Urge realistic abortion solutions

HB40 shows how politicians use abortion to create a false pro-life/pro-choice dichotomy in order to win votes. American attitudes about abortion are complex. Recent polling shows the majority of us believe that abortion should remain legal, but we disagree about restrictions. Surprisingly, that same polling also shows our attitudes do not fall along strict party lines.

Vetoing HB40 would not reduce abortion rates. Banning or restricting abortion access pushes abortion rates up, as Texas most recently demonstrated. Not only do abortion rates go up, but rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections do, too. Reduced abortion access only means that abortions become dangerous and unsafe, as desperate women try homemade abortifactant recipes and targeted self-harm.

Anti-abortion policies and votes to defund Planned Parenthood may rile up a political base, but they do not stop people from having sex. They do not prevent condoms from breaking, or contraception from failing. They do not prevent unplanned pregnancies, magically cure herpes, or stop sexual violence. They do not save babies. They do not save mothers. Opponents of abortion may grieve at the realities of human behavior, for humanity has not yet managed to legislate itself into righteousness, but we must confront people as they are, rather than what we wish they were.

Common ground does exist. Two strategies reliably reduce abortion rates, as well as rates of teen pregnancy and STI infections: access to affordable contraceptive care and comprehensive sex education. Voters passionately opposed to abortion can actually do something about it: join me in urging Gov. Rauner to fund comprehensive sex education and support policies expanding access to affordable contraceptive care, such as making hormonal birth control available from pharmacies without a prescription for people over the age of 16.

Kimberly Cavill

Chicago