Abortion

South Dakota is passing legislation to make all abortion illegal, save for medically necessary procedures involving the health of the mother.

This is an amazingly polarizing issue, considering that there are only something like 1.6 million abortions annually in the U.S. (I say "only" in the context of 300 million people).

The abortion issue is wholly intractable, because of the necessary co-existence of fetus and mom for 270 days of gestation. On the one hand, it's mom's body and life; on the other, the fetus becomes viable earlier and earlier in the process, and at some point becomes a full-fledged human being with its own rights. In this context, any claimed absolutes are the province of fools.

Most rational people agree on one thing: there is very little that is good in the context of abortions. Either you are an expectant mother who has made a difficult choice to terminate a pregnancy, you are a fetus being aborted, or you are in a situation where you are being forced to bear a child that you don't want or can't take care of (or both).

Since the 60's, the widespread use of oral contraceptives and other reliable birth control methods has become common and generally accepted (outside of the Catholic Church, anyway). Most people view the use of birth control as a decision wholly within the province of the individual.

After conception, the debate changes, and suddenly, everyone thinks they have a dog in the fight. Women's rights activists see issues of self-determination and empowerment. They think that our patriarchal society wants to take over their lives. Right-wing types see, essentially, murder for convenience. They think people get abortions because responsible use of birth control is just too much of a hassle.

I take a utilitarian approach to the issue: I would rather have an unborn fetus aborted than have an unwanted child born into this world to be abused or neglected. I don't like it, I wouldn't encourage it, but I can tolerate it if, on the whole, it minimizes suffering.