My Response

You say: "I have to wonder why you believe that your opinion is so important, so vital, that you absolutely must deliver this message to anyone who might not share that opinion. But control issues aside, perhaps by posting in forums such as this, creating a Web page, paying for an ad in the local paper, or perhaps having your own cable access show would be good opportunities for you to let others know how you feel. Approaching people randomly is exhausting and will reach the fewest numbers possible."

I believe my opinion is important because of personal experience. I believe that I have a responsibility to share my experience with anyone who doesn't share my opinion because, to me, an abortion means the death of a baby. Put yourself in my place for a second. I believe with all of my heart and mind that an unborn baby is a life that deserves to be protected. To admit that someone else has the right to a different opinion is the same to me as saying to a Nazi that they are entitled to believe that Jews should be exterminated. It may be true that they are, in some abstract way, entitled to that opinion, but it is horrific to admit. Having said all of that however, let me make it clear that I have no desire whatsoever to approach women on their way to a clinic. You are right that it reaches far too few people and if a woman goes in anyway despite what you are saying to her, you feel as if you have just allowed a murder to occur. You start to wonder what should be done to prevent that abortion and before you know it you've become a raving religious lunatic. Let me also make clear that I speak only for myself. Other pro-lifers have differing opinions from me, especially concerning the role of religion in the debate.

I must also emphatically insist that I have absolutely no social agenda. I don't have any opinion on pre-marital sex except that I think its bad for minors. I have no desire whatsoever to thrust a specific morality on anyone. I haven't figured out my own brand of morality, so it is hard for me to inflict it upon anyone else.

You say: "Here's the inherent problem with the subject of abortion. It is the only instance of an issue where one can never give equal rights to both parties, as one is completely dependent upon the other. To give rights to a fetus is to deny rights to the mother - and vice versa. One must make a choice here as to whether the living person deserves more or less rights to the not-yet-living person."

Here is the problem I have with this argument. It is based on the assumption that an unborn baby is not living. Even the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade didn't have the courage to make that assumption. The court said that if it were found that the fetus was in fact a living human being, its right to life would supercede the mother's right to privacy. I believe that a fetus is living. Unless his or her heart has stopped and he or she has ceased to grow, the fetus is living in the only way that human beings can live at that stage of their developement. To deny them the same process that brought you and me and everyone we love into the world simply for convenience, is a horrific thought.

It is very hard for me to believe that our lives are less precious because we may have made our mother's lives difficult. And it is very hard to accept that all of our rights to exist are based on something so arbitrary as our convenience to our mothers. Do you have less of a right to be born if you are a burden to your mother? Can anyone honestly say that they would rather have been aborted than cause their mother misery? Can anyone honestly say that a baby shouldn't live because it could potentially ruin their mother's life? I can't do it. I just don't think my right to be happy is more important than my baby's right to his or her life. Any response is welcome, just be civil. If you can take religion and feminism out of the debate it is actually an interesting topic.