For example, the idea that if someone is not allowed to get an abortion,
they are, in effect, being fined for unwanted children -- or, as Obama
put in, "punished." This is pure emotion. Such a statement cannot be
derived from rational thought.

I guess I would have to call myself pro-choice. But I look at the choice
a little further back than most people. You made your choice when you
had sex. Now you want to evade the consequences of your act.

When I do something stupid, or even something intelligent that goes
terribly wrong, the consequences I have to bear as a result are not a
fine or punishment. The erosion of this concept even among groups that
should know better is the most damning result of the abortion debate.

Abortion should not be made illegal -- it is, after all, just a medical
procedure and I for one do not want to open the door to banning
voluntary medical procedures. However, in the absence of a problem
pregnancy, it is strictly an elective procedure, like a nose job or
breast implants. If some medical insurance policies provide it, fine,
but it should not be paid with tax money. Of course, this fits into the
general idea that no medical procedures at all should be paid for with
tax money.

While abortion should not be illegal, there is nothing wrong with
discouraging it. Absolutely it should not be considered, as it seems to
be now, some sort of "rite of passage" into womanhood. It should not be
glorified or held out as some sort of warped ideal.

Nor should it be considered so vitally important that it can be
performed on teen-aged girls without the knowledge of the parents. As
the father of four daughters, it's difficult to not get emotional when I
consider there are people who think their idea that /having/ an abortion
is so critical that it should be performed without parents' knowledge
because of the /possibility/ that the parents may take a different
course. This is a travesty of monumental proportions.

Earlier this year, I heard a Democrat on the radio make a statement to
the effect that he felt sorry for children born into Republican
precincts because Republicans care nothing for children. The implication
was, of course, that Democrats care for children. But if Democrats
really care for children, then it is only the ones that make it /this
side/ of the birth canal. Then ones still on /that side/, even if only
by a few minutes, seem to be considered only as targets to be destroyed.

Human life is the central value of my values, my moral code. While I can
allow for differences of opinion on the subject of abortion, it is
inconceivable that anyone whose values are based on human life can draw
a line where human life has ultimate value on one side but absolutely no
value whatsoever, or even negative value, on the other side.