Minor Thoughts from me to you

Patterico has posted part three of his continuing series. Again, I follow suit with my answers.

Position #1 "” Life begins at conception: Yesterday I asked these people questions designed to see how firm their stance is, such whether they would oppose abortion even for rape, and whether they support birth control. As to rape, Dana responded:

Abortion after rape is no different from abortion following consensual intercourse: a human life is destroyed. Yes, rape is a terrible thing, but it is less than murder; we ought not to murder a living human being because someone else is suffering.

As to contraception, Dana responded:

Oral contraceptives normally prevent the ovaries from releasing an unfertilized egg, which is unobjectionable. But oral contraceptives also prevent implantation of a human zygote if an egg was released and fertilized; that I do find objectionable. Thus, were I emperor, they would be outlawed.

Do other "life begins at conception" people agree with these statements? And if you do, do you recognize that most Americans don't? Would you be in a favor of a compromise that recognized most Americans' belief that women should not be forced to have a baby if raped? Can you live with the fact that most Americans believe women should have access to the morning after pill?

I agree with the statement about abortion after rape. As I mentioned yesterday, 75-85% of women who are raped opt not to have an abortion. Now, the national rape rate is not that high: an average of .56 rapes per 100,000 people over the past five years (from the DOJ). Out of that group of people, only 32,000 women per year actually end up pregnant (from the CDC). If we assume that the study holds true, there is possibly only 8,000 rape related abortions per year.

Given the low number of rape related abortions, I would be willing to compromise and leave abortion legal for victims of rape and incest. However, my previous opinion from yesterday stands as well. I would want to see rape victims get counseling that counsels against an immediate abortion. I would want rape victims to hear and understand that having an abortion may make them feel worse not better. It is my opinion that giving such counseling would reduce rape-related abortions even further.

Now, on to the subject of contraceptives. Here I am definitely willing to compromise. If leaving oral contraceptives legal is the price of restricting the availability of abortions, I am willing to do so. I am not entirely convinced that oral contraceptives are true abortifacients. Until, and unless, I am convinced of that, I would not support banning them.