a Matter of Faith, Biden Says Life Begins at Conception by KATE PHILLIPS

In the 2008 Presidential election, many things are changing. Besides an African American running for President, and a woman is running for VP, candidates are changing traditional party views. In the New York Times article, “As a Matter of Faith, Biden Says Life Begins at Conception,” Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. declared his beliefs about abortion, which differs greatly from his party doctrine. Sarah Palin is highly praised for taking her pro-life beliefs seriously enough to have a child with Down syndrome, but Biden is cheering for the same team. In the NYT, Biden says “I’m prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life beings at the moment of conception.” Republicans and democrats have a hard choice ahead since party lines are beginning to blur on the issue. While he does not condemn abortion, Obama does concede that it is a moral issue. However, he believes that the choice should remain with the parents. Obama said in the NYT, “I don’t think that the government criminalizing the choices that families make is the best answer for reducing abortions. I think the better answer… is to figure out, how do we make sure that young mothers, or women who have a pregnancy that’s unexpected or difficult, have the kind of support they need to make a whole range of choices, including adoption and keeping the child.” While morally, I am opposed to abortion, I am also opposed to young women dying in botched attempts to rid themselves of a pregnancy. In countries where abortions are banned, almost 68,000 women die every year by either trying to do it themselves or in back alley clinics, says the UK publication, The Guardian. McCain has long expressed his belief in abstinence-until-marriage only sex education in schools. While this is admirable goal, it is not realistic. As much as we would like the American youth to wait until marriage to have sex, many don’t. In fact, in 2005 at least one third of women under the age of 20 experienced a pregnancy, as reported by Kaiser Family Foundation. While the correlation between sex education and abortion is sometimes difficult to see, we must realize that they directly affect each other. It is my experience that women without a basic knowledge of sex aren’t prevented from having it. At twenty years old, every single one of my peers should know how to use birth control, and how the male and females body work sexually. Time and time again I have been coerced into explaining things that should have been taught in the early stages of puberty. Sexual education needs to continue if only to prepare men and women for lives after marriage. If they learn that sex is a dirty word and forbidden to talk about it, they will never ask what they need to or if they do, it could be to the uninformed. Can you blame someone for having sex when they did not know what it was or how it was performed?