At its heart, the abortion debate is not an argument of ethics or morals but a contest of competing definitions.
In a 2009 Gallup poll, more Americans defined themselves as pro-life than pro-choice. But Gallup has been asking that same question since 1995, and 2009 was the first year a majority of Americans identified as pro-life. The numbers were close — 51 to 49 percent.
They’ve always been close.
Clearly the jury is still out on how we define when a human life officially begins.
With that in mind, how can we firmly establish any sort of law regarding abortion? With human life in the balance, we have to do something, and we have to approach the question logically and with empathy.
Ectopic pregnancies are but one of many conditions which threaten the life of the mother and virtually ensure the death of the child. In the case of incest, the likelihood of the child being born malformed is dramatically increased. A pregnancy conceived by rape, as is often the case with instances of incest, can be horrifically traumatic to the unwilling mother’s mental health.
In these instances, abortion is employed as a legitimate medical procedure. The women undergoing these abortions are not doing so because they made a mistake or because they didn’t take the necessary precautions to avoid pregnancy, but because their very lives might be in danger.
There is a distinction between abortion as contraceptive and abortion as the only option on the table.
This is not to say accidents don’t happen or that unwanted pregnancies don’t occur between consenting adults. The difference, however, is that when two people go to bed, they know the risks they’re running.
When people have sex, they roll the dice. They should be prepared to deal with the consequences of their actions.
Some on the religious right and in the pro-life camp want to demonize women who get abortions. Many of the women putting themselves under the knife are young, terrified and staring down the barrel of shame and condemnation. That’s not right, and it’s part of the problem.
We as a civilization decide and define what is and is not “wrong.” This process is purely subjective. A hundred years ago, when a husband forced his wife to sleep with him, it wasn’t considered rape. We have since redefined what rape is, and we have even instituted age-of-consent laws. Now we have statutory rape and marital rape. We’re at that point in the abortion controversy.
When a pregnant woman is murdered or accidentally killed, the person responsible is often charged with the death of the mother and the unborn child as well. When a pregnant woman dies, we deem it somehow more tragic — we mourn not only for the person lost but also for the person that could have been.
We can’t have it both ways.
An unborn child can’t be baggage one day and a human life the next.
Until we properly define when life begins, we must act in the defense of the definition with the most at stake — and the stake is highest with human life.
Even possible human life.
Until we can settle on an answer, our compromise must come in the form of proper sex education and a shift in the way we look at women with unwanted pregnancies. Until the consensus is in and we are of one mind on the issue of abortion, the termination of unborn children must be illegal as a standard form of contraception.
Nicholas Pierce is a 22-year-old history junior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_nabdulpierce.
 
—-
Contact Nicholas Pierce at [email protected]