Virgil Van Camp is Pro Choice

Pretty surprising, but that's exactly what he told us this morning in his AG-R column, even though he didn't use those words. In an earlier post, our colleague Spacedark suggested that he was disappointed by this turn of events, presumably tongue in cheek, since it deprived him of yet another opportunity to rant at Van Camp. Quite aside from the reality that most of Van Camp's writing ranges from vitriolic claptrap to well-meaning claptrap, his column is an opportunity.

I think Van Camp spoke honestly when he wrote "I do believe there is a vast number of folk like me who are in the middle and have trouble with both extremes." What he doesn't get (and all those others who think they're in the sensible middle) is that the folks he perceives to be "pro-choice extremists" are not, because they agree with nearly everything he wrote about the issue.

I'm not sure what Van Camp thinks the pro-choice position is, but I can assure him that he described it extremely well. In essense, the pro-choice position is exactly what it sounds like, the sensibility to admit that the kinds of decisions he discussed, from contraception to pregnancy termination to end-of-life decisions are extremely personal, deeply rooted in religious conviction, and should not be mandated by the government. None of us should be so arrogant as to require that someone who follows a different religious tradition behave according to our personal sense of morality, unless there is a compelling state interest. That's exactly the basis for the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Pro-choicers are not pro-abortion. Most would not want to face such a decision themselves. We believe, on the basis of a large body of independent, scientific research, that conscientious, comprehensive sex education and family planning are the most effective route to keeping abortion as rare as possible. Arguments that presume to paint pro-choicers as pro-abortion are nothing more than propaganda.

Van Camp goes on to point out the hypocrisy of the so-called "pro-life" activists who find plenty of time for protesting, but none for adoption of children who need a family. That hypocrisy takes many forms, including the reality that so many who loudly proclaim their "pro-life" convictions are intentionally absent when the discussion turns to the health and welfare of children who have been born.

Van Camp has yet to realize that the reasoning he used to overcome right-wing disinformation on this subject can be applied to a whole range of other topics, but that's a subject for another time.

For now, what's appropriate is just hearty congratulations.

DEMOPHOENIX