I consider myself pro-choice but here is the thing - my rights end where someone else's begin. At some point during the pregnancy, it ceases to be a fetus and becomes a baby. At that point, it also has rights. The conundrum is - where is that point?

For some people, it's a human being at conception. For others, it's a human only after birth. For the majority of us, I suspect we are somewhere in the middle.

Many European countries such as France only allow abortion during the first trimester, unless the mother's LIFE is in danger. Not her emotional well being, her life. I personally would probably set the cut-off at 4 months. But the thing is - there IS a cut-off after which it's no longer just a bunch of cells.

For those who feel setting a limit on abortion is too restrictive - birth control is cheap and readily available. If you are poor, you can have your partner share the expense. If you can't ask him to do that or he refuses - then he's a pi** poor excuse of a partner and maybe you need to find someone better. If neither you nor your partner can afford birth control, clinics and campus medical centers provide free condoms.

If you get pregnant despite using birth control, then you have several months to get the abortion. If you get raped, the morning after pill works quite well.

Telling women they need to schedule their abortions for the first trimester and making that stick is not violating her rights but asking her to be responsible for the choices she is making. Rights come with responsibilities. If she can't be responsible enough to use birth control, then she's not an adult and being sexually active may not be the best decision for her. After all, there are also STDs to worry about...

The fact is that women often act like victims when they don't have to. If you're pregnant, unless you're the new incarnation of the Virgin Mary or were raped, you voluntarily had sex. This is a choice you made. If you don't want to carry the child to term, get the abortion while it doesn't have a heartbeat, brain waves and so on. Waiting until the child is viable outside the womb is immoral.

Maybe giving up the child for adoption is traumatic for the mother, but how does the compare to DEATH for a baby that is viable? Again, if she wants an abortion, she should get it done early in the pregnancy, which most people fortunately do.

One thing I find bizarre - people will abort a baby at 8 or 9 months but get upset when stray dogs and cats are put to sleep. I'm not advocating being cruel to animals - every pet I've had has been a rescue and I am against abusing animals. However, there seems to be a disconnect when it comes to compassion.