Political Opinions on Abortion

Abortion is one of the most hotly contested social issue’s in American politics. It has been used as a political tool by the Republicans (conservative Right) to mobilize its opponents as a strong voting block within the party. On the other side, the Democrats (liberal Left) has use their pro-choice stance over the issue to mobilize women voters, along with other proponents who believe that abortion should be a viable option for pregnant women. It is in this context in which the political debate of abortion is framed in American politics. It is a highly polarized issue; in this paper, we will review articles from both the New York Times (NYT) and the Washington Post (WP) to see how these viable news organizations report on this very sensitive issue.

Beginning with the NYT, the first article is titles Parties Seize on Abortion Issues in Midterm Race. The reporting of the abortion issue within this article was quite balanced; he illustrated how the Republican are using the abortion debate as a means to rally supporters on the State level for the upcoming mid-term elections. The Democrats are in turn hoping to revive female voters by suggesting that this issue is an attack on women’s health. The edge though seems to given to the Pro- Choice camp; he makes mention of a statistical targeting model to successfully figure voting on women’s health issues, giving the edge to the Pro-Choice, but yet again, the voting of women is crucial.

In the article Justices Seem Split on Abortion Clinic Buffer Zones, but Crucial Voice Is Silent by Adam Liptak, the state of Massachusetts established a law setting a 35 foot buffer zone around abortion clinics. It is of interest because the ideological lines that are drawn between the Supreme Court J...

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... a voice to discuss their views. For one, the non religious pro-lifer’s who have strong supporters of the pro-life movement in recent years. The discussion seems to be trenched in such ideological bounds that it seems almost impossible to find a middle ground in whch both sides agree upon; it seems more like a winner take all debate. As seen with the articles that are addressed in the New York Times, the political aspects of the abortion issue are being trumpeted to create a fervor on the State level for the Conservative Right to gain votes and possibly take over the Senate. The issue of abprtion is highly polarized and political (ideological). As one writer termed it, and possibly so, the debate over some the issues are down right petty. Both sides, no matter the ruling of an official court rulings, will probably continue to fiercely debate this hot button topic.