Now the courts confront shadings and equivocations. Pro-abortion groups sued to force anti-abortion groups to stop running "Wanted" posters of "Deadly Doctors" on their Web sites after one of those doctors was shot and killed. The courts are asked why the abortion protesters can't plead the First Amendment. And a candidate's position on abortion becomes an important item in his political dossier. This is reflected in the latest figures on the voting public. Thirty-four percent of voters think abortion should be generally available, 39 percent believe that restrictions on abortion should be tightened, and 25 percent believe abortion should not be permitted at all.
Divorce has been the rounds. Early in the lifetime of modern readers, one could not get a divorce from a spouse unwilling to dissolve the marriage in many states, and in some states, such as New York, divorce was difficult even if both spouses were willing. Now divorces are relatively easy, and where there is no contention between the parties, they approach simple clerical exercises, in the direction of "I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you," which is all the ritual required under Muslim law for a husband to end a marriage.
We are far away from a society that attaches zero importance to granting the protection of the law to the unborn fetus. But both sides in this argument could contribute to peaceful democratic exchange by saying what it is they would not do if in power.