Richie: I'm going to go out on a limb and be quite honest in a way that will probably get me attacked. But I'm also going to admit to something in the hopes that, although you'll disagree with me, you'll understand me better.

Remember, before I say this, that I have two daughters so don't jump to conclusions.

At conception, it's "life". Human life? Well, it has the *potential*, if everything goes right, to grow up like any other human. But, no, I do not equate a fertilized egg the same as a fully-born person.

That's not to say I don't give a damn - remember, I have two daughters.

But I've cleaned up a miscarriage - and that was the most graphic demonstration to me.

Do I know where that line is? No - and I'll be the first to admit it.

Does it mean that I think someone should be able to walk into a clinic at 8 1/2 months and get an abortion? Hell no. IMO, you had plenty of time to think about it before then.

But when I see a fertilized egg or blastocyte or anything that early on in development, it looks more like hope, potential, blueprints - that sort of thing. What I do NOT see is a thinking, *sentient* human being. Make no mistake - I see the *potential*, but in the same way that an acorn is not a tree, a seed isn't a flower, a piece of sheet metal isn't a car or an undeveloped negative isn't a photograph. I mean, we can freeze fertilized eggs and thaw them out years later. You can't do that with a person (at least not yet).

Go ahead and take your shots.

You can call me "pro-abortion" but that won't make it true. As I said to my wife when she wondered my my ex's rantings didn't get to me as much as she thought they might, I said "She can call me a rhododendron - doesn't mean I'm going to pollenate".