(Pardon if this isn't as articulate as it should be. It's late at night, and as I start this post, I'm nursing a Whole Foods cola topped off with cherry vodka, and liquor works pretty swiftly on me, so ... you're forewarned.)
BFB, first of all, want to say that you sound like a very good friend to have. I also want to say, in general, there have been a lot of good, well-thought out comments here.
I'm pro-life/pro-choice for lack of a better term. My views have changed somewhat over the years. I used to be very pro-life (anti-choice if you want to call it that). Many years ago, as a young mom, I participated in a local pro-life march, with a toddler and infant in tow. One on my back in a carrier; one in a stroller. I had thought I was doing the right thing. But during the march and after, I was left with two thoughts: a.) that some of these pro-lifers were just plain nuts (I remember there was a minister who was one of the leaders of the march; a woman near me in the line just went on and on in praise about how many kids this guy had -- I think it was eight -- and she had this look on her face that clearly said that she thought this was the most wonderful thing in the world. Me, I just thought geez, don't they know about birth control?) And b.) That the quiet, peaceful, though small in comparison, counter pro-choice group that had gathered seemed a lot more ... normal ... than the folks with whom I was walking. All this left an impression on me.
Since then ... and I admit that my views may still be evolving ... my feeling is that abortion should be discouraged and avoided as much as possible. BUT if a woman (either on her own, or in consult with her significant other, her doctor, and perhaps even her God) decides that abortion is the only option for her, then she should be able to obtain one legally and safely.
While my personal view is that human life begins at conception, that is just my view, and although it's one held by many other people, there are also many many people - good and thoughtful people - who do not hold the same view.
I don't think abortion is the exact same as murder. While it may be the taking of a human life (a point that I'm not convinced the Bible itself is as clear on as some people claim, thus the "may"), there's a completely different thought process involved in the decision to have an abortion vs. killing a person who's already born. (And speaking of the Bible, while I myself am Christian, I believe in the separation of church and state and feel that faith is a private matter that each person should be free to practice without impeding on the rights of anyone else to practice their own religion or none at all.)
To answer the question posed, IF RvW were to be overturned, I think at most, for either woman or illegal (in this scenario) doctor/clinic, a fine, or community service. I wouldn't want to see anyone jailed, and I certainly don't think the death penalty should be given. Abortion is a very emotionally charged issue, but it is probably about as old as humanity itself, and it is not going to go away because some law is passed (or overturned). There will always be women who will make that choice, regardless of the law of the land, and abortion should remain a safe option for them. (BTW, on the death penalty, in theory, I am opposed to it as barbaric and faulty; that is until I might happen to hear of someone who has murdered a child, and then I think I just might be capable of pulling the switch or giving the lethal injection myself. I often think that I could go totally "Dexter" on people like that. I'm not saying I'm right in this, it's more a statement of what scum I think such people are.)
And that segues a bit into another point: Whatever we each think about abortion, I would hope that we could all agree that life, especially innocent life that is already here, already born, should certainly, beyond any shadow of any doubt, be protected. It's inconsistent for anyone to claim to be pro-life, yet would physically or emotionally harm an already born child.
Again, I think abortion should be legal yet discouraged, and more than that, as much as possible should be done to help women avoid unwanted pregnancies to begin with. If parents - maybe Christian parents in particular - would realize that education is better than ignorance and that just because teens are made knowledgeable regarding sexuality and birth control, that doesn't mean they are more likely to have sex -- it simply means that if they do, they are better equipped to be responsible about it and to know all the consequences. With not only the possibility of pregnancy, but of STDs in this day and age, ignorance is not bliss.
Another thing: To be completely honest, I still have a problem with the very concept of partial birth abortions. To me, that kind of abortion seems extremely barbaric and very close to, if not the same, as taking the life of an infant. I'm not saying that I'm 100% right in thinking this way or that people who seek out or perform that type of abortion are evil or anything of the sort. I'm just saying that particular form of abortion is near impossible for me personally to accept or to even wrap my head around. Should they be banned? I'm not sure I am wise enough to know the answer to that. I do believe that of all types of abortions, partial birth abortions should be the least sought and the most discouraged.
Sorry this is so long. One more point, and I'm done I think. One thing that bothers me about the pro-life movement, namely in their demonstrations, is the public display of aborted fetuses on their signs. However against abortion I might be, I think it is just wrong to be waving those signs about out in the public eye. I know it's the intention of the demonstrators to shock, and they think it will cause people be against abortion. I don't agree. For one, I don't think children who might be around should be exposed to such graphic images. And for another thing, for people who claim to believe that the aborted fetuses depicted in those images should have been allowed to be born, they sure don't seem to be very respectful of those aborted lives. JMO. - Barb
Well Jbara, i think you raise a valid point and appreciate your perspective. having known many girls who have been placed in the unfortunate situation to need the services of an abortion doctor, i can firmly say NO ONE likes having abortions and NO ONE goes in there blankly devoid of emotion about the matter.
Sure, there are situations in extremity that a few Planned Parenthood reps could speak of where the girl was on her 15th abortion and she's "gotta make this quick so she can go on a car trip with her family the next day" but those are few and far between.
I just think it's the misleading pictures at rallies and the chains placed on a woman's reproductive rights that boil me up inside. You can feel however you want to feel about YOUR body. It's just when someone's views infringe on ANOTHER WOMAN'S body that a problem comes out (so to speak).
JbaraFan1, thanks for that post. I think very few people think, "Hey, abortion is great. Let's have more of them!" I think (hope?) most people would be of that mind set that it should be a last resort, but it should be available nonetheless.
The thing about partial birth abortions is that it's really a red herring. Most statistics show that the percentage of abortions that are the so-called "partial birth" abortions are about 1 to 2 percent, and that 80 to 90 percent of all abortions occur in the first trimester. It makes great street theater for the lunatics to go on about how vile a practice it is, but it accounts for such a small percentage of actual abortions that the focus on it is wildly disproportionate.
If the pro-life movement (and I'm talking about the people marching with placards of fetuses and trying to restrict access to clinics and whatnot, not the reasoned opinion of people like JabaraFan) was really interested in the well-being of mothers and their unborn children, they'd be pushing for easier information about and access to birth control. They'd spend less time trying to stop women already pregnant from having abortions and a little more time making it easier for women NOT to become pregnant in the first place.
