Abortion - a personal viewpoint

My views on abortion have changed over the years. I was ardently pro-abortion in my early years. But as maturity happened, I realized how little I understood or cared about the totality of this issue. I began to understand other points of view.

So where am I now?

I'm still pro-abortion, pro-choice, whatever.

But a significant change is my opinion of abortion at any stage of fetus development. I'm now sure that late term abortions are rarely needed to save the life of the woman. And the practice of "partial birth" abortion is reprehensible.

There's been a few special instances that have helped form my current viewpoint (perhaps evolving even now), but one instance was observing a picture of an operation on a fetus still in its mother's womb. As the doctor was operating, the baby (yes, baby) reached out a hand and held the doctor's finger.

Up until then I could say that a fetus was a clump of tissue that was a part of a woman's body. After that, honesty forced me to change my mind. If the doctor had cut up and removed the baby at that point of development, rather than trying to save its life, the doctor would have committed murder. Yes, I overstate. And there could be extenuating circumstances. But it is murder until proven otherwise.

Well, that's just one man's opinion. So it may not count for much.

Confessional note: there was another life changing experience contributing to my present position, but it's a little too personal.

UPDATE (8/20/06)

PEER Review FL posts on some late term abortion activities here in Florida. He is strongly anti-abortion. I respect that.