IT IS not surprising to receive letters from the readership over the free national phone consultation service offered by Carterton's Dr Simon Snook in relation to abortion. A number of letters expound Christian values, pointing out that all life is sacred, including the vulnerable unborn, and that a phone line perpetuates a casual attitude towards abortion, of day-to-day convenience over life's miracle.
I think it would be an insult to any woman, and any couple, to suggest abortion is a trivial decision. Since pregnancy is one of the most natural concepts in the biological world, interrupting the process would feel out of kilter with the natural order of things. Nonetheless, millions of people are not born every minute. There are infinite possibilities, infinite combinations that could occur when a species reproduces.
But, as a species, we choose to have an element of control over the matter. We use birth control, and the morning-after pill. We abstain. We employ surrogates. And we choose to halt the process.
This choice has been exercised by women long before abortion was legalised, and in very unsafe fashion. Despite the dangers, women did abort their children. Old wives' tales of strategies to abort - including potions - are part of history, as is the use of a knitting needle. While it is a natural process to bear children, it does seem as a species we have been opting out for millennia. Abortion is not a 20th-century societal issue. It is just that we've legalised it, and made it a hell of a lot safer.
Therefore I would argue, as a species, abortion is an evolved choice, yet another aspect that separates us from animals, and medical science - plus societal opinion - has grown to meet a millennia-old need. I don't think there is anything happy about an abortion. I imagine it results in a high degree of sadness and loss. But you might as well say the only reason to have sex is to have children. The right to live your life and make your impression on the world, with the time you have, is as important as bearing children. Or not bearing them. Being selfish is an essential part of survival. You're allowed to exercise it.
