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Abortion is one of those issues where Americans are highly polarized. But we can move beyond the "baby killer" versus "control over my own body" debate. I would argue that almost nobody likes abortion, but most people also want it to be an option, so we can focus on a strategy to reduce the number of abortions without making them illegal or unavailable.Why is it that we have birth control pills which are extremely good at preventing pregnancy, yet there are still unwanted pregnancies? First of all, all men and women should be educated about birth control (don't skip that pill!!) and have access to it regardless of ability to pay. Any American woman (or teenage girl) should be able to walk into a hospital or clinic anywhere in the country and have birth control pills prescribed at taxpayer expense. If we really care about reducing the number of abortions we have to do this.
Secondly, we have to change the way we have sex. Instead of diving right into it, we should take our time, talk it out, and make sure we're taking effective measures to head off unwanted pregnancies (even if it's a bit of a mood killer).
Do these things and you'll find a lot of people were just voting Republican over this issue and are ready and willing to support progressive ideas as long as they see some concession on abortion.
