ABORTION-WHEN DOES LIFE BEGIN?

I was recently ambushed by my granddaughter Lauren.  It's amazing how sneaky grandkids can be.

While innocently sitting at the kitchen table, Lauren asked me "Grandpa, why do you believe in abortion?" Little did I realize that my comments would become the opening paragraph of a philosophy paper Lauren was writing for one of her college classes.

Here's Lauren's opening remarks in her paper:

" A young girl and her grandfather sit together around a table illuminated by the afternoon sun.  Out of the blue the girl asks why her grandfather holds that the view (that abortion) is ethical.  The grandfather responds with the typical 'I believe it is the woman's right to choose what happens to her body' mantra. With a quirk of her head, the lass asks why that would matter (as) to whether the fetus is a human or not.  Sighing, the grandfather rebuffs the girl's argument with the simple ' I do not believe in (that) conception as (is) the beginning of life.' The girl is stumped.  She has studied the topic of abortion but, obviously not comprehensively.  Otherwise, she would have known the many fallacies of such a statement."

Well done Lauren.  A trap laid very well and your dumb grandfather walked directly into it.

The purpose of this blog is to share with my family and friends my thoughts about the subject of abortion and the right to life. I realize that some members of my family will not agree with me.  So be it.  We are all entitled to our opinion.

With the few superficial grammatical changes I have noted, Lauren accurately portrayed my broad opinions on the subject of abortion.  But, let's dig deeper.

With a few exceptions, I believe that all pregnant women should carry their fetuses for a full term. If the child's mother/father/family cannot give the child an adequate home life, I encourage them to give the baby an opportunity to prosper and grow by placing the baby in one of the many adoption programs sponsored by charitable and governmental organizations. I personally know of many children who have been adopted and have thrived. 

Those are my personal opinions but it is not my opinion that really matters in these decisions.  The opinion that really matters and takes precedent is the opinion of the mother/father/family of the woman who is pregnant. Contrary to the beliefs of others, my opinion (or theirs) does not abrogate the right of the mother/father/family to choose what happens to the entity within the mother's womb.

So if the mother/father/family decide after an appropriate reflection period that an abortion is appropriate for the woman, should there be limits on when the abortion can be performed?  My opinion is "YES".  But, I am not smart enough to determine what should be the boundaries for that election period.  Is it the first week, first month, first trimester, or some other period? I will leave that determination to smarter people than me.

As I struggle to escape from the trap Lauren sprung on me, I hope the above comments clarify my position on abortion.  For a more scholarly dissertation on this subject, I encourage my family to read Lauren's paper entitled "What Are The Unborn?"