Abortion

Transparent Statement:
I support a woman's right to choose, but am ok with reasonable limits.

I absolutely support a woman's right to choose whether to terminate a pregnancy. I am obviously not a woman, but I cannot imagine it is a decision that any woman ever truly wants to make.

There are thousands of children just in Washington State available for adoption who long for a family to love them — and whom the state is paying for (albeit minimally). So bringing an unwanted child into this world does not benefit anyone.

I do not believe in artificial requirements enacted in other states such as requiring admitting privileges at hospitals, maintaining a hospital-level operating-room, or requiring ultrasounds or other invasive procedures before a woman is permitted to have an abortion.

Having said that, I respect people who believe that all life is sacred and that late-term abortions are unnecessarily cruel, particularly if a fetus is viable. I am willing to accept that there is a point by which a woman has had sufficient time to make a decision whether to terminate her pregnancy. Practically speaking, this means that while I would never propose or active support such laws, I would not necessarily veto reasonable limits.

And just in case I am not controversial enough, I also do not believe in requiring teens to get permission from their parents to terminate a pregnancy. (So much for appeasing pro-life voters.) While I definitely believe that a teenager should discuss such an issue with their parents, I recognize that not all children are fortunate enough to have the type of relationship with their parents that would allow for such a discussion. I am also against requiring a teen to get permission from a judge since that is an incredibly intimidating prospect to anyone, let alone a teen who is already frightened and feeling alone. Besides, there is no reason an individual judge should have that type of power over anyone who has not actually committed a crime.