Why is it that a fake news show on a comedy channel can showcase a calm, intelligent conversation between two sides on such a complicated issue as abortion, but no American news network can?
As for my own views on the subject, I think I have worked out a compromise - because as Jon said, neither side will budge completely, so the only solution is to create a balance, otherwise this issue will (needlessly) continue to polarize discourse between the left and right in America indefinitely. So this is my proposal: first of all, a thourough, coherent process of education about contraceptives and sexual responsibility. Abstinence-only education has only harmed the generation subjected to it, and is not realistic or practical - luckily, most people on both sides have started to realize that.
But besides that, abortion remains legal, but with restrictions: if it is a question of rape or an endangerment of the mother’s life, then it is always allowed, no questions asked. If it is elective, then there is a limit of time as to when it is allowed, which I propose should be the moment when the child, were it to be born/removed, could survive outside of the mother’s body. That gives the mother plenty of time to realize she is pregnant (unless she’s one of the morons on I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant, but I’m not going to get into that) and make a decision. It also means that the fetus is still just that - a collection of cells fully biologically dependent on the mother for its survival. It does not have the rights we share, like the right to life, until it can live on its own - that’s a logical conclusion, and the best way to end this debate once and for all.
