a fertilized egg has the potential to become a healthy human being. It needs to implant in the uterus, and needs to survive a gantlet of threats, including mutations that render it non-viable (each of us has around 300 mutations, our personal contributions to the ongoing process of human evolution) and the risk that the mother's body won't respond to it properly. (Should we shield all women from cosmic rays, to reduce the chance that the egg will mutate and be aborted?) To become a healthy human, the mother needs to do many things right, including eating right and avoiding drugs, alcohol, and medications. (Should we coerce all women to eat properly, have ob/gyn visits, take prenatal vitamins, and--in the case of a complicated pregnancy--endure whatever medical interventions are required to keep the fetus healthy? Who would police this? How?)
The problem I have with a lot of pro-life arguments is that this contribution of the mother's seems to get ignored. The moral system has not yet been found which assures that people abstain from sex. I too wish there were far fewer abortions, and I'm against the idea of abortion being seen as a back-up form of birth control. I strongly support the idea that if she becomes pregnant from voluntary sex, a woman and her partner should ideally see her through the pregnancy and delivery, and then allow a willing family to adopt the infant. But I don't see how to force people to do these things--it seems a social issue rather than a legal one. And a very complicated social issue, given how extensively our culture advertises and promotes sexuality.
Mariner.
