It is remarkable that the abortion debate in the United States is such a left-right debate.
Former abortionist Bernard Nathanson, later a pro-life hero, took credit for convincing the Democratic Party that abortion was a woman’s rights issue, forever after sealing it as a liberal ideal.
A recent judicial decision in Texas shows how entrenched the issue has become for those on the left. A judge determined a Texas law requiring abortionists to have hospital admitting privileges is unconstitutional. You would think that women would want their abortionist to be able to admit them to the hospital if something goes wrong, however, most abortionists in Texas do not have such privileges.
Looking around the world and most especially in Latin America, abortion is not such a left-right divide. Not long ago, the hard-left President of Ecuador announced he would resign his office if the Ecuadoran parliament made abortion legal.
Rafael Correa came to power in Ecuador in 2007, one of several left-wing leaders that have taken power in Latin America in recent years including the now-deceased Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia, and even Sandanista Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua.
American pro-lifers may not know that a few years ago the Nicaragua parliament, run by the Sandanistas, voted unanimously to ban abortion for any reason.
Correa’s left-wing bona fides are well known. He has attacked “American imperialism,” offered asylum to Edward Snowden, and Wiki-leaks founder Julian Assange lives in his Embassy in London.
Correa, who has four years left in his term, describes himself as a “left-wing, humanist, Roman Catholic.” Even many politically liberal Catholics in the United States are not as firm in their stance against abortion as Correa.
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