That is certainly food for thought. Still, I suppose that, for the girl undergoing the abortion, it still wouldn't exactly feel good.

Here's me, in a nutshell.

Talking about when life truly starts is futile. We've been rattling on about this for decades and there is simply no prospect for agreement. It inflames people on both sides and is all heat and no light. We have to move on from that - and, pro-lifers, it means a moral compromise on your part. Tough, but the argument is pointless and you have to come to terms.

If you need an abortion it almost certainly means you got pregnant when you didn't want to. The only way we will ever get abortion numbers down is by helping people to not get pregnant until they are ready. This is such a numskull, bleedin' obvious notion, yet it causes so much difficulty. Mainly from religion. People are going to have sex, not abstain. People who have sex can't rely on rhythm methods or withdrawal. Everyone likely to have sex (which is nearly everybody) needs to know about, and have free access to, contraception. Duh. They need to know about the mechanics of sex and pregnancy. The real stuff, not the behind-the-bikeshed stuff.

Sex is such a crucial part of human life that everyone involved in raising children needs to be involved in education about relationships. We need good parenting classes. We need every teacher in every school to be involved in showing children how to build respect for themselves and for others. Teachers are supposed to be paragons of virtue. Well let's see a bit of it. Your subject area is nowhere near as important as showing the kids in front of you that you respect them, they respect you, they respect each other, and why.

Religion has played a terrible part in maintaining women as inferior beings. It can make no contribution to this debate. The religion I know best preaches abstinence, sin, ignorance, and no contraception. Religion is part of the problem (or almost the whole of the problem), and cannot be involved in any solution. Religion champions abortion.

Unfettered access to abortion, regardless of income and with no time limits, is crucial. Deny abortion to women and you will get illegal abortion with all the misery that comes with it. At the same time, get teachers and parents in on the act and show young people how to control whether they get pregnant or not (that's the urgent bit) and a lot more than just that. The horrid abortion rate is everyone's issue.