Abortion is a subject that many people have strong views on. Anti-abortionists believe a person is alive from the moment a human egg is fertilised and any attempt to end that life - before or after birth - is murder. One anti-abortionist wrote, "There is no difference in killing a four-year-old child and aborting a pre-born child." One protester at an abortion clinic said "I don't believe in killing abortion doctors but I believe in heaven and hell.... I feel they will go straight to hell."

It is hard to see the other side of things. Many women's groups believe that abortion brings equality between sexes. One woman wrote a book saying " We support the rights of the individual woman to choose, to choose pregnancy or abortion."

There is halfway point between the other two views. Some people believe abortion should be available but only for specific medical and social reasons: women who have been raped, women who

In countries that allow abortion, the mothers needs are put first before the foetus. It may be decided that she is unable to care for her child, by age, health, mental development and social damage, so she has an abortion. It is often thought abortion is unwomanly because women are destined to care and to protect. By having an abortion they are not being caring or protecting. A new baby can bring joy to one woman, but heartache to another if she feels unable to care for the baby. An unwanted child puts great pressure on a couple's relationship. One 17-year-old girl said, "Even though I've had an abortion I wouldn't like others to use abortion as another form of contraceptive. For abortion is not preventing a birth but killing an individual." It is hard to judge who should be allowed abortion. Does a woman who isn't in a steady relationship have fewer rights to abortion than a woman who knows her baby is deformed?

My own opinion of abortion is very varied. There are so many different reasons for abortions. Every woman who has had one will have had reasons. I am sure they wouldn't have decided in a few minutes that they were going to abort their baby. They would have thought long and hard about what to do. I put myself in the position of someone else. If I got pregnant now would I really be able to keep it. I would, for one, have to stop school and miss out on the education I would need to bring up a child. I probably wouldn't be able to cope with the emotional pressures and cope with the pain of giving birth. It all seems so easy before you see it through someone else's eyes. Women don't just have an abortion as a spur of the moment thing.

know that the foetus is handicapped, and women who could suffer in childbirth causing possible death.

The dilemma of abortion is not one that can be overcome quickly. Each case is different; each woman has different needs, hopes and dreams. Who are we to judge one of the hardest decisions of her life? And who are we to say if it is right or wrong?

In the UK, the 1967 Abortion Act was introduced to mainly to stop illegal and dangerous abortions.

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