Life Choice: The Ethics and Ideologies of Abortion

From the no-man's-land of the continuing conflict over abortion, "Life Choice" listens to women and makes a plea for women on differing sides to respect the integrity of the motivation of their sisters - even when they totally disagree - and suggests that questioning the automatic link between legality and morality may enable women to listen to each other. The author finds the framing of this conflict as a debate unhelpful and provides an alternative view, of the ambiguity inherent in tragedy, supported by both Classical myth and contemporary philosophy. Sympathetic to the motivations of both sides, his standard of humane ethics is rooted in an awareness of the man-made divisions that separate women and of the grief and loss sustained by women on all sides. In an ideological conflict of immortal souls versus politicised bodies, "Life Choice" pleads for free expression of the contradictions of the human heart. Finally, the author challenges men to dismantle the machinery of misogyny and encourages women to find common ground in the material and moral support of women who want to continue with a pregnancy but experience great economic or social pressure not to give birth.