Interestingly, Mahatma Gandhi left the door open to abortion in his book, India of My Dreams. As I contemplate his thought process, I think of a woman as the captain of a ship while she is pregnant. She has lives on board for which she is responsible. Yes, she may take life, but no, that authority is not absolute. There is and should be a hearing, as with a captain at sea, when the taking of life is made by another.
Carl Sagan said, "Life exists when a carbon based unit grows as the result of the consumption of another carbon based unit." So we know that that which is within the woman is life, human in nature. And "vibrancy" is only a debate about when ones' life is valuable enough to be protected or not by adults. Is a 90 year old man vibrant enough to be protected? and so forth. So, I suggest that we not do violence to women who choose to terminate a pregnancy, but neither should we allow the captain to kill off those aboard the ship at their whim.
Gandhiji viewed crime as a mental illness that should be treated. When a woman ends a pregnancy, she should be evaluated to see if there was cause. If there was not cause, then she is treated for mental illness.
Gene Chapman, CEO
Mahatma Gandhi Global Library and Book Exchange
