Recommended Reading

Despite requests that I address the subject, I haven't written much here about abortion. Not being a doctor and not having a womb, I always feel like there are aspects of this issue that are forever beyond me. A lot of the people debating this issue in public, it seems to me, are inflammatory in a way that is not helpful to anyone. I also think that contrary to their claims, these people really aren't all that concerned with the welfare of any possible children. Then again, I think most feel as I do in this regard. We just disagree on which ones are the troublemakers.

To the extent I feel sure of anything it's (a) that the welfare of the pregnant woman should be of paramount concern and that it's too often neglected and (b) that the discussion needs a lot more civility and a lot less demagogy. I was therefore impressed with this blog exchange between a young pregnant lady and a couple hundred strangers. They discussed the issue in public with, for the most part, compassion and a desire to help someone solve a genuine and not unique dilemma.

I'm not going to start an abortion discussion on this weblog because it's too serious an issue…and also too complex for someone who, like me, watches from afar with many mixed feelings. But I do think that the folks who should be discussing the issue need to discuss it with more of the tone and benevolence of the linked thread.