Pro-Choice

I very much agree with your comments, PeaceNikki, and have to disagree with ArkansasGranny (sorry, AG).

Many, many people knowingly make life styles choices that put their health and longevity at risk. Obesity is often correlated with eating and exercise habits and increases risk of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, etc. Similarly, for smoking and lung cancer, alcohol abuse (my personal favorite) and drug abuse and their physical and mental consequences, and even reckless behavior, eg. driving, that can lead to accidents.

As a society we try to inform people about the risks and health consequences associated with decisions and patterns of behavior. We may stigmatize people with the resulting conditions - either socially 'appropriately' or, if the condition results from, for example, a genetic predisposition, inappropriately. In my experience, however, there has not been a broad suggestion that treatments like heart surgery, insulin, blood pressure medication, radiation or surgery for cancer, drug abuse therapies, or treatment of traumatic injuries should be 'rare'.

Obviously, the vast majority of women have a genetic predisposition for the condition of pregnancy (I am not trying to be cute or flippant with this analogy - I think it is important in the discussion). In some cultures, a clear right and responsibility of being a woman is to make choices about if, when, how, and with whom, she will or will not become pregnant. In some countries knowledge and mechanisms for contraception are available to enable women to implement their choices and prevent undesired pregnancies. However, in the United States. our history is to stigmatize all women who make the decision to terminate a pregnancy with a medical procedure - whether that pregnancy was the result of unintended behavior, failure of contraception, or rape, or, as is a key point in your post, the woman's health, economic conditions, or social status lead to a decision that a much desired child or children would not have the care, benefits, and opportunity the every person deserves.

As you conclude, rare is not the point.

Thanks for your thoughtful post.