The Donald J Trump of the United States of America continuously sucks all of the oxygen out of the room with his never-ending outrageous antics leaving very little if any for the discussion of other important issues.  One of those issues that are not being discussed is abortion and its nexus to Roe vs. Wade.  Roe vs. Wade has recently come under attack by the Republican Party and is in serious jeopardy of being overturned or at the very least, diluted to the point of being virtually meaningless.

This sudden flurry of laws banning abortion – in many cases without any exceptions for rape or incest, being past in states controlled by Republicans should have a chilling effect on all women who desire to control their own body and an awakening effect on all families.  Whether these distracting events orchestrated by Mr. Trump are by accident or on purpose, all Americans need to take some time and exert whatever amount of effort is required to refocus on how our country is being governed.  I want to take this opportunity to do what I can to assist all voting-age Americans, who might have become sidetracked, and lost their ability to remain focused to refocus.  Hopefully I can do that by way of this article.

For as long as I can remember, Democrats have too often been extremely passive when it comes to how a political issue will be branded and how the narrative of that issue will be set and controlled.  Democrats regularly sit on the sidelines, play by Republicans’ rules (although Republicans constantly break their own rules when it suits their purposes) and allow Republicans to brand political issues, controversial or otherwise, and set the narrative as they deem appropriate.  Why is that?!  For some reason – since Republicans have reverted to giving it their all to overturn Roe vs. Wade by introducing myriads of ridiculous abortion ban bills, their “pro-life” mantra has stuck in my craw.  To be clear, I get sick-and-tired of hearing them ramble on about how they are pro-life and not like those pro-choice Democrats who believe in killing innocent babies.

I am not sure who decided that Democrats should be labeled pro-choice and Republicans labeled pro-life.  Regardless of who chose the labels, to me, to be pro-choice does not automatically preclude one from being pro-life!  Whose life are Republicans talking about anyway?  It is reasonable to assume that they are referring only to the life of the fetus.  But what about the life of the woman who may be the victim of rape or incest; what about the lives of her immediate and extended family, do they matter at all in what impact such a decision will have on their lives?

How many lawmakers would feel the same way if their daughter or loved one was the victim of incest or rape?  Would they feel the same way about abortion; especially in these racially divisive times, would a white lawmaker feel the same way about this law if their daughter was raped by an African American?  Would an African American who favors overturning Roe vs. Wade feel the same way under these same circumstances?  This is an issue that should be argued by reasonable lawmakers under circumstances that are void of the volatile and tribal atmosphere that currently exists in our American politics.

Although this article is primarily meant to draw voters’ attention to the eminent jeopardy that Roe vs. Wade is in due to the nexus between it and a woman’s right to control her own body (in this particular case to choose whether or not to have an abortion), there are two points that I want to leave you with.  Since this article began by addressing the words “pro-choice” and “pro-life” – while at the same time addressing my loathing of the word “pro-life” being in essence identified as the antonym of “pro-choice, I will address that issue first.  My first point is that regardless of who chose the words “pro-choice” and pro-life”, it is time for all Democrats to step up now and stop using the word “pro-life” and begin using the word “anti-choice” instead.

During any discourse about abortion, whether or not Republicans use the word “pro-life”, Democrats should use the word “anti-choice.”  Pro-choice is not synonymous with anti-life.  We must stop allowing our opponents to brand the issue and frame the narrative so that it suites them and then spin or change those things when they no longer suit them.  My second point is closely related to the suggestion to stop using the word “pro-life” as it relates to any discussion regarding abortion: and that has to do with Democrats regularly acquiescing to Republicans on issues that Democrats oppose them on, complacently accepting Republicans’ branding of these issues and allowing them to control the narrative.  Democrats should stop automatically giving Republicans the gift of acquiescence now and seriously weigh in on the branding and framing of the narrative on these issues.

This issue regarding abortion and Roe vs. Wade is not just a women’s issue, it is a family issue and it is an issue that impacts on all Americans.  Accordingly, all Americans should come together and demand that our elected officials resolve this issue in a reasonable way.  In order for them to resolve it in a reasonable way the discourse associated with it must be conducted in an atmosphere free of tribalism and partisanship.  All voting-age Americans have a part to play in this; first, we must forsake divisiveness, resist our impulse to resort to tribalism and return to being reasonable with one another.  Then, we must work together to put reasonable politicians – whether they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents – into office.  This way we can agree to disagree while remaining civil: politicians will be able to do the job that they were elected to do and America will be better for it.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line