I totally agree, Kevin. Of course, no one will believe us. Aanyone who isn't for sending abortion back to back alleys and coat hangers must support baby killing, right?

Abortion is a sad product of modern society, but it is not new. The "birth control" methods of the past few thousand years usually involved neglecting a baby until it starved to death or placing it out for the elements to kill -- actions often performed by mothers who willed themselves into believing the baby was "just sickly" or "wouldn't eat" instead of facing the truth. (Anthropology has more documentation on this than almsot any other women's issue.) Without safe and reliable pregnancy prevention, many women in the world have to face the decision to let one new child die, or have all her children die because there isn't enough food to feed them all. Let's not forget the thousands of years of fathers who also choose to kill their children for the same reasons, or simply because they were an unwanted female child.

It's so easy for men to say that a woman has the "choice" not to have sex, but quite frankly, this is often not true, and particularly in places without economic parity -- which is almost everywhere. A woman who says no to her husband may find herself without economic support for any of her children or forced into sex anyway, and possibly both. A pregnant woman can lose her job and pregnancy leave is an enormous financial strain. Nor is there affordable daycare. And the US has some of the worst infant mortality and maternal mortality rates in the industrialized world -- yet, healthcare is denied to all but those who can afford it. Most HMOs no longer cover birth control prescriptions and devices, and let me tell you, they aren't cheap! Anyone priced the cost of prenatal care lately?

In some places a woman is culturally or religiously not even permitted to say no -- and you can start by looking at the Christian Church. One of the reasons AIDS has spread so rapidly in Africa is because women are simply not in any position to dictate anything about sex.

Unmarried women? Of course, it's the WOMAN'S fault for having sex! Men can also choose not to have sex, yet they are never held responsible, are they?

The only solution is safe, effective, and universally available birth control, that a woman can take and hide without her husband's knowledge, if necessary. Those with religious aversions to birth control don't have to take it.

Then -- and only then -- can there be a reasonable discussion about whether or not there is a "choice."