Thank you Wind,... for joining in and saying so.
Like you, I used to be "pro-choice" on abortion.
My position was the (now all too familiar) "I don't personally like abortion,... but who am I to tell others,... blah blah blah"
Sound familiar?
If it's not too much to ask,... could you share some of the circumstances that changed your mind?
(please God, don't let it be for religious reasons)
I used to believe in the concept of a 'soul' entering the body or fetus at some stage in development of the fetus. Now I think more in terms of consciousness entering at the time of fertilization and implantation.
So the 'morning after pill' IMO is not an abortion because it prevents the fertilized egg from implanting. At the point of cell division
and implantation life begins.
JMO.
I have 'spiritual reasons' as well. I think it's still a terrible position to be in to have an unwanted pregnancy. But these days, culturally, we can live with unmarried women raising their children alone. That was not the case pre-Roe v Wade. I remember women who took their own lives, who died in back alley or coat hanger procedures, who died of infections. I remember a time when some women were not permitted to have any kind of contraception or choice of being sexual.
I consider myself in favor of a woman's right to choose. I have more reservations about what circumstances constitute the levity to make that decision than I used to.
Generally, I think it's best for the woman to carry the pregnancy to term and to put her child up for adoption if she is unable or unwilling to raise the child.
What about in cases of rape or incest or medical danger to a woman's health?
Don't you think there are some circumstances that should be weighed in the decision?
I once worked in family planning. I could not, at this time.in good conscience counsel a woman to have an abortion unless she had been raped or sexually molested by a relative or at risk of dying. If the woman was suicidal, I would take that into consideration. I still think it's best for the woman to carry the pregnancy to term, but if she is at risk of taking her own life, that would give me pause.
If a woman dies from child birth, suicide, infection or an unsafe procedure two deaths have occurred. I'd prefer no deaths at all on my watch, and when it is absolutely necessary, I would rather only one death than two.