Editorial: Preventing abortions

Friday, March 18, 2005 | 9:26 a.m.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., are sponsoring legislation that would reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. Among the bill's provisions are an education program that would inform women about emergency contraception that is available and a requirement that insurance companies offer contraception, including birth control pills, as part of their health plans.

Reid, who opposes abortion, has noted that almost half of the 3 million unintended pregnancies that occur each year in the United States end in abortion. It would seem imperative then for members of Congress, whether they view themselves as "pro-choice" or "pro-life," to support the legislation. But the Reid-Clinton plan hasn't yet garnered the support it deserves. Earlier this month the Associated Press reported that Republican leaders had essentially ignored the legislation. Some religious and conservative groups that oppose abortion are against sex education and contraception, instead preferring abstinence counseling -- but the reality is that's not enough.

As Reid has noted, abortion creates deep divisions within our society, and the issue doesn't easily lend itself to finding common ground. But this is legislation that rises above the politics and partisanship that too frequently have infused this issue. Our society should do everything possible to prevent abortion in the first place -- and the Reid-Clinton plan is a good start.