I do personally oppose using hormones because of the health effects.

I welcome the discussion too

Out of interest, what’s your opinion on the morning after pill?

One of the things you said was that you could not provide a life for your child. In your case, you do not seem to be bothered by your abortion, so what I am about to say really doesn’t apply to you.

There are a lot of women who are really upset about having had an abortion, but they felt they had to because they couldn’t provide a life for their child. I became pregnant when I was single, still in college, and I was only 20. I certainly was in no position to provide a life for my child. But, somehow I did.

It is common for the pro-choice side to come out with rhetoric about how bad it would be for women to have to have children when they are not financially ready and the result is that most people think you cannot have a child unless you are financially ready. This is not true. As a result, many women feel like they have no other choice, which is sad.

Susan (and Audrey), I have heard that before, too, that an abortion is not killing because so many fetuses are spontaneously aborted, or miscarried. That would be like me saying, if I killed someone, “Well, people die of natural causes all of the time.” It’s just not logical.

Sometimes people die at a young age of heart attacks, aneurisms, or other freak things. Sometimes fetuses die of natural causes, too. It just happens. I don’t think God is doing it, or if He is, I am sure He has a reason. Either way, we do not have the right to end a life, regardless of how many are ended naturally.

At the same time, Audrey, I want you to know that I do not think badly of you or think you are a bad person.

I hope you didn’t think I was being rude with my comment. It’s an emotive issue of course, but I was just giving my perspective on it. Obviously I would never force someone to abort a baby because economically I thought it was the right thing to do.

And I certainly agree that less abortions would be a good thing. I think a lot of the problem there seems to be the approach to sex education in your country. It’s very different here in Australia and i think abstinence only education is just about the most damaging way you can approach it. Kids are going to have sex with each other. That, like abortion, will never change.

Susan, I don’t consider foetuses to be human beings. I think that’s a fundamental difference we’ll never agree on. And I don’t think that the primary reason for having sex is to procreate. Perhaps it is biologically, but humans are emotional creatures also and thus engage in sex for many different reasons. Procreation is, for me, certainly not the primary one.

I do agree that human life is viewed as disposable, but I suppose I see more evidence of that in the way we wilfully march off to war or discount the thousands of lives that are lost in natural disasters throughout Asia. Generally speaking I think we in the west don’t care much about these lost lives. For the record, I consider established lives to be of more importance than potential lives so it’s interesting that more people don’t rally against these unfair deaths.

As Christians (which I am not) I’m interested in your opinion on miscarriage too. Is this God taking a child’s life or nature? What’s the difference?

My “choice” was engaging in the activity (having sex) that led to conceiving my child. My “choice” is not killing off another human being – simply because it’s inconvenient at the time or I find being pregnant uncomfortable or “yucky”. Or even that I don’t want children.

I worry that human life has become viewed as disposable in today’s society. And that many times abortion is used to correct an “oops!” – or a way to escape personal responsiblity for one’s actions.

If becoming pregnant is that emotionally damaging to one’s pysche, then perhaps one ought not to engage in any action that may lead to the unwanted result.

I would be interested in Charity’s thoughts on the concept that miscarriage and not conceiving when having intercourse is akin to abortion. There have been recent letters in the Concord Monitor (NH) on that very topic. See : http://www.concordmonitor.com – select letters under opinion.

I was not trying to say that all women who have abortions are not educated about it, only that a lot of times that happens and it should not. Every woman should know about pregnancy prevention, what an abortion involves, and the other options available.

I do not think that no woman ever will want one even when everyone has been educated, but I do think it will reduce them dramatically.

Instead of being insulted at what I said because you did not have emotional scars, you should be thankful. I knew over a half-dozen close friends of mine who had abortions when I was in college. They were all scarred. One couldn’t even bring herself to see me after I had my child because it was too painful, as she told me later.

Also, I have to note that I did not mean to say that it is as easy as getting your nails done, but that many women perceive it that way (before going through it) because of how we talk about it.

I do have to ask though, if being pregnant was so hard on you, why did you not prevent it? (Sorry if that is addressed in your post.)

You and I will never agree on this issue, simply because I do not view a fetus as a parasite, but as a child. This is one area that will not be reconciled.

I do not think that yours is the prevailing view in this country though. Most women (and men) think abortion should only be used in the cases of rape and incest, or if the health or life of the mother is in danger. Most Americans do not think it should be used as birth control and I am convinced that education would help put an end to those abortions (which are the majority).

Another point, I heard recently (from a feminist, no less) that most abortions happen because the woman felt she had no other choice. That breaks my heart. That is what I want to see an end to. No woman should ever be in that position.

I don’t believe it’s murder to rid the body of an organism that essentially acts as a parasite to the mother. There are some women who do not have the inclination to have children, and the idea of carrying a baby is to them more emotionally damaging than having an abortion.

I think it’s patronising to suggest that women who choose to abort have been taken in by the idea that it is the only option. I also am really offended by your statement that having an abortion is as easy as ‘having your nails done’. While I found the decision, as I said, to be a very easy one to make, it wasn’t equal to a day at the salon. My body was in physical discomfort due to being pregnant and the hormonal imbalance I felt was anything but pleasant. Having to wait to have the termination was also emotionally draining. Unless you’ve made the decision yourself, I would be very careful about making such sweeping generalisations.

You may be interested in reading the piece I wrote about my own abortion. It’s not graphic, but it does explain a lot of my own feelings at the time. I warn you though, it is a piece that refuses to apologise or feel guilt for the decision that I made. If you feel that this will offend you, you may choose not to read it.

You can find it here.