The abortion business

The debate is back--not the pro-choice/pro-life debate, but the debate between pro-lifers who want to fight abortion incrementally and those who take an all or nothing approach. A recent L.A. Times article 'explored' this new evolution of the debate. According to the article, the all or nothing pro-lifers are accusing the incremental camp of using the pro-life movement to make money. Apparently they object to pro-life groups calling the Supreme Court decision on partial birth a victory and using it as a fundraising tool since the decision does not save any babies. (Of course keep in mind this is according to the L.A. Times, it is anyone's guess how accurately they have portrayed the dispute.)

Personally, I think the incremental approach is best because I believe laws help shape opinions and attitudes. Our abortion-on-demand laws provide moral cover and justification for many seeking abortions. "It must be ok, it's legal". Consider the UK's abortion laws--according to their 1967 law, women could get abortions after receiving permission from two doctors and up to 28 weeks of pregnancy (full term is 38-40 weeks). In 1990, the law was further restricted, making it illegal to get an abortion after 24 weeks unless the mother's health is endangered. It is still the law that women must get permission from two doctors. Incidentally, I don't think it's a coincidence that the UK has more restrictions on abortion, and the laws are predicated not on a woman's right to choose, or right to privacy, but on her health. Such a foundation leaves room to roll abortion back, and so in the UK it looks as if the incremental approach has made a difference.

Back to the abortion business--I hope the dueling pro-life movements will remember who the real moneymaker is when it comes to abortion: Planned Parenthood. PP is still the most frequent provider of abortions, and though the number of abortions has been decreasing nationwide in recent years, at PP the number is going up. According to PP's own 2005 report, abortions account for only 3% of their provided services, however the revenue from abortions makes up approx. 30% of their clinic income. (They don't publish this info, it is an estimate based on the number of abortions they performed in 2005 multiplied by the Guttmacher Institute's estimate of the average cost of an abortion.) And this *non-profit* organization turned a profit in 2005 of $55.8 mil. --getting more than $300 mil. from the government...

Which brings us back to VA, which also funds Planned Parenthood. It's worth noting that a 2004 budget amendment to defund PP failed in the State Senate by just 4 votes--elections matter.