mike, my position is really quite clear, though in diametric opposition to yours. Abortion is not an act of murder. Mind you, I don't like abortion and wish our society will find ways to eliminate this elective procedure. But that position is more based on my tendency to limit many "elective" procedures (possibly 50% of all hysterectomies, cosmetic procedures, "life style" procedures, such as severing ligaments in the hands to overcome "trigger finger syndrome" etc. and the list goes on).
To the extent that an abortion is required to save a living mother, I am not even questioning the necessity of such a procedure, to me it is a "given". People with religious conviction set in such a situation, should, in my opinion, form a counseling triumvirate of a physician, a psychologist and a clergyman of that person's faith, to provide the right advice as to how to proceed.
I cannot equate a "potential" life with an "actual" life, under no circumstance.
Strangely, I abhor abortions not so much for the "killing" of the unborn (since as I stated, a potential live is not a live as far as I am concerned), but because of the lifelong psychological damage to the young women undergoing that procedure. For one reason or another, a great majority of these women (and it may be a "social stigma", but could also be a Natural selection principle reaction) bear life long guilt feelings that interfere with their normal development post such a procedure.
Outlawing abortion, will make these women and the physicians that provide the service criminals, a position which, IMHO, is not justified, and just add to the already difficult burden of having had the procedure. Unless we impose the same type of penalties to other crimes of similar severity (which I have elaborated on in prior posts) imposing criminal status to abortion would be, IMHO, a travesty. Lets find ways to minimize these as much as possible, and use abortion only as a last resort, but don't criminalize it.
Zeev
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