I won’t say abortions are good for society, and I will also not say that unwanted children are bad for society. There are way too many real-life cases that disprove both those mistaken opinions. Unquestionably, children that grow up without effective nurturing and guidance often do become a problem for society; but with proper handling, the opposite is just as demonstrably true.

Any discussion of the issue based on ethics is always going to founder on the question of the value of a human life, but the value of any human life can only be weighed and measured at the end of that life, not before it has even started.

Many pro-abortion rights advocates will try to qualify the value of a human fetus in terms of viability. They argue that a fetus isn’t human until it is breathing or has a heartbeat, etcetera. One could just as easily argue that human sperm and eggs are innately human, and that human life begins even before conception.

The whole question hinges on Rights. Many women will effectively argue that these decisions should be theirs and theirs alone, since it is such a big factor in their own personal health and well-being. I am not going to argue with that either.

But isn’t it interesting that this one issue so clearly and effectively gives the lie to the current stratification of American society in terms of the so called Left and the so called Right. Most on the Right will argue vehemently that people should have the right to make their own decisions, until it comes to abortion. That’s the mantra of the Left.

The CBS Sunday Morning show this morning showed a graphic to the effect that 64 percent of Americans are in favor of leaving Roe V. Wade as is. Should the Supreme Court do the traditionally American thing and side with the majority?

Proposed: Let’s put away the placards on both sides and cancel the march on Washington. This is a thorny issue. The best we can possible do is a flawed compromise. I suggest the following: Contraceptives and Morning after pills should be easy to get. Planned parenting initiatives should be better funded. Abortions should remain difficult, and subject to extensive court petitions stating justifications, but not illegal.