FAMILY/SOCIAL ISSUES

I believe strongly that more needs to be done to encourage good parenting, strong families, and familial responsibility and to discourage abortion. Though I believe there must be reasonable legal allowances for abortion in cases of rape, incest, and danger to the mother’s well being, I believe that abortion for convenience is socially, morally, and spiritually damaging, deadening our collective sensitivity to the preciousness of life. Given that we are dealing with the state of people's hearts, I believe persuasion and positive examples are at least as essential as legislation in bringing about changes. For me, being “pro-life” is an attitude that should govern my decisions and actions in general, an attitude I want to encourage in others but that cannot be completely mandated by law. Much can be done, however, to encourage and facilitate adoption as an alternative to abortion and otherwise to foster an attitude of reverence for human life. For the official position concerning abortion of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (to which I belong), see http://www.newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/public-issues/abortion.

I favor defining marriage legally as a relationship involving one man and one woman. But I also believe that civil unions or other arrangements should allow for non-married couples to have visitation and other rights comparable to some of the rights available to married couples. Though certain behavior and living arrangements conflict with my religious and moral convictions, I believe that those who choose ways of life I disapprove of must be guaranteed the civil liberties and protections accorded to all of us and that I must treat them with respect.

I believe it is wrong and unfortunate when these "hot button" issues become occasions for demeaning and demonizing others and engaging in contentious shouting matches. While people of good will may disagree on these and other issues, I hope that we can work together to do more than simply make abortion or gay marriage illegal but that we can change policies that have a negative impact on families and, even more importantly, change hearts and minds by example and by intelligent, civil discussion.