I put easy in quotes because of course it's never truly easy to terminate a pregnancy. But sometimes it's necessary, even for so-called "pro-lifers." Andrew Sullivan has been publishing emails from readers who are sharing their stories about late-term abortion in the wake of the George Tiller murder.
My story is not that compelling. Back in late 1997, I was engaged to a girl who eventually became my first wife. One weekend we got a little tipsy and had unprotected sex and she wound up pregnant. I'll never forget the look on her face when she told me: it was as though she had been given a death sentence. Since we were already engaged, I floated the idea of keeping it. But she was not ready to become a mother (I wasn't ready for fatherhood either, but I thought I was) and abortion was her only option. Being pro-choice, I completely supported her decision. Her sister took her and she had the procedure done.
Our physical relationship never recovered from that; I could have been wearing six condoms with her on the pill, and she was still afraid of getting pregnant again. We married but split up after six long years.
That pregnancy, had it resulted in a birth, would have produced a child that would be 21 years old this year. I don't regret what my ex did, but I sometimes think about what it would be like to have a grown child at my age. When I see the faces of Lisa and my sons fade because they never would have been in my life, that thought ends.
Obama is so right on: abortions should stay legal, but we should spare no effort to reduce their occurrence. And the best way to do that is through education and a firm grasp of the reality of human sexual behavior.
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