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All this obscures the difference between an abortion and saving the life of the mother in a way that results in the death of the baby. Apparently, most Freepers don't either. Example: In an ectopic pregnancy, the doctor could go in and unwrap the baby from the umbilical cord. The baby is most likely going to die. As opposed to performing an abortion, which is going into the womb with the express purpose of killing the baby by cutting it up and extracting it.

An ectopic pregnancy has nothing to do with the baby being wrapped up in the umbilical cord. Fertilization of the egg usually occurs in the Fallopian tubes. The fertilized egg/zygote would normally continue down to the uterus where it implants. In an ectopic pregnancy, the implantation has occurred someplace other than the uterus, such as in the Fallopian tube or in the endometrial lining. This is threatening to the woman and the baby because these areas are not designed for carrying a baby to term. They can't generally support the extra weight and they also usually can't contribute to the formation of a normal placenta. But you are correct in saying that the motivations are different.

As for the comment about "We've got to be rid of the shame", this is a standard tactic of the left. It's part of the whole attitude that being judgemental in any way is by definition bad. We can't judge anyone, therefore bringing morality into a discussion is forbidden. This then allows all sorts of behavior to be promoted without having to justify it.

I think the 73 percent figure is probably correct and is due to the exceptions that you have all mentioned. They are legitimate exceptions but they also represent the backdoor to allowing a lot of elective abortions. All a woman has to do is get a willing doctor to say that carrying the pregnancy to term would threaten her health. The way around this would be that any legislation must explicitly define what constitutes such risk in the same way that clinical death should be defined for purposes of terminating life support. Allowing the politicians to just get away with broad phrases like "posing a risk to the life or health of the mother" just won't cut it.

If you think about it, the exceptions to the rule are the way that most things liberal or socialistic get passed. The very great majority of people, when questioned specifically about various issues are lopsidedly conservative....but we've all got our little exceptions. How many times have we all heard "I don't believe the government has any business doing this or that or the other....except for..."