When pro-choice means choosing to leave

Amy Sullivan wrote an article recently in the Boston Globe lamenting the myopic vision of many of those in the pro-choice community. Various pro-choice groups, she insists, are hurting themselves by refusing to back (or at least, not oppose) any of the moderate pro-lifer democrats. To be pro-life, it would seem, is the deadliest of sins to this group. One of the greatest misfortunes in this whole abortion debate is the way we define ourselves. Pro-life and pro-choice have been defined by the extremes, leaving very little room for the rest of us to set up camp. When someone like Kerry or Hillary Clinton makes a speech calling for the democratic tent to include pro-lifers, the far left suddenly cries out betrayal. But politics is about more than one single issue. Those who argue that pro-choice is THE core tenant of the democratic party miss the point as badly as those conservatives who say that pro-life = republican = Christian. Believe as you wish, but I'd rather be in a tent with folks who can come to some sort of compromise than those who insist on their way.