Abortion: Eliminate or Reduce?

Tony Jones, a leader in the emergent movement, posted on his blog about a confrence call with staffers from the Obama campaign that steered into a discussion of abortion. The actual post is pretty pedestrian, but I want to direct you toward the comments section - especailly to a discussion between Zach Nielsen (he of Vitamin Z fame) and Carla Jo about whether to combat abortion by making it illegal or attacking underlying social causes. Their discussion was civil and explored a lot of tough questions, making it great reading for anyone on either side who wants to take this paramount issue seriously. It's a lengthy one, but take time and follow the discussion through to the end. I'll tip my hand (hey, it's my blog after all) and say that I think Z gets it dead-on right. I don't argue for a second with the proposition that we should attack social ills that lead to abortion, but I think that using that argument in place of legal protection for the unborn is a colossal mistake - as well as intellectualy nonsensical.