The Weekly Standard‘s Fred Barnes takes up the question of why “pro-choice” people change positions and become pro-life. Barnes looks at some anecdotal test cases of Ronald Reagan, Henry Hyde, Ramesh Ponnuru, Wesley Smith, and himself. Barnes concludes:
“So think for a moment about these five experiences: Reagan’s deciding on signing an abortion bill, Hyde’s mulling whether to co-sponsor a pro-abortion measure, Ponnuru’s watching as the Summer of Mercy unfold, Smith’s reading pro-euthanasia tracts as his dead friend’s home, and our–my wife and I–adverse reaction to amniocentesis. One common thread is obvious. All of us, because of the circumstances we found ourselves in, were forced to think about the taking of a life and what that means in both practical and moral terms. Most people avoid thinking about troubling moral issues like abortion or euthanasia. We couldn’t.
“And the other common thread is that something happened to make us choose life and choose it firmly and reject death. I think it was our conscience that intervened or, if you prefer, the basic human instinct that favors life over death. Or it you are a Christian, as I am, it was God.
“Now I’m sure there are many exceptions to our experience. Not everyone who contemplates abortion or euthanasia is bound to take the intellectual path that five of us–six, including my wife–did on the way to becoming pro-lifers. But I suspect there are many more than like us than not. And many more to come.”
