I just got done participating in a very stimulating open discussion on the issue of abortion. What stuck me most surprising were the similarities in beliefs on both sides of this very polarizing topic. Although I am sure my beliefs will become apparent to you, I feel I must disclose that I am very much pro-life. Also, I am not writing this to change anyone's belief, but rather to present mine. As I have just experienced, the only way to grow is through understanding and that can only be done through civil discussion.
    There seems to be a large amount of stereotyping that occurs on both sides: pro-choice people supposedly do not respect life and pro-life people supposedly base their decisions on their religious views. I believe most people would think that my stance is derived from the fact that I am a Catholic, however, that simply isn't true. I vehemently am against imposing the teachings of my religion on another person. So I have tried to form my opinion of abortion completely separate from it and I believe that that gives me much more solid ground to stand on and a much stronger argument against abortion.
    At the center of the debate is the question of where life begins. It is much too easy to say that life begins at birth or even that life begins when it can support itself outside of the womb. Nothing in this world can support itself in life completely independently. Every animal depends on plants for food and oxygen and every plant depends on animals for carbon dioxide and nutrients. That is the circle of life and therefore a fetus' dependence upon the womb for its nutrients and oxygen does not mean it is not a life. Scientifically life begins at conception with the division of cells and grows in only a few weeks to a functioning heart and neuronal activity.
    Back to the less scientific level of the debate I think the vast majority of people that believe in choice don't believe that abortion is a good thing and that its use should be kept at a minimum. Very few truly believe that abortion is just a continuation of birth control or that its use in this manner is morally acceptable. Rather I think most pro-choice people base their decision on the belief that it is the mother's right to decide what happens within her body. This is something that I fully agree with, however, I draw the distinction at another point.
    You will be very hard pressed to find someone, even a prepubescent teen, that does not know sex can lead to pregnancy and life. I believe that this is where choice is a factor. I believe anyone that has sex needs to be ready to accept the well known consequence of pregnancy. Also contraceptive use is not 100% effective, so anyone that uses this to avoid pregnancy, myself included, must be willing to accept the possibility of producing life and the responsibilities that accompany it. A major argument can be made here for the case of incest and rape, where this choice does not exist. However, those must be considered cases of exception and treated separately from the main issue of abortion.
    Another major argument for choice is the risk of maternal death caused by illegal abortion. According to data from the National Center for Health Statistics (http://www.physiciansforlife.org/content/view/9/47/) from 1950 to RvW there were less than 250 estimated maternal deaths per year due to illegal abortions. Are less than 250 adult lives worth the lives of the estimated 1.3 million babies aborted legally each year? That is 1 life for every 5200 aborted. Hard numbers to swallow.
    There is also the argument that many of the abortions performed prevent a child from growing up in an unloving, abusive environment. Making this argument is proposing that the child's life would not be worth living and is supporting imposing that belief on an unborn child seemingly as a favor. I believe that every life is worth living.
    As a summary to an attempt to explain my beliefs I would just like to say that every problem that faces our society today seems to stem from one thing, the refusal to accept the consequences of our actions as our own responsibility.