Another similar development is the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, a bill currently in the works that gives the fetus rights in a violent attack on a mother. Given victims like Laci Peterson, this bill would seem to make a lot of sense, unless this sets a precedent where a doctor could be held accountable for simply performing an abortion.

The zealousness of religious right to life activists has forced the hand of pro-lifers to defending scum like Melissa Rowland and Scott Peterson. Abortion, as repugnant of an act as it is, is a necessity if we are interested in saving the lives of our mothers, sisters and daughters. Pregnancy in this modern age means a complete change of direction for a woman's life. As a result, the woman is the only person able to make the decision of whether or not to have a baby.

It might be a better use of our nation's energy, if we stopped arguing about what right's a woman should and should not have over her body, and instead focused on how to better raise the approximately 75 million children who have already been born, in an age where poor schooling, violence and drugs are easily found.

James Golden is a political columnist for MBGZ.com