Pro-Choice or Pro-Life

      I find myself thinking about my position on the abortion debate after reading this article.

      For a long time I associated myself with the pro-life side of the abortion debate. I felt that, as unsure as we are about when exactly a person should be deemed alive, we should, if anything, err on the side of caution. Within the last few months, however, I have found myself drifting more towards the pro-choice side of the argument. Why is this? A number of reasons.

     First and foremost, I do not believe the right to choose extends past 3 months. If a fetus has made it a third of the way through development it has the right to try and make it all the way. Is this an arbitrary number? Maybe it is, but to me it feels right. It is a compromise between the inner arguments. I may be pro-choice, but there are still some reservations.

      That said, I have come to believe that a fetus is not a person until birth. While I think the penalties for illegally aborting a fetus should be greater, I no longer see it as murder. Abortion is an option for people who aren’t ready to have children. I’d much rather see a child not being brought into this world then one brought into an environment that is hostile, or at least less-then-caring.

     Finally, I see the actions of those on both sides of the argument. The news is constantly reporting on pro-life and pro-choice demonstrations. However, it has occurred to me that far more often I see violence associated with those people who believe abortion is murder. How is it that these people who are supposedly pro-life are injuring, maiming and killing their opposition? To me this is the ultimate hypocrisy. To me, this, if nothing else, is a reason to be pro-choice.

      I don’t pretend to have all the answers, nor am I telling you that you should be pro-choice. I merely feel the need to point out this sad fact.