As someone who had a hand in compiling BBP2006, I'm glad to say this piece landed in my in-tray and that I was able to recommend it to Ken Parish and Nick Gruen. It is brave, thoughtful, gutsy and lots of other good things. Well done.

The tone of the article says it all... abortion should be free because *I* want to do what I want, when I want, and damn the consequences, damn the taxpayers, damn everyone who gets in the way of what is convenient for me at this point in time. Another example of the inbalance between rights and responsibilities in Western Society. Part of (sexual) freedom is taking responsibility for your actions, and using freedom responsibly.

I used to get upset about these types of hypocritical stances, because this is the worst example of middle class, egocentric, consumerist culture that the left supposedly rallies against. However, I now find that self centred people tend to end up being very lonely, bitter people, so I just feel sorry for them.

Iain Hall your comments are just ludicrous. To say the author is denying the humanity of a foetus is misleading and wrong. You do not have to be a Roads Scholar to figure out that a foetus and a baby, both biologically human, are different. A foetus is a potential person that can not survive without a physical attachment to, and total physical reliance on, another person. A baby is a person and a person does not require physical attachment to another person to survive. Year 8 biology.

I get quite confused about why some men persist with the idea that men have a stake in another persons medical procedure that they them selves will never have. I am also equally perplexed as to why some women seek to deny other women access to a procedure that they themselves will choose not have. If you do not want an abortion – simple – don’t have one.

Men may be, and are often are, invited to give their input into an individual woman’s decision – but the invitation for input is entirely up to the woman. The decision is the woman’s and the issue is entirely between an individual woman and her doctor.
By “rare” I think you mean you get to choose who is worthy enough to access an abortion and who is not. Your further comments about the author are just disgusting and reveal, I think, a disturbed mind.

Hey Cornflower - I think the issue of access to, and education about, free, safe and available contraception is most important but – at the same time - not at all related to the issue of access to abortion. Just as a woman’s decision to access abortion is entirely hers and the issue between her and her doctor, so is the issue of contraception for both individual men and women. Education about reproductive health, however, is a social responsibility. It should be comprehensive for both men and women and cover all aspects from conception planning to contraception as well as abortion.

The number of times the word 'I' is used in this article says its all. If only we could think past 'I' maybe then we would not have to murder the unborn.

Billy C - I completely agree. Attempting to morally outline the acceptable cases of abortion is illogical and most importantly unsafe. Women will access it however they can, so the question is really whether we prize the fully formed life of a woman or the potential life of a foetus.

maracas - I'm glad you liked it :)

Iain Hall - I agree that in an ideal world men would have equal weight in the debate. However, until men are able to produce children and deal with the burden of pregnancy, I'm afraid I have to consider their opinions less valid. And absolutely - abortion should be rare. But that comes with a far greater emphasis on safe sex education; even then, genuine contraception failures like mine will happen.

Turn Right Then Left - Exactly. I'm more than willing to listen to pro-life arguments as long as emotive, illogical language like baby-killing is left out of it.

Cornflower - I don't believe I was ever called a heroine ;) I also pointed out a number of times that I didn't feel like I should be applauded for bravery. However, I did say that people consider me brave because I say what very few women feel they are allowed to. After delivering this piece to a conference in Adelaide I had a number of women thank me afterwards and tell me that they had never felt able to express their own relief for their abortions. Something to think about, non?

skepticlawyer - I have you to thank then!

(comments continued below)

Gekko - I'm a taxpayer too you know, and as yet I haven't used hospital for anything other than this procedure. Further, I think recognising that I have economic or emotional capability for a child right now is exercising far more responsibility than having one to please the likes of you.

Billy C - "Education about reproductive health, however, is a social responsibility. It should be comprehensive for both men and women and cover all aspects from conception planning to contraception as well as abortion." The problem it seems is that many who rally against abortion also seem to rally against comprehensive sex education - I could be generalising, but the two seem to hand in hand in a grand celebration of the conservative.

runner - *I* fail to see how *I* could write about *my* experience without reference to *myself*. I also get a sense that you consider women's natural inclination to be motherhood, as it seems you consider anything that rejects this model to be selfish.

Thanks everyone for reading the article. It's clearly an area that inspires a lot of emotion. My biggest wish though is for the stigma of guilt to be removed from abortion, even within the pro-choice camp. If women could feel comfortable about admitting to abortions, we might get past this notion that they truly are something to be ashamed of rather than representative of a woman making her own choice to govern her reproductive rights.

Peace out