Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade — a decision that effectively rendered any anti-abortion laws unenforcable. After three decades, not much has been changed, even after several conservative presidents have done their best to appoint conservative justices to the high court. President Bush has shown sympathy for the pro-life cause, appointing Ashcroft and nominating conservative judges for the federal bench, but it’s become clear that short of a reversal in the high court, Roe will remain the law.

It’s interesting to note that ALL of the Democratic candidates that have thrown their names into the race are pro-choide. And this is the party of diversity and free thought? Is there no room in the Democratic Party for a pro-life candidate?

Both sides do their best to use the issue to raise money for their respective causes, but nothing much has been done to address the problem of unwanted pregnancy. I’ve always asserted that neither pro-life or pro-choice groups want the abortion rate to increase, so rather than trying to outlaw or protect abortion laws, why don’t we find ways to reduce unwanted pregnancies and render abortion extinct? The abortion rate continues to drop in this country, due in large part to sex education programs that have taught women about contraception and abstinence as a real choice.

I can’t imagine that there is anyone who feels comfortable with 15 or 16 year-old girls having sex, much less choosing to have an abortion after they get pregnant. Further, it is rather unsettling that most women who have abortions do so as a means of birth control, and increasingly, the average age of women getting abortions rises steadily each year.

The other issue is the business of abortion clinics. Those who lobby so hard to keep abortion legal tend to suggest that they are doing so out of some sincere conviction of women’s rights. But we should be discerning enough to ask questions about the economics of the abortion industry as a motivating factor that keeps abortion legal. I think we are long past due for some cooperation among pro-life and pro-choice groups on this issue.