Into the Fray

I'm totally out of it today. I'm distracted by the situation with my friend Danielle, which is still going on. She's been in labor since Friday night, with no progress. They're going to give it until tomorrow and then try something more invasive. Which probably means abortion. Now, I'm going to out on a limb here and say something that may be controversial. I think the debate about abortion needs a fundamental overhaul. First, let me state for the record that I am, and always have been, firmly pro-choice. Abortion should be legal. But, like they say in Pulp Fiction, not 100% legal. I think that we need to separate abortions for medical reasons from abortions for choice. In cases where there is a problem with the pregnancy, or the mother, or the baby, abortion should be 100% legal. Doctors should be able to do everything in their power to save mothers and babies and to end pregnancies that cannot continue. Yes, the mother's life should come first, period. However, for cases that are purely choice, (ie, healthy mother, healthy baby, no medical problems), there should be a cut off point past which abortion is no longer an option. Five or six months is plenty of time to make up your mind about whether or not you want to have the baby. And if your situation changes, there is always adoption. There is no reason to end a baby's life as it is being born. At that point, adoption should be the primary option. And we need more services to place those babies in homes. The only non-offensive anti-abortion bumper sticker I've ever seen said, "Don't abort - I'll adopt". We need more people with that attitude. I think so much of this gets lost in the debate about abortion. And it's turned into such a black and white issue - it's either all abortions are 100% legal, or no abortions are legal. There's middle ground, and we need to work together to find it.