Much controversy surrounds a woman’s right to choose whether or not to carry a pregnancy to full term. Some consider it murder. Others , her right to control her body. I fall in the second camp. Since the unborn fetus is not a baby the decision is simple.
Does a person have the right to control their own body ? Unless there is an obvious and immediate danger to others, the answer is “Yes”. This is especially true when concerning the issue of pregnancy. The woman is the only person who knows whether it is time for a baby. Period. Along with her doctor she is the only one who has the authority to make such a personal decision. While others may disagree with her, they should have no power to alter her choices.
Just as a woman should not be FORCED to abort a fetus if she wants a baby, neither should she be required to use her body to carry a fetus to term if she does not want a baby. To force her is to take away a basic freedom. That idea makes her into nothing more than a breeding animal. That may be the attitude toward women in backward, fundamentalist societies, but it has no place in modern America.
Some of those who oppose a woman’s right to choose often use terms such as “baby killer”. That, of course, is silly. An embryo is not a baby. A fetus is not a baby. A baby is a baby. And trying to distort the language to fit fundamentalist religious beliefs does not alter the scientific facts. You can call an orange a “baby”. You can call a house a “baby”. But the fact is: only a baby is a baby. Everything else is a distortion.
The Old Liberal 