Originally Posted by djplong

Richie: I hope we can keep this civil. But let me outline where I think we agree and disagree a little.

You believe in "it's a child at conception"? Honest question - but that's what I'm led to understand based on your posts. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

The equivalent of my belief is - at that moment - it's a blueprint. It's a single-cell organism that has the possibility to become a child - and there are a lot of things working against it before you get to things like abortions and IUDs.

By the same token, the idea of walking into some clinic when you're practically at term for an abortion (which pretty much doesn't happen because every state has restrictions on late-term abortions - which Roe v. Wade allows) is repugnant to me.

I've had to clean up the results of a miscarriage. And that's as graphic as I hope to get on this subject. I'd be lying if I said that didn't influence my opinions.

The overwhelming percentage of abortions are done in the first trimester - usually in the 2nd month. Pro-lifers will try to point out there there could be a beating heart later in that trimester. Pro-choicers will point out that it's a single-chamber heart (less developed than a frog's) and that, on sight, you wouldn't be able to visually tell the difference between a human and chicken embryo. ...and so begins the politicizing, the shouting, screaming, protesting, etc, etc.

I see reasons why couples (or single women for that matter) could be forced by situation into later term abortions. Anencephaly, Tay-Sachs - things like that. At that point, I have a disconnect with more social conservatives who would not only ban such abortions but also don't want to pay for the extraordinary health care costs that SOMEONE will have to pay if these go to term. I don't mean to be snarky, but not everyone has a Senator's health care plan.

I won't argue that some are careless and "callously" discard what they're carrying, whether you consider it a child or even only potential. But, in my experience, it's not always like that. In fact, in my experience, it's a VERY serious decision. And, yes, I've been confronted with it personally. When you have to make that decision. WHaen you're barely scraping by and you just discovered that the treatments you just had that ran all kinds of radiation through you were done when you didn't know that you were just a couple days pregnant.. When the doctor tells you what the odds are. Well, let's say that you have some SERIOUS thinking to do.

And, staying on that personal note, we DID have another child afterwards when things were a LOT more stable. Our 2nd daughter was planned, wanted, loved and is now in college working her tail off to pay tuition.

I suppose what I'm trying to get across is that it's more than the slogans thrown around on both sides. ABortion isn't the disease - it's the symptom. You get a better way of preventing unwanted pregnancies and you'll "cure" abortion. I will agree with you in one area where I *think* we agree. Every child should be wanted and loved.