right was denied with the overturning of Roe Wade. In return we gain the right to identify and accountability. Just think of the paperwork saved from Birth Certificates to Drivers Licenses to Employment record to Social Security Cards. Everything could be settled with a simple cotton swab.
This video talks about the perils of child protective services. More unwanted children will equal more welfare cases and more cases of abuse and neglect. I am not saying that welfare families are abusive but I am saying that abject poverty is and economic pressures in every family can impact the parents ability to care for the child. As my supervisor said 30 years ago, our clients are stuck in an apathy futility syndrome that is multigenerational and very hard to break. I have not heard Pro Life advocates addressing these issues and it is that aspect of denial that concerns me most about the movement. Pro Lifers, as my friend pointed out, are often Pro Birthers and hang their moral hat on that hook without thinking about consequences. Pro lifers anchor their cause as a moral imperative wrapped religious mandates. They see themselves as doing Gods work and this is why the movement has grown over 50 years and why they are able to justify a tyrant like Trump to impact the Supreme Court exactly as they just did. This moral imperative will not stop until they get an amendment to end abortion in America. There is an irony here with Red states outnumbering Blue will Democrats become the new states rights advocates?
What we need are Pro Quality of Lifer’s. Children are a subculture often hidden in our society. They are sometimes at risk in their own homes. Once removed, at incredible trauma, they are as ping pong balls bouncing around in a foster care system. Without dedicated foster parents there would be no child protection and yet sadly children are sometimes abused and neglected again. There are no easy answers, certainly disposing of unwanted children before birth is not an acceptable solution. As with other dilemmas that are beyond my control I find myself seeking solace in God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change. I spent 30 years trying to change things I thought I could with little success and in my senior years I’m still searching for the wisdom to know the difference.
Working for DSS for 30 years, child protective services and welfare reform work program, all of my clients were female. Females have the babies and females carry the burdens of raising the children. Poverty is crippling. Watching children raised in families of abuse and neglect is devastating. I pursued the career with the naive belief that I could help people. I hope I helped a few but I heard Shaquille O’Neal quote his father who told him. ‘The best way to help poor people is to not be one!’ True and quite profound. This is not to say that social programs are all bad but I learned that my work as Job Developer was most helpful by getting those who were motivated off the system and into the workplace. As Jesus said, teach a man (or woman) to fish and they become fishermen for life.
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