via Bitch, PhD: one tough kid!
I should come clean--I'm not a "fan" of abortion, meaning that I find it a bit distasteful. I can't explain this logically any more than I can explain why the smell of liver makes me physically ill. I would, of course, never presume to judge someone for having an abortion, nor would I question her reasons. I am pro-choice, largely because abortions will happen whether legal or not, and we should make them as safe as possible (I feel the same about prostitution and drugs--I think these things should be legal and regulated simply because people will do them regardless of what the cops say or do, and those who engage in these behaviors should face the fewest risks possible, and that a just society as a whole should try to limit the risks inherent in such behavior, and my own moral discomfort with sex for cash or riding the Horse doesn't enter into it. And don't even try to say "well murder will always happen too, shall we legalize that?"--as far as drugs and prostitution goes, that's a red herring, and killing an autonomous being is different from preventing a potential one; if we're worried about potential ones then we should strive to prevent nocturnal emissions and the absorption of sperm into socks, curtains, sheets, American Apparel catalogs, the vascular walls of old mens' testes, etc).
Somebody's decision to have an abortion, even if I find it somewhat distasteful personally, is NONE OF MY FUCKING BUSINESS. I regard its legality as a completely logical necessity and its application as completely personal, and my own moral prejudices must take a backseat. In the case of this young woman, I think it's wholly appropriate and sensible for her to have the option, and she's got sufficient medical data on the risks of carrying this pregnancy to term to make her case. Kudos to "L.G." for sounding smarter and more adult than those behind the hysterical media circus building around her.
