[Griff]

I'm all about being honest with kids about sex. I would suggest, however, that after the first abortion the kid should be pretty aware of the facts. This is where social pressure should come in. Apparently kids can have abortions without addressing any question of ethics. I hate to come off as the conservative on this one but the reality of this is that our desire to be non-judgemental can lead to patterns of behavior that are appalling no matter where we stand on the choice issue.

What made western civilization different was an increase in respect for the individuals life no matter his station. I don't want to get into the pointless arguement about whether fetus=individual but I would point out that making life cheap, and this includes the life of the poor 12 year old, is an enormous step backward. It helps sanction individual and government violence from sex (usually initiated by an older male) and street crimes to the drug and oil wars easing us back toward a society where people become the playthings of their physical or political masters and force becomes a value.