THE BIGGEST thing in Virginia politics lately other than George Allen's racial faux pas is the Marshall-Newman Amendment. The amendment seeks to write marriage as "a union between one man and one woman" into the Virginia Constitution. The heated rhetoric employed by those on both sides of this debate comes as no surprise, but what is truly amazing is the general agreement to decide such moral matters by a plebiscite -- the amendment appears on ballots statewide this November. The same, however, cannot be said of the abortion debate. With the notable exception of South Dakota's upcoming referendum, abortion issues have been decided by the courts, not the voters.
The issues underlying the abortion and gay marriage debates are very similar; both involve moral philosophy, theology and values. Yet as states line up to place gay marriage referenda on the ballot, the abortion issue has been hijacked from the voters into the realm of unelected judges. If I can claim a guiding philosophy to my political views, it's that I don't presume to know what other people want or ought to believe better than they do. Such a belief in individual liberty harkens back to the day of our founding fathers and is enshrined in our Constitution. Unfortunately, in today's polarized political climate, such equanimous views are brushed aside by hardliners on both sides who claim to know what's best for all.
Planned Parenthood's Web site proclaims that all women "have the right to seek and obtain
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