Ambiguity in The Politics of Abortion

It is increasingly difficult to discern the proper Christian political stance concerning abortion.

A new study reported, in the journal, Obstetrics Gynecology, indicates that the abortion rate has decreased in the United States. This is good news because it means more pregnant women are opting against having an abortion. However, the report also presents news that indicates poor women are having abortions at a higher rate than before.

This new report was published by the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion research group that, in the past, has worked closely with the Planned Parenthood abortion business. Despite its pro-abortion position, the organization is generally thought by pro-life groups to publish fairly accurate abortion figures because it obtains the numbers directly from abortion businesses.

According to Guttmacher, poor women accounted for 42% of all abortions in 2008, and their abortion rate increased 18% between 2000 and 2008, from 44.4 to 52.2 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44. In comparison, the national abortion rate for 2008 was 19.6 per 1,000, reflecting an 8% decline from a rate of 21.3 in 2000.

Couple this news with the fact that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), abortion rates are similar in countries where the procedure is legal to those in countries where it is not, an interesting question comes to mind:

Does a political candidate who is pro-choice but has a better economic program do more to save unborn lives than a pro-life candidate who has an economic program that does less to alleviate poverty?