David Spates "Therefore I Am" Published Dec. 17, 2002

I appreciate creative thinking,
even when it's extreme

If a woman in Georgia wanted an abortion, she'd have to convince a judge to sign a death warrant.

Yes, you read that sentence correctly.

Under a bill proposed by Georgia State Rep. Bobby Franklin, fetuses would have legal representation, and the only way a woman could get a legal abortion would be to first - literally and figuratively -- take her fetus to court. A woman would argue that her rights outweigh the rights of her fetus before an abortion could take place.

Do you know what? I like it.

Well, let me clarify. To be precise, I like the creativity. There's nothing that Franklin, me, you or the piano player can do to single-handedly overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, but Franklin is using a little imagination to do what he thinks is best.

Do I agree with his bill? No, not really. Further bogging down the court system isn't going to accomplish much, and Franklin's proposal is extreme. Also, I suspect it would result in more illegal abortions, and I don't think anyone wants that.

No one is too concerned about the bill anyway. It doesn't have a snowball's chance of passing, but like I said, I appreciate the creativity -- attacking a problem from an unexpected angle.

It reminds me of talk a few years ago to place heavy restrictions on ammunition. In essence, what gun opponents were doing was conceding that NOTHING was going to change the Second Amendment. The framers of the Constitution thought enough of gun ownership to list it No. 2 on the Top Ten, and no bureaucrat from Bumble Water, USA, was going to change it.

Therefore, they considered going after the bullets. The Constitution doesn't say anything about bullets, right? It just mentions the arms, i.e. the guns themselves. Sure, a gun without a bullet is about as useful as a car without gasoline, but the Founding Fathers didn't bother to ensure the rights of bullet ownership, now did they? They could have, but they didn't. The gun opponents were attacking the issue from a new angle. I disagree with their intentions, but I applaud their ingenuity.

Is Franklin trying to circumvent the U.S. Supreme Court? Probably, but he's not doing anything illegal. He's working within the framework of civilized society in an effort to make a change for what he feels is in his state's best interest. Based on this one bill, I wouldn't call him a nut or a crackpot. He's just doing what he thinks is right.

"For the last 30 years, these little boys and girls have been receiving the death sentence, but there hasn't been a trial," Franklin is quoted as saying in an Associated Press story. "They've been put to death without any due process. These are little boys and little girls that we need to protect."

Our country is split 50-50 on the abortion issue, and there aren't a lot of people who ride the fence. There are some shades of gray, however. For instance, an abortion at two weeks is different than an abortion at 25 weeks. It's basically an issue of cell count and organ development.

I do, however, agree with Franklin that abortions are too easy and too convenient. It's a major, major decision, and it should be treated as such. Should a woman have to go before a judge and obtain a death warrant? I don't think so, but she should give it careful, considered thought.

Women are going to get abortions, legally or illegally, regardless of what the Supreme Court, the president, Rep. Franklin, yours truly or the piano player has to say about it. I'm not going to say that no woman anywhere should ever have an abortion, but it's a decision that warrants more than a fast-food snap judgment.

Even many abortion opponents oppose Franklin's proposal because it's so extreme. Randy Hicks represents the Georgia Family Council, an anti-abortion group that works to advocate fatherhood, marriage and abstinence (talk about extreme and wacky concepts, eh?). "I understand the sentiment expressed in the bill. I just don't know if it's the best approach," he said.

No, it's probably not the best approach, but it's an innovative one, and an innovative politician who's willing to take a bold move is a rare bird indeed.

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David Spates is a Knoxville resident and Crossville Chronicle contributor whose column is published each Tuesday. He can be reached at davespates@chartertn.net.