"...healthy relationships with ones' self..." ???

Give me a break!

Do I think there can be reconciliation between the two camps?

Absolutely not.

Not so long as anti-choicers continue to try to force their unfounded beliefs on those with a uterus.

Ours is the one great nation in all of history that was founded on the precept of equal rights and respect for all humankind, for the poorest and weakest of us as well as the richest and strongest. As our Declaration of Independence put it, in words that have never lost their power to stir the heart: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..." A nation founded on these principles holds a sacred trust; to stand as an example to the rest of the world, to climb ever higher in its practical realization of the ideals of human dignity, brotherhood, and mutual respect... It must be recognized that our model was never one of realized perfection, but of ceaseless aspiration. From the outset, for example, America denied the African slave his freedom and human dignity. But in time we righted this wrong, albeit at an incalculable cost in human suffering and loss of life. Our impetus has almost always been toward a fuller, more all-embracing conception and assurance of the rights that our founding fathers recognized as inherent and God-given. Ours has ever been an inclusive, not an exclusive society. And our steps, though they may have paused or faltered now and then, have been pointed in the right direction and have trod the right path. The task has not always been an easy one, and each new generation has faced its own challenges and temptations. But in a uniquely courageous and inspiring way, America has kept faith. Yet there has been one infinitely tragic and destructive departure from those American ideals. It was in this Court's own decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) to exclude the unborn child from the human family. Our court ruled that a mother, in consultation with her doctor, has broad discretion, guaranteed against infringement by the United States Constitution, to choose to destroy her unborn child. Your opinion stated that you did not need to "resolve the difficult question of when life begins." That question is inescapable. If the right to life is an inherent and inalienable right, it must surely obtain wherever human life exists. No one can deny that the unborn child is a distinct being, that it is human, and that it is alive. It is unjust, therefore, to deprive the unborn child of its fundamental right to life on the basis of its age, size, or condition of dependency. It was a sad infidelity to America's highest ideals when this Court said that it did not matter, or could not be determined when the inalienable right to life began for the child in its mother's womb. Look how the decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed our great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has protrayed the greatest of gifts - a child - as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters. And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners. Human rights are not a privilage conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign. Our nation was founded on the proposition that human life is a gift of immeasurable worth, and that it deserves, always and everywhere, to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. In conclusion, the common ground we seek has already been written by our founding fathers - we just need to read and live what they intended. Life, liberty and then the pursuit of happiness... This prioritized order was not by mistake.

you are an eloquent writer with heartfelt beliefs. No one can argue that! However, you could not be more wrong in your opinion that Roe v. Wade was somehow the beginning of abortion, the moment when women were given the freedom to prioritize pleasure and convenience over responsibility and inconvenience. Abortion has never been "pleasurable" for women and it is not convenient in any way, shape or form. Furthermore, since most women who have abortions are already mothers or plan on being mothers, this idea that they are escaping responsibility is simply bogus. Abortion is a part of women's lives and likely always has been - likely always will. Governments can bestow legality or constitutionality but governments cannot and will not ever stop human beings from making the decisions they feel are best and right for them and their families. A pregnant woman who does not want to be pregnant - for a myriad of reasons - will find a way not to be. If you are a woman, you likely understand this. If you are not, you won't plain and simple. And I can promise you that the comparison of fetuses to African American slaves - people's sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles - is so unbelievably racist that, if you are of African American descent I'd be shocked. The majority of women who have abortions are already mothers - we know what it is like to have a child growing inside of us, we know the joy and responsibility of motherhood. We understand that we are ending the life inside of us (despite the nonstop claims of anti-choicers who somehow feel they need to scream that "these women are murdering their babies" to women who have been pregnant, birthed children, and mothered children). Life requires hard, difficult choices and nowhere is that more apparent than when you're a woman who is either chosen or not to be pregnant, birth and potentially raise a child. If society wants the most positive, beneficial outcomes for mother and baby, we need to focus on ensuring access to health care, family planning tools, nutrition, skilled birth attendants, postnatal care and more. Simply outlawing abortion will never help women and their families. You say it will be the only way to stop abortion but that is simply not true. Criminalizing abortion does not stop abortion from happening; it only makes it less safe for mothers and puts them and their families in jeopardy.

Amie Newman

Managing Editor, RH Reality Check