Pro Choice / Pro Life - who is winning the "Culture war"

[Citizen James]

The Democrats will eventually win. Younger people are more tolerant. A majority of those under 30 favor gay marriage (no, not civil unions, marriage).

Younger people are always more liberal. It's not that as they grow up they will necessarily stay that way.

I don't know if that's nessisarally true.  I think the seeming change comes from people staying the same while society becomes gradually more liberal.  For people in their 90's, the norm of their youth was women couldn't vote.  For people in their 60's and 70's, the norm of their youth was segragation throughout society.   Personally, I consider myself to have become a bit more liberal with age, and yet I consider tounge piercing 'wierd'.

[Citizen James]

"The" abortion debate is actually 2 debates.

Could you elucidate on that some.

I don't disagree,  I think there are two seperate debates - one of whether or not it should be legal, the other of morality, dividing people into three or four different groups depending on how you count.

Legal/ morally acceptable.
Legal/ morally questionable
illegal/morally reprehensible.

I seriously doubt there is are many supporters of the position illegal/morally acceptable.  Though one could subdivide the illegal group into those who are 'pro-life' (also opposing war, euthinasia, and capital punishment), and those who are simply anti-abortion.

Still, it could further be argued that there are even more groupings available as not everyone takes the polar positions of illegal always, or legal always.  Probably the rough center ground is 'first trimester' or the health of the mother.

In terms of winning, the anti-abortion side has been fairly successful in exploiting wedge issues to their advantage but does not completely dominate public opinion, so I vote #2.