POWER PLAY: ABORTION A NEVER-ENDING CYCLE OF DEBATE

The abortion issue is a lot like severe weather. It blows in unexpectedly to wreak havoc and get everyone stirred up and agitated. Then it quietly goes away for a while, only to return a few weeks later to again stoke the fires of rhetoric.

For weeks the opinion pages of this newspaper have been abuzz concerning comments against partial birth abortions attributed to a local priest. It started by a Speak Out caller who was upset at the priest's views, expressed during Mass, which supposedly explained in horrifying detail the nature of the partial birth procedure. Dozens of Speak Out responses and several letters to the editor followed, almost all in support of the priest.

Emotions always run high on this subject because it is one in which compromise is virtually impossible.

On the issue of welfare, another controversial topic, although there are those who feel it should be completely done away with and equally zealous folk who contend the government has a responsibility to take care of all the needs of its citizens without regard to cost, most people would settle for a system in which people in need receive temporary help. If they can't get back on their feet after a certain period on the public dole, they're on their own.

Considering the terminology of the abortion debate, however, compromise is unlikely. If you are against abortion you consider yourself pro-life and abortion supporters anti-life. Those favoring legalized abortion consider themselves pro-choice and their opponents anti-choice.

When one group brands another as murderers and that group brands the first as fascists bent on controlling the lives of others, civil discussion is highly improbable.

How you come down on the issue is largely based on what you consider the object in the female womb to be -- a baby or a fetus. That makes the choice/life debate all that more difficult.

Alcohol prohibitionists eventually faded from power because most people figured that if you don't like booze, don't drink it. You make your decisions; I'll make mine.

However, although pro-choicers view abortion as a body-control issue, pro-lifers see it as a heinous crime against another individual, the unborn.

In this country, we generally tolerate distasteful practices as long as they involve only consenting adults. Pro-lifers see aborting a fetus or an unborn child -- whatever term you prefer -- as no less a murder than planting a .44 slug in someone's skull.

This is an issue I've wrestled with over the years, even though like most people, it is not one which directly affects my life.

Do the unborn have the same rights as the born? Again, your answer depends on your personal beliefs.

While an adult female is no doubt a conscious being, the same cannot be conclusively said for the unborn. Of course, it cannot be conclusively proven that the unborn lack consciousness. However, in most debates the burden is on proving that something is, not that something is not.

While abortion shouldn't be completely outlawed, abortion on demand is going to far.

There should be a certain timeframe in place determining when an abortion can be obtained. A lack of decision within a couple months is a decision to have the child.

And the idea that girls under 18 should be able to get an abortion without parental permission is asinine. If they can't get a tooth pulled without the parental consent, allowing them to get an abortion makes no sense. They are not legally considered adults and should not make adult decisions.

Also, don't expect taxpayers to foot the bill. It is an elective procedure, a choice, as abortion supporters might put it. Make that choice with your own money. Taxpayers don't want to bear the financial burden of something most, in varying degrees, oppose.

Except in cases of rape or incest where personal decision is not a factor, of course, there is one sure fire way to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. Don't have sex.

Marc Powers is a copy editor for the Southeast Missourian.