As evidenced by my history of writings, while I agree with the Bush administration on many things, there are plenty of ideals that I do not share. A woman's right to abortion is one of those areas. Don't get me wrong, abortion is murder, and it isn't an exercise without sin. An abortion means an end to a life that almost certainly would have been lived otherwise. The point that politicians and "right to life'ers" just don't get, if abortion is made illegal, women of all ages will start dying in alleyways at the hands of unlicensed practitioners and butchers. The only time in our future when abortion should become illegal is when contraception (including the morning after pill) is 100% effective - abortion should only be discarded when it is truly no longer needed.

It's not that I don't value the life of a fetus, I just happen to value the life of the mother a little bit more. And there really is nothing wrong with this. I have a mother and a lady friend and I know and value the women in my life more than I value their ability to serve as vessels for our children, just like I consider the men I know as more than just producers of sperm.

Recently, scientists acknowledged that late term fetuses do feel pain during an abortion. Anyone with a brain would have known this already, given that a fetus is in fact a small human. After all, humans feel pain, don't they? Other than playing with the emotions of those on the fence of this issue, this information really has no bearing on whether abortion should continue to be legal. Isn't the concern that we are taking away a life and not the splash of pain that life may endure in its final seconds?

On the other hand, in the case of Melissa Rowland, a lady who was charged with murder because she refused to get a caesarian section and the baby later died, the ACLU, NOW and other pro-choice groups have led the defense claiming that this is yet another attack on a woman's right to choose. But in reality, this woman had been found to be doing cocaine in the final days of her pregnancy, which is why doctors ordered the c-section in the first place. Her other child from the same pregnancy survived, and was found to have both cocaine and alcohol in it's blood. Clearly, a mother who abuses her body while pregnant should be guilty of a crime. The danger, as always lies in precedence and this ruling's application on future cases.