BMJ  2007;334:382 (24 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.39128.715613.3A

Letters

Abortion

Time to erase the line?

As a longstanding anti-choicer, I commend Gornall on a balanced and informative article on abortion.¹ It got me wondering if the abortion debate isn't all a bit pointless. Pro-choicers and pro-lifers disagree profoundly on whether children can be treated differently depending on whether it's before or after they're born. The "right" answer to this seems to depend on what part of the world you're in. Even within the mainly pro-choice United Kingdom, one nation (Northern Ireland) remains essentially pro-life. This argument will continue for the foreseeable future without a winner.

What if we changed the focus to our main area of agreement: that women and children should be able to lead happy and fulfilling lives?

What if pro-lifers and pro-choicers worked together for a better deal for pregnant women and the parents of young children? Does anyone really want any woman to have an abortion because she can't afford to have a baby or because her job prospects will be wrecked? As a society, are we really doing enough to give women a real choice? How come a 36 year old medical consultant is able to have children with relatively little detrimental impact on finances or career compared with a 25 year old junior doctor or a 36 year old cleaner? What if maternity pay and leave was funded by the government rather than individual companies so that the cost is evenly distributed? What if ...?

The general consensus in Britain is that abortion is a necessary evil. Pro-lifers have spent a lot of time unsuccessfully trying to persuade the public that abortion is too evil to be necessary. It might be time to accept the prevailing view and instead work towards a society where it's unnecessary to be so evil. And perhaps pro-choicers can join us? Then maybe we can all be truly pro-choice.

Dewsbury and District Hospital, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire WF13 4HS

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Competing interests: None declared.

References

1. Gornall J. Where do we draw the line? BMJ 2007;334:285-9. (10 February.)[Free Full Text]

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Related Article

Where do we draw the line?

Jonathan Gornall
BMJ 2007 334: 285-289. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]