I am one of those non-extreme, focus on the rational types. I would prefer there were never another abortion wanted or performed, but also recognize that making abortions illegal will not make them go away, or arguably reduce them either. That makes me one of those pro-life & pro-choice types, I suppose. But that's not my point...
My brother and his wife were unable to conceive a child the usual way. This left in vitro fertilization as the only viable method of having a child. This process takes the several of the mother's eggs and father's sperm, and fertilizes the egg outside the mother's body. The best three or four fertilized eggs are then selected and implanted into the mother, with the hopes one of them will attach and the mother will become pregnant. Some of those fertilized eggs will necessarily die in the process. The unused fertilized eggs will be frozen for possible later use, or discarded altogether. No matter what, the in vitro process will necessarily result in the destruction of some fertilized eggs, either by the lab or the mother's body.
This, being the funtional equivilent of an abortion, should be just as objected to by those who hold human life begins at conception, with all the full moral and legal rights to life as anyone one else. I rarely see this among anti-abortionists.
For those of you who absolutely believe human rights begin at conception, then you must also believe my brother should not have is son right now. I cannot agree with that position, especially knowing my nephew.
It is exactly these kinds of difficult issues that require me to take a more moderate view on the abortion issue. I cannot put the recently fertilized egg on the same level as fully grown adult, newborn child, or even a fetus at 8 months of pregnancy. Qualitatively, it isn't even close. Where to draw the line is a very difficult question - and one I don't pretend to have an answer to, nor will I adopt an arbitrary bright line for its convenience and ease. Thus I reject either extreme of attaching human rights as early as the moment of fertilization or as late as physical birth. The law in the U.S. recongizes this difficultly, and this grey area, as do I.
So, while we currently choose to divide on this issue, I suggest we work harder to find common ground. Let us all work together to vastly decrease the reasons one would want to have an abortion. Let us ensure that no woman who is pregant will ever have to worry about the future for her unborn child whether or not she chooses to keep it or give it up for adoption. Let us drop the enflamatory language and words, such as "murder," and work towards viable solutions. Making abortion illegal will not make abortions go away, so lets work towards real answers on both sides.
My 2 cents.
