Social Conservatives

“The last thing a foster child needs is to be brought up in a home where he has two dads or two mums.” – 26 August 2008.

 

“It is empirically evident that two homosexual adults are less able unable to provide children with the stability and security that is essential for every child as he or she grows up.” – Monday, 4 May 2009

 

“I am very sad to hear of Gottlieb’s death, however I find it strange that Helen Clark should attempt to resuscitate this man – and yet have no problem with the fact that 50 young New Zealanders died from abortion today.”- 14 August 2008.

 

 

 The above quotes are taken from Pro-Life UC member Andy Moore’s blog “Starstuddedsuperstep.com”. It’s one of the blogs I read regularly, as Andy is a strong and active example of the Christian Right in New Zealand. Andy’s politics are (as the above quote’s should emphasise) a VERY long way away from mine. Andy is strongly anti-abortion, strongly against any gay marriage, and strongly against the idea of same sex couples being able to adopt. I’ve picked on Andy here because I know he’s active enough in politics to stand up to any criticism I have of his politics. He’s actively involved in Pro-Life UC, is a vital part in one of the best performing youth politics groups in New Zealand in ACT on Campus and runs a blog. He’s dedicated to what he believes in.

 

Unfortunately, for Andy, and others like him, they are in the unenviable position of holding very strong minority views in a country that is for the large part, extremely socially liberal. In today’s column we’re going to examine the ways in which Andy’s position is about to get even worse, and the way in which the Christian Right in New Zealand has to react to the coming changes, if they are to stay (some would argue become) a viable political force in New Zealand.

 

On a number of key legislative issues, gay rights and abortions, Andy and The Christian Right are simply on the wrong side of public opinion. Andy’s article in last weeks Canta about the recent high court activates around New Zealand’s abortion law (if you haven’t read it, go do so now) illustrated the current situation very well. Basically, the law that currently governs Abortion in New Zealand was written by the Muldoon Government, aiming to limit abortions. However due to what is essentially a loophole in the law, thousands of abortions each year are preformed on “mental health” grounds. The current situation is a weird sort of unintended compromise, Abortion is technically illegal in most cases, were the law to be strictly applied, but since it isn’t, we have legalised abortion. For the majority of New Zealanders who believe in abortion on demand, this isn’t really an issue. However if like Andy you believe that legalised Abortion is murdering thousands of New Zealander’s a year, it’s understandably an issue. It’s becoming clear that new legislation is needed the clarify the legal quagmire surrounding abortion, and set out exactly what this countries stance on abortion is.

 

When that law is passed, I can damn near guarantee Andy is going to be pissed off. The social consensus in New Zealand is massively in favour of providing abortions to women that make the difficult choice of having an abortion. We believe it is the women’s choice, and if she does choose to have an abortion, there should be as few barriers in the way as possible. Both National and Labour agree on this, yet neither party wants to push through any new legislation because the current mess is easier politically, as it achieves the goals of pro-choice politics while avoiding the uproar from the Christian Right that any new law would cause.

 

As another excellent article in Canta last week argued, serious reform to allow same sex couples to adopt children as a couple should be on the way, and fast. There is zero reason to think that if New Zealand is happy with letting same sex couples get married via a civil union, we would then want to deny them the chance to raise a family, one of the most fundamental joys in life. There is also, despite what those n the right say, any evidence to suggest that being gay intrinsically makes you “unable to provide children with the stability and security that is essential for every child as he or she grows up”.

 

Changes to abortion and gay adoption laws need to happen soon so that the laws of our country can reflect the socially liberal views of the majority of our citizens.

 

The Christian Right’s first reaction is going to be to oppose such moves, and forcefully. The uproar and protests of the Civil Union legislation should come to mind whenever we think about what will happen if anybody tries to pass such greatly needed reform.

 

 

However much these reforms may grate against the beliefs of some, they are going to be inevitable. Political strategy for people like Andy needs to reflect this.

 

Because once we all accept that these laws are coming, we can set to work finding ways to make sure they please as many New Zealanders as possible. Abortion law reform is coming, and because the majority of New Zealanders favour abortion on demand, that’s the way the law is going to look. That doesn’t mean however that the Christian right can’t negotiate in good faith to make sure that mandated ultrasounds are required before any abortion, a powerful tool for making women face the reality of their decision. Just because Same Sex Adoption laws are going to be passed, doesn’t mean the Christian Right can’t push for tighter rules in the adoption process to make sure that only parents that can prove they can take care of a child can adopt. The aim here HAS to be to create laws that as many New Zealanders as possible can be happy with. That’s the whole point of Democracy.

 

The quotes at the top of the article were cherry picked from Andy’s blog to show how even intelligent, dedicated activist’s like Andy can slip into really rabid rhetoric. Insinuating that Helen Clark shouldn’t try to save a dieing friend, since she believes in abortion, is not going to win you any friends amongst moderates. The challenge Andy and people like him face is to present their views in constructive ways that don’t loose them moderate support, and with it their only chance to make serious political gains despite their minority position.

 

The trick with minority politics is to remember that just because you can’t get EVERYTHING you want, doesn’t mean you can’t get some. If the Christian Right chooses the same sort of aggressive rhetoric they are used to using, the next few years are going to see some painful legislative losses for them.

 

Ps

 

I’m plugging Andy’s blog now. http://www.starstuddedsuperstep.com/ It’s actually a pretty interesting read if you want well thought out explanations of political positions you might not agree with. Unless your really Christian and Libertarian. In which case, it’ll be a really well thought out explanation of political positions you do agree with. Neato!