Current parliamentary debate

It never ceases to amaze me how much vitriol the debate on abortion produces - usually from men who will never (one particular American aside) be in a position to be pregnant. I always used to be completely pro-choice. In the last few years I've become rather more anti choice. Of course the current Bill is not about the Abortion Act as it just contains one clause about reducing the time limit. It's a shame that certain sections of the population consider it to be fundamentally altering the right to abortion, which it isn't.

I have never understood why women cannot avoid getting pregnant. To me if you have sex without taking the appropriate precautions - if you do not want children - then you are showing a certain disrespect for yourself and your body. If you trust your partner to take the precautions then fair enough. How much you trust your partner is another issue entirely. I'm not criticising anyone who has had an abortion for whatever reason as it must be a heart breaking decision to have to make. It is also one I never wanted to have to make, so I was sterilised at the age of 31.

Considering the options for contraception in this country - all of them available on the NHS - I don't think there is really any excuse for anyone to become pregnant these days if they do not want to. Abortion should always be a last resort. I would like to see the limit reduced to 12 weeks as it is in much of Europe. Though medical grounds could override the limit. I would also like to see abortion on demand up to 12 weeks without two doctors having to agree. I may not agree with it but I do see that in the modern world it would be very difficult to return to a situation where it is illegal and I wouldn't want to see a return to lethal back street abortions.

Let's hope we never get to a position in the UK where anyone associated with abortions becomes the target for the fanatical pro-life campaigners. As they're so much pro-life I fail to see how they can justify killing someone else just because they don't agree with what they're doing.