In President Barack Obama's pat-myself-on-the-back State of the Union address earlier this week, he included in his laundry list of accomplishments the fact teen pregnancies and abortions are nearing all-time lows.
Since both rates were coming down before he became president, which should be good news to everyone, he can't take direct responsibility. But unlike the obfuscations and half-truths since exposed in some of what he talked about, his statements on those issues were accurate.
Yet, a day later, the pro-abortion crowd fanned out across the country to stop that slide and rail against proposed legislation that would protect women's health if they choose to have an abortion. The mantra was everywhere -- that politicians are trying to take away a woman's right to an abortion.
By now, most of America knows that's a bankrupt statement. The U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 ruled that women have a right to obtain an abortion. And, like it or not, no politician can take that away.
The pro-life crowd would like to see the numbers of abortions go even lower. Everyone ought to be on that page. And some state lawmakers believe adding some common-sense abortion regulations might help them get there. But no regulation can ban abortions.
It boggles the mind, then, why pro-abortion supporters would be against some of these regulations.
Take, for example, the informed consent proposal submitted by Tennessee state Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, that is identical to one that was law before the state Supreme Court ruled that its constitution was broader on the subject than the U.S. Constitution (a concept voters found invalid in November).
The regulation simply requires a woman to sign a form confirming that the doctor provided specific information about her abortion. What's included in such damning information? Confirmation that she's pregnant, how far along her pregnancy is, the risks associated with any pregnancy and abortion, the fact some abortions are "major surgical procedures," the fact if she is six months pregnant her child may be "capable of surviving outside the womb" and the existence of services to help her if she does not choose an abortion.
Thirty-five states, according to the Guttmacher Institute, require some form of informed consent before an abortion can be performed.
Other abortion regulations proposed in the Volunteer State given a good shot at becoming law in this legislative term are a waiting period from an abortion request to an abortion performed and new inspection requirements for abortion clinics.
If the proposals become law and prevent some women from doing something they might regret for the rest of their lives, as does Norma McCorvey, the original Roe v. Wade plaintiff who is now fiercely pro-life, great. If they don't, at least they will have been given information to make an informed decision and will be able to have their procedure in a facility inspected at least as thoroughly as a dentist's office, tattoo parlor or veterinarian clinic.
President Obama did not detail in his State of the Union address why abortions are falling, and answers across the board will depend on the bias involved. The truth is probably a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
Pro-life supporters realized some years ago that lying down in front of abortion clinics and protesting outside of abortion-performing doctors' offices only went so far. They admitted they needed to change hearts in order to change minds. Their softer sell focused on the wonder of a child, the love offered in an adoption and the assistance available to mothers with children.
The social stigma of an unmarried woman conceiving a child is not what it was when Roe v. Wade was passed in 1973. Some women today, who might have had abortions years ago, decide to become pregnant with the strict desire to raise a child by themselves.
Abortion regulations, which vary from state to state, undoubtedly influence -- though they can't force -- some women to change their minds about the procedure, the decision to abort maybe having been made too quickly or having been forced upon them.
Lastly, birth control is more widely available, is more socially acceptable and promoted, and is more effective in longer-term doses.
Whatever the reason, lower teen pregnancy rates and lower abortion rates are something to celebrate and something every American should hope continue to fall.