While one could argue that the Court's finding in this matter will benefit all of us for whom civil disobedience and First Amendment rights are important, it is vital to bring the focus back to the real issue: Why do women seek abortions and what is really at stake here?

As health advocate August Burns puts it, "Women have abortions because their lives compel them to have an abortion. They have abortions because they have an unwanted pregnancy; because they can't raise a child; because their relationship is terrible; because they were the victims of rape or incest; because it will endanger their lives. But never because they are simply 'exercising a right'." In other words, women don't make a simple choice. They make an incredibly difficult, lonely, and often heart-rending decision that takes into account the full spectrum of their lives and all those with whom they share it.

Carol Gilligan documented this reality in her research about abortion decisions, which led to her groundbreaking book, 'In A Different Voice'. To put it simply, her main finding was that women make many of their most difficult life decisions, including abortion, with a sense of connection to others. They almost never think solely about themselves; rather, they make choices based upon complex relationships and realities.

That's why, legal or illegal, some women will always find themselves having to make the difficult and sometimes life-threatening decision to have an abortion. And that's why it's time for both sides to move their stake in this debate. The "pro-choice" stance trivialises a woman's inherent right to comprehensive, safe, and private medical care into an issue of "free choice". The "pro-life" stance is an affront to every moral person who values life and yet understands that sometimes, difficult decisions need to be made.

In countries where abortion is legal, about 35 of every 1,000 women of childbearing age have an abortion each year. In countries where abortion is illegal, the rate is the same. But in countries where safe, legal abortion is available, the mortality rate from abortion is 0.1 to 1.2 deaths per 100,000 legal abortions. In countries where safe, legal abortion is not available, the mortality rate from abortion is 300 to 700 deaths per 100,000 unsafe abortions. That is a staggering statistic which demonstrates that making abortion illegal does not make it go away; it just drives it underground and makes it unsafe.

It is also interesting to note that the US rate of abortion is four times higher than the rate of abortion in Denmark where there is universal, comprehensive sexuality education and available contraception. Denmark also has a lower teen pregnancy rate and teens having sex at a later age. They also have fewer partners.

Abortion is not simply a choice, and it is never a simple choice. It is a personal, private, difficult decision that each woman must make for herself. It is deeply rooted in a woman's inherent human right to health and well being.

News Network/WFS.