RU-486

The debate over the "abortion pill" is an interesting spectacle, to say the least. Despite myself being male, I agree with the point of view that the high level of critical involvement from men in this issue is far from necessary. Does it seem right that decisions and laws concerning abortion are almost always made by men?

Senator Allison of the Democrats, who herself has had an abortion, said "women are fully human, we will act on our own set of values and can be trusted to make reproductive health decisions for ourselves or to share that decision with those we trust" (08/02/06).

Our gracious prime minister has said that "important decisions affecting the community should be made by people who are directly accountable to the community". Well, my first question is, are politicians actually accountable to the community? Oh, wait a minute, I think he means that an election is held every three years. As "DietFist" stated on The Chaser's political forum, "if every politician was actually held accountable for their actions, we'd be having by-elections on a daily basis."

Though I am a male who will never need to contemplate abortion, I do have an opinion on the matter. I am in favour of abortion. I am in favour of the option being available. And to quote Chelsea Clinton's pro-choice father, abortion should be "safe, legal and rare".

If the cautious medical professionals are right, then perhaps RU-486 requires further research so that people can be more confident of its safety. I tend to think, however, that if the abortion pill poses as many dangers as its opponents would have us believe, then the issue would not even be on the agenda, and would not have already reached the point of a Senate vote.