Palin teen’s pregnancy refocuses ‘08 race

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Being a teen mother is no laughing matter. Being the brunt of “baby bombshell” and “Juno” jokes is no fun, either.

Like the mother of Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, I became pregnant with my first child at 18 years of age and was a married mother a year later. I know of what I speak.

When faced with that untimely situation, neither of us had any “decision” to make about carrying our pregnancies to term. Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion, was not the law of the land in the late ‘60s.

So I noted with some confusion how Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, now vice-presidential running mate of Sen. John McCain, asked for privacy for her family when the 44-year-old political novice knowingly chose to put her husband and five children in the public spotlight.

This is a “teachable moment” about family values not to be missed by any parent.

Even more puzzling is how Mrs. Palin chose to use the term “decision” in her statement explaining the weekend revelation that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant and has chosen to give birth and marry.

What decision? What choice? Isn’t Mrs. Palin a staunch opponent of abortion, even in cases of rape and incest?

Don’t she and Mr. McCain hanker to overturn Roe v. Wade, taking medical life-altering decisions from women - including her daughters - as if it was still the late ‘60s?

Clearly, Mr. McCain selected Mrs. Palin as his running mate to set a blaze under the Republican Party’s smoldering right-wing base, primarily for her ultraconservative stance on social issues, especially abortion.

Still, Mr. McCain surely did not select Mrs. Palin hoping to woo great hordes of the dejected feminist supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who lost her scrappy bid to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. Mr. McCain is bound to discover that not just any woman will do.

With Mrs. Palin on his ticket, Mr. McCain now turns up the heat on abortion and the age-old problem of teen pregnancy that had been backburner issues in this election.

But on the issue of reproductive rights, women are far from one accord. Both sides harbor equally passionate partisans who are likely to be driven to the polls to vote.

Whether the abortion issue will give Mr. McCain the bump he desires in the polls among women will depend on whether conservative women rally behind the cause.

For his part, during his nomination acceptance speech in Denver last week, Mr. Obama said, “We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.”

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