An abortive discussion continued...

As I said in the previous post, the central issue for me in the abortion debate is whether embryos are really human or not; all the other issues are contingent on our answer to this question. But still there are a number of other questions that it's important to think about, starting with...

Whose rights are more important - embryo's or mother's?

Of course, if our answer to the primary question is that an embryo isn't a person, then it's not a 'who' at all and clearly the mother's rights come first. It's hard to argue that a tiny clump of cells that isn't really a human has any rights at all. However, if we believe that an embryo is human, then the situation changes radically.

Those in favour of abortion argue that a woman always has the right to choose what she does with her body and whether she wishes to be a mother or not. After all, pregnancy is no easy ride for 9 months, giving birth is about the most physically painful and draining experience it's possible to go through, and becoming a mother has a tremendous impact on a woman's whole life and career from that point onwards. I do therefore have great sympathy with those who feel a woman should be able to choose whether she is ready to become a mother.

Those opposed to abortion start from the position that an embryo (or 'unborn baby' as they prefer to call it) is definitely a human, and they argue that the rights of this developing human must be at least as important as those of the mother. Secondly they argue that the right to life (or the right not to be deprived of life) is a more important and fundamental right than the rights to quality of life, to pursue a career, not to go through the pain of pregnancy and childbirth etc. Thirdly they argue that the rights of a weaker person, one not able to speak for or defend themselves, must be upheld more strongly than those of the stronger; the rights of a child must be defended more strongly than those of an adult, and the rights of a baby (or in this case embryo) must be defended even more strongly still. I find I have great sympathy for these views as well.

Finally and more controversially, some pro-lifers argue that the woman's right to choose (except of course in cases such as rape) applies at the point of choosing to consent to unprotected sex. They argue that once she has become pregnant, she has already made her choice, or forfeited the right to choose. I'm not sure I would go this far. It does feel unfair to me that one who should pay for the adults' mistake (often the man's more than the woman's) should be the one who was totally innocent of any fault or choice in the matter. But then this of course applies both whether the embryo is aborted or ultimately born into a family that does not want it.

What are the psychological and physical impacts of abortion?

I'm thinking primarily here of the mother, but of course there are also potential impacts on the father, the family, the medical staff involved in the procedure, etc. The physical impact on the foetus of course is fairly obvious.

I don't have evidence at my fingertips to do more than raise this as a question. Pro-choicers argue that the physical and emotional impacts of abortion are minimal, and that abortion frees a woman to follow the path she really wants to. Pro-lifers argue that the effect of abortion can be traumatic both physically and emotionally, and also that some women feel pressured into abortions that they afterwards wish they had not had. I think a lot probably depends on the individual personality and beliefs of the person in question, and whether deep down they feel that abortion is wrong or not. Again, the question of whether you see the foetus as human or not, as a baby or as a blob of cells, surely makes a crucial difference to how you feel about it.

What are the other options?

I said earlier that giving birth and becoming a parent is no easy option, and abortion may seem like the only way out of a frightening, difficult, uncertain and unchosen future. Those who still choose to go ahead with becoming parents despite the difficulties need and deserve support, help and encouragement.

There is of course one other option, at least in many cases, and that is to put the baby up for adoption. Of course, pregnancy and childbirth still have to be got through, which I'm not pretending is easy, even with the help of epidurals and elective caesarians for the birth. And some would argue that the psychological impact of giving up your baby to other parents may be almost as great as those related to having an abortion. Nonetheless, adoption does at least give the child the chance of a life while allowing the birth mother to return fairly quickly to her chosen life and career.

There but for the grace of God

I've raised and explored a number of questions which I think are crucial to the abortion debate, but I can only answer them for myself, not for anyone else.

My own view is still that a human embryo is - and certainly will ultimately be - a human being, a person, and therefore (in my view) that under most circumstances it is not anyone's right to decide that it will not be. I also more cautiously believe that in most cases an embryo's right to life does trump the mother's right to choose; and I suspect (but lack evidence to prove) that the psychological impacts of abortion are generally worse than those of other options, such as putting the baby up for adoption.

However, I'm not writing this to judge or condemn those who view things differently or in particular those who have chosen differently, often under incredibly difficult circumstances. There but for the grace of God go any of us. Sorry if that sounds patronising.

A couple of quick final points. Of course there are always exceptional cases, particularly where the mother's life is in danger. And despite my views I don't believe that criminalisation - particularly of the mother - is anything but counter-productive. Instead I would ask for full and fair presentation of all available options, better education and understanding of both the scientific and ethical issues and of the full impacts and implications of the various options, and better support for adoption.

Right, quick, time for a nice safe topic - the theology of flower-arranging or bird-watching or something.