Some Pro-Life groups like to posit a character to represent the evils of abortion.   She's a young woman having  frequent casual sex, who, finding herself pregnant, carelessly trots to an abortion clinic to kill the baby.

They hate this imagined individual, and want us to hate her.  They believe that banning abortion will make her behave "morally", or possibly no longer exist.  

I don't hate her.  I feel sorry for her.  Why is she so careless with her health and safety?  Does she enjoy her sexual encounters, or is she doing it for survival?  Does she not have access to birth control?  

I think abortion is a tragedy, and it would be nice if the procedure was never needed.

But, banning it won't change anything for the people who have sought it.

They will still be lost, or confused, or frightened, or abused, or struck by a medical disaster.   They will still need help.  

I believe that addressing poverty, mental illness, medical access, and education issues will not only reduce the use of abortion, but help society in general.  It's a solution that does not require judgment or hate. 

Can we try that?

 

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