This is why (in response to Salome's post) I believe that pro-lifers need to come out of the conservative closet. I call myself "theoretically pro-life but pragmatically pro-choice," in that I believe abortion should be a safe and legal option for women but that we as a society must work against the factors that lead women to choose abortion. What are some of these?
POVERTY. I suspect this may well be the number-one reason why American women, at least, have abortions: they or their partner(s) or family(ies) cannot afford to raise a child. While this condition can be argued against in light of the programs available (AFDC, WIC and what have you), the fact is that many of these programs (WIC is an exception) basically require that one remains unemployed. Couple that with a lack of education, lack of child care, lack of family and community support, and a prevailing political and social milieu that is hostile toward the poor, unplanned child, and it's not shocking that women feel so overwhelmed by an unplanned pregnancy that they feel they have no choice to abort.
How to combat this? We must turn around the idea in society that the children of poor single women are somehow unwelcome or worth less than the planned children of the middle-class and wealthy. Those few brave voices willing to stand up for the dignity of these children by adopting them, educating them, supporting the education and well-being of their mothers, fathers, and family members, and otherwise helping to secure their future must become louder, and they must multiply. The motto of Planned Parenthood--"Every child a wanted child"--must extend to the children of the poor, the young, the unemployed, the immigrant, the illiterate, and the otherwise "undesirable." If we as a society could actually come to want these children, I suspect the mothers would become more amenable as well.
RAPE. While I do mostly accept the argument that only a small percentage of abortions occur because the mother became pregnant via rape, I also know that rapes are by far the most underreported violent crimes, and consequently abortions performed due to rape may also be underreported. Nevertheless, it is a population that must be addresses.
How do we combat this? We work against the culture of violence and domination. We teach children from an early age to empower themselves in healthy ways--after all, rape is not about sex but rather about power. This, perhaps more so even than the above, requires MASS sociological change that will take GENERATIONS to resolve. Just as prostitution may be the world's oldest profession, rape may be the world's oldest violent crime. In order to stop even this small percentage of abortions from happening, we must get serious about ending rape. If we can wage war against drugs and terrorism, why not rape too?
STIGMA. I suspect that a number of abortions occur simply because the woman is ashamed of being pregnant: her family might effectively disown her; she may be beginning college or a career; she may be embarrassed about her birth control failing. While these are perhaps less serious reasons to have an abortion (except perhaps the first condition, where women may indeed face abandonment or abuse), we must nevertheless look to work against these conditions is we are to get serious about ending abortion.
How do we combat this, too? We make workplaces and schools friendlier to mothers and young children. We make schedules flexible, health care more accessible and affordable (better yet, universal). We make child care high-quality, efficient, and truly child-friendly. Most importantly, we start to refute the idea that an unplanned pregnancy is BAD, BAD, BAD. We tell our young women that while pregnancy at a young age may not be the best idea, we also tell them that it is not the end of the world, and that ALL children should be welcome. I'm not saying ENCOURAGE teenage or young adult pregnancy, but my gosh, we need to stop rending our garments every time a young girl gets pregnant. Here, I think, so-called irresponsible cultures might have the right idea: where the child is welcomed into a large extended family and brought up not just by parents, but by aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, siblings, and family friends.
GENETIC DEFECTS, DISABILITIES, DISEASES DIAGNOSED IN UTERO. The point of this thread, yes. There's not an easy answer to this one. As some have pointed out, how could you tell the parents of a child who will be born in great pain, live a very brief life in great pain, and likely die in great pain that they should prolong their agony and that of their child? I don't think you can do that. Abortion might well be a more merciful solution for all involved. That said, of course most cases are not so extreme.
Again, I feel the remedy is slow, gradual, and must radiate from the heart of our society. We must provide greater support for parents of disabled children and realize that not everything is within our control. We must welcome even "less than perfect" children and work against messages that bringing these children into the world is irresponsible or selfish.
I feel that abortion cannot be a good thing for society in the long run and on a mass scale. But, if in some cases abortion is a sin, I feel that it rarely lies only with the mother who chooses it. It lies with the politician who cuts WIC, Head Start, school lunches, public education, prenatal and neonatal health care, and countless other programs. It lies with the uncaring boss who refuses to grant time off for the mother trying to care for her child or children with little support. It lies with the town gossip who grumbles about "illegitimates" or "bastards." It lies with the clergyperson who, even in 2004, refuses to baptize a baby born out of wedlock. It lies with the partner who refuses to practice reponsible birth control or support an unplanned child. It lies with the rapist and those who turn a blind eye to the problems of rape, sexism, and sexual violence in general. It lies with anyone who has had the opportunity to extend a hand of welcome to the unplanned child and his or her mother--and who has failed to do so.