Pericles has it in the bag. Discussion over, in my opinion.

I don't know if anybody noticed this but Micheal's objection about perfoming an abortion to save the mother's life was illogical.

If the termination is to save the mother and is refused BOTH will logically die or the premise is wrong.
Is he advocating killing two lives for his "morals".

If the foetus could be reasonably be saved then the doctor is oblidged to save BOTH in which case his arguement is a null.

The key argument is the validity of the survival of 24 week foetus. Need I point out that while some survive it is a forgone conclusion that EVERY 24wk foetuses will. Hence the dicission shouldnbe made on a case by case basis that getting all hot and bothered about comarative moral stances.

If the arguement is one or the other then the doctor is oblidged to use save the one most likely to survive/maintain life.

In short his whole piece is a pro-life rave and an ad hominem attack on the other author.

Thank you for this expression on conscience and what I consider legislation committed to achieving absolute choice by the practice of conscience shopping.

I would like to hear from those that support the "womans body - womans choice argument" in responding to my personal feelings on the issue. I am a man and I would grieve in the face of an aborted foetus if it were to be my child. I feel sickened by the very idea of exterminating foetuses, those foetal images look like a child to me. I have known pro-rights girls that have had abortions, one or two had multiple abortions, I knew them before and I knew them after. I can tell you that they were deeply affected. I didn't ever make my views known to them and if ever they asked me my response would only be versed in how i would suffer if it were to be my child.

We also have many women in society now that don't see the hypocrisy of being both hard line animal rights IFAW or PETA supporters and hard line abortion supporters. Even the baby whale couldn't be left to be eaten by the sharks. It talks of spiritual expedience to me.

I can forgive and have empathy for a desperate girl having a safe abortion but I can't agree with it or stop feeling sickened by it.

My last two cents on the subject - I haven't been so annoyed about an issue for ages. Various people in the media and in forums have said that while they acknowlege a doctors right not to perform an abortion, they think that it's taking it to far, for a doctor to have the right to not to be compelled to refer a woman on.

Really? Shouldn't it be up to the doctor as to what is okay with them? Isn't it a question of degrees? If a doctor is distressed at the thought of being involved at all in any way, shouldn't it be up to them, whether they refer on or not? It may be uptight in some people's eyes but it's the trampling on one group by another.

If the doctors rally, I'll be down there to march with them - pro-choice though I am - I think it's a matter of civil liberties.

If we can spend millions on feel good commercials around election times and on Terror campaigns in the media, surely we can have a public information campaign aimed at women, and a hotline with information available and reduce the hit and miss approach of women approaching GP's seeking information on abortions.

Pericles by a country mile, well said, nailed actually.

Tell me ciao, do you really mean 'hard line abortion supporters' or 'hard line pro-choicers'? There is a huge difference - and I have never met a so-called 'abortion supporter'. I am fervently pro-choice myself, but my preferred situation ALWAYS is that there should not be any unwanted pregnancies. The catholic church makes this hard with their ridiculous attitude on contraception, but when a religion wants more recruits at whatever cost to society, women or the planet, that is the outcome.

Catholic doctors and nurses who want to refuse to tell women considering an abortion where they can go for advice are just being precious. Such women will get the outcome they desire eventually, and being judgmental and petty is, to put it mildly, unchristian. What is that bit in the bible about judgment being for God, not people? Anyway, the big out for the Catholics has always been confession - do whatever you want then say you're sorry and all is forgiven. If it's OK for Mafiosi to murder people and get absolution, I'm sure Him upstairs wouldn't have any problem with giving a woman the name of a non-biased medical service. And how many of these doctors and nurses practice contraception themselves, in disobedience of their Church's edicts? Those who do are just as guilty of preventing a human life coming into being as a woman who has an abortion, and are hypocrites to boot.