When abortion was legalized for whatever reasons it was first legalized, it was only a matter of time before abortion required little to no reasons at all and/or could be legitimized for a myriad of reasons. Who agrees on which reasons are and aren't valid will always vary. Which reasons or financial capabilities will work to secure an abortion at the moment of a woman's movement across the threshold of a clinic will also always vary. In fact, on an individual level, the only decision about abortion that carries any weight is the decsion you make at the time, whether it brings relief, numbness, haunting sorrow, or whatever. Because of this, abortion is at once a public and private subject; it gets media attention and divides people, yet it can also divide the person herself (and himself, not to exclude the fathers here) into a dual person, speaking in two voices, maybe more.

As usual, all I can say is what I think. Once abortion is legal, the reasons seldom really matter. They suffice doctors, if certain criterion apply, so that they feel confident that you are in the right state of mind. They further categorize and divide society's stand on this issue. They complicate and simplify the whole subject at once. What follows is simply inevitable. Choosing to not carry a baby that will be born deformed in a variety of ways in the benefit of all those involved is now a choice that pretty much any of us can make, and I wouldn't doubt that the medical field will aid us, even support us in our decision. This same attitude can be spread to the medical profession: if you feel that you are being screwed with the bill from your visit to the E/R, what makes you think that money isn't a factor in abortions as well?

The more advanced we become in medicine, as we constantly strive to be, the more specific every stage of our human development will become, the more control we will have. This has its good and bad sides, its pros and cons. I can't say that preventing a child's birth whose life will be significantly limited by its physical or mental deformity is wrong in and of itself. As I said, we can rationalize damn near anything because the act itself is condoned. But that is NOT to say that any parent, whether they knew beforehand of their child's disabilities, has done anything wrong by bring that child into the world. Children with disabilities are often a burden, but they are often loved just as much if not more, and are valid humans who deserve a chance. Many parents do not have the option of knowing ahead of time and like all parents, simply take what they are given and make the best of it, as ALL parents have the option of doing.

NOTfnordian's node, like mine perhaps, seems to wander from the point of the title's statement. She went off on many tangents that have less to do with abortion and more to do with parenting, which seemed to detract from her point. While I welcome anyone who feels the desire to legitimize what (s)he does, abortion is different to me. Not many people would know, theoretically, that you'd had an abortion unless your actions or words made it known (we humans can hide anything if we try hard enough), hence the need to provide reasons would only result after the act had been made known, more or less, by that individual. No reason is right enough or good enough to convince an audience about abortion if it has preconceived judgements ready to fire. Even my reasons are, perhaps, not good enough. Perhaps no reason is good enough to have an abortion, but we often feel the need to provide reasons for the things we do that are in any way questionable.

Just as we have the right to an abortion, we have the right to say whatever we want to about it. But, in today's society, seeking to make reasonable arguments is kind of like preaching to the choir. Sure, there are anti-abortion leagues, but there always will be, because, guess what, they have the right to speak too. I'm sure that NOTfnordian didn't necessarily feel the need to adamantly provide reasons, and despite my addtion, I say again that her reasons are just as valid as mine or anyone else's, but I wouldn't say any reason is any better than another. People can dispute me on that, and that's fine. We are all, at times, broken, confused, scared and alone. And I'd say we're all equally responsible for where our actions take us and where they inevitably take society.