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Do you honestly think that Pro-Choicers really want to encourage anyone to get an abortion if they don't want to? No, I promise you that we do not! We Pro-Choicers just look at the situations in the life of some unintentionally pregnant couples that cause them to feel that abortion is the best choice for them.

As I said previously, abortions happen at the same rate in a country whether they are illegal or not. So, though I understand that you care deeply about this issue, don't you feel that it might be better to work on things that reduce the number of abortions, rather than just spending all this energy telling people why you, and (your) God, feel abortion is wrong.

So, if making abortion illegal doesn't seem to actually stop abortion, could there be another way to try and reduce the number of abortions? Why do people even get abortions? Let's see what those people themselves have to say (from a site that sources a study conducted on people willing to talk about their abortions afterward with those conducting it):

"The reasons women give for having an abortion underscore their understanding of the responsibilities of parenthood and family life. Three-fourths of women cite concern for or responsibility to other individuals; three-fourths say they cannot afford a child; three-fourths say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or the ability to care for dependents; and half say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner."

So, obviously, most women/couples have more than one reason in their life that effects their choice to abort. Let's see, most women/couples getting abortions feel that having a child would interfere with their other responsibilities, like school, work, or caring for their children (or other dependents). Most women/couples getting abortions feel that they simply do not have the money it takes to raise a child to maturity. Half of the women who abort are either single, or feel that their partner is not suitable for raising children.

With all of these reasons considered, what are things we could do to reduce abortion?

Don't you think that offering free or low cost responsible day care would help all those who go to school or have jobs be more likely to choose to carry a pregnancy to term and raise the resulting child?

What about couples who feel like they don't have the money to raise a child? Do you think that they might change their mind if they knew about organizations willing to donate baby furniture, baby clothes, and diapers? What about government help like WIC, who help pay for certain necessities for women and children under 5 living in poverty? Don't you think knowing about such things might help a woman/couple be more sure of their financial situation if they were to keep their pregancy and keep the resulting child?

There are many things that you could be doing right now to actually help reduce the number of abortions happening! You can volunteer at many Pro-Life organizations that offer services like helping pregnant mothers/couples who want to carry the pregnancy to term and put the resulting child up for Private Adoption. Or you could even just donate to such organizations! There are also many different organizations that work on getting "baby supplies" for expectant women or couples who couldn't otherwise afford them. These places can always use donations of money or even used, but not worn, baby items. These are all simple things that help limit the number of abortions, because they offer a "realistic" sounding solution to couples who feel that they can't afford a(nother) child.

You could also do things simply like spreading the word that such organizations exist! That there are other options for women or couples who would like to raise a child, but don't feel that they are in a situation to be able to realistically afford (financially, emotionally, mentally, or even just time-wise) to keep the pregnancy and raise the resulting child.

I know somewhere in Europe (I think the Netherlands), they have free or more affordable child care, free checks up til the child reaches a certain age and are more flexible when it comes to parents taking off time for work to take care of a sick child. We need stuff like that.

If I'm in a position to, I fully intend on taking a few years off work when I have kids and raising them at home. But I would volunteer at an organization like this because I could bring my kids with me, and they'd be able to socialize and make friends too. A lot of pro-life women I've met are in just that position. I wonder if something like that exists?

I sympathize with your thoughts on daycare.

I think sanctioned maternity leave is a lot better of a job guarantee than socialized childcare.

While the latter can be useful for the right people, I think taking care of children is a big responsibility for people who are not emotionally invested. Question: Can you ever reach the level of emotional attachment that a mother can? Can training make you reach that level?

While I may be scientifically wrong to say that "It takes a professional degree to raise children in the same way it takes one to be a nurse!" I feel like that's the appropriate thing to say. I want to acknowledge how much work it takes to raise a kid and offer that, maybe, hopefully, we can train people to do it. The services they would provide would be usefully for those who'd utilize them.

Ultimately however, I reiterate that I sympathize with you Waters.