Reply #15: Pro-Choice Shades of Gray [View All]

[liberal43110]

Thanks for a thoughtful post. Like you, I consider myself pro-choice without any shades of gray. Period. As long as a fetus is inside a woman's body--even full term--it is living off the mother's body and is not fully human because it lacks full consciousness and any "rights" it may have are subsumed to the mother's right to determine her physical fate.

However, I see some shades of gray in terms of acceptable abortion policies.

For example, I am willing to compromise and restrict access to abortions in the third trimester, with exceptions for the health or life of the mother. Not because I believe it, but because I think it is a reasonable compromise.

Also, I support parental notification laws. Because--with the exception of emergencies--doctors can not treat minors without parental consent. Granted, some families have some highly dysfunctional dynamics that make parental involvement problematic, or even dangerous. But we notify the parents nonetheless. So I support parental notification laws not because I think the fetus is human or because I would wish for the young mother to carry the fetus to term (to the contrary!), but because I think it is fully reasonable and a good compromise in public policy.