The abortion issue

Having read the well-written article by Laura Eggertson,1 I feel that her thrust (and that of Planned Parenthood, the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League, Health Minister Allan Rock, etc.) is that it is a scandal and surprise that a “medically necessary” operation — abortion — is not universally accepted like other procedures.

You do not hear most of the old debating arguments about abortion any more, but the one that will not go away concerns whether abortion is a medically necessary operation.

What happens, by and large, if a woman who has an unwanted pregnancy is denied an abortion? Her attitude changes dramatically from disappointment, perhaps desperation, to acceptance and often to love. It is no wonder many people question the provision of abortion on demand or without good medical reasons, and that others question it for moral reasons.

Abortion is both a moral and a medical issue, and we should not be surprised if people do not regard it as a necessary procedure in the same way they view other operations.