SANGER'S MASTER PLAN:

Missionary Position: Birth control, responsibility, and the Democrats. (William Saletan, Nov. 17, 2006, Slate)

Democrats hate talking about cultural issues. Not one plank in their "Six for '06" platform addresses these issues, unless you count stem cells, where they're on the liberal side. In their otherwise-brave book, Emanuel and Reed don't bring up cultural issues till the epilogue, and what they trot out are the old Clinton favorites: welfare reform, school uniforms, and protecting kids from smut. But in one paragraph, the authors gingerly touch on an issue that really could wake people up to a new Democratic attitude: abortion.

If ever there were an issue on which Democrats looked amoral, this is it. Abortion as birth control. Culture of life. If it feels good, do it. Republicans use this kind of language to make Democrats unpalatable even to voters who don't think abortion should be outlawed. Polls show that Democrats can win these voters back. And there's no better place to rebrand yourself than on the issue where you originally got branded.

The remedy is simple: Democrats are for reducing abortion without banning it. The most effective way, short of abstinence, is through birth control. Birth control isn't about doing what feels good. It's about taking responsibility.

This is no gimmick. It's a model for a new, more responsible definition of responsibility. Conservatives have often joked, astutely, that for many liberals, social responsibility is a euphemism for personal irresponsibility. But the reverse is also true: For many conservatives, personal responsibility is a euphemism for social irresponsibility. The solution is to require responsibility on all sides. Birth control is a perfect example. Its effectiveness depends on technology, access, and use. Better technology is industry's responsibility. Better access is society's responsibility. Better use is the individual's responsibility. If everybody does his or her job, the abortion rate goes down. Way down.

Democratic politicians worry that if they target the abortion rate, they'll offend pro-choice groups. But pro-choice groups are already heading in this direction. They've always been for birth control, and they're increasingly admitting what everybody knows: The fewer abortions, the better. Last month, Planned Parenthood's new president called for an increase in Medicaid coverage of contraception, pointing out that it "would result in the prevention of nearly 500,000 unintended pregnancies and 200,000 abortions annually." Pick up the latest issue of Conscience, and you'll see the presidents of NARAL Pro-Choice America and Catholics for a Free Choice calling for abortion reduction. "The ability to create and nurture and bring into the world new people should be exercised carefully, consciously, responsibly and with awe," writes CFC's Frances Kissling. Anyone who thinks such talk of right and wrong betrays reproductive freedom is illiterate. Freedom and responsibility go hand in hand. That's how the word planned ended up in Planned Parenthood.

Actually what's Planned is, of course, a eugenic reduction in the number of babies of color, which is why access is the central concern of birth control advocates.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 21, 2006 8:50 AM