I Talked with a Pro-Lifer Today

One of the protesters engaged me in conversation today while I was volunteering as a patient escort at Planned Parenthood.

She related how she had had an abortion once and had come to feel it was a terrible mistake. She described her parents as extremely liberal and said she'd chosen abortion because she thought her mother would "kill her" if she learned of her pregnancy (which doesn't sound very liberal to me). I observed this meant she hadn't had a choice and she agreed, adding she'd been coerced by her boyfriend.

I told her I was sorry about what had happened to her and made the point that we sometimes make bad choices, but this doesn't mean we shouldn't have choice. In the course of further discussion I also noted that a society that was more supportive of parents and children would make it easier for people to avoid abortion if they want, but that banning it wouldn't help accomplish that.

Neither of us changed the other's mind, but it was a good conversation.