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One of the most controversial topics anyone can discuss is that of abortion. This debate brings up emotional responses with virtually any position one might take.

Time magazine named Margaret Sanger one of the hundred most important people of the 20th century. Sanger was the brainchild behind what is known as Planned Parenthood and she was a champion of women's reproductive rights. She espoused the unencumbered use of birth control and her views on reproduction have gone global.

The primary view of choice advocates is that the woman should have full control over her right to reproduce. If there is an unplanned pregnancy then the gestational cycle can be terminated when desired.

The motto often used by those who believe strongly in a woman's right to choose is, 'Every child a wanted child.'

The connotation is that if the child is not wanted then the logical choice would be abortion.

The role of abortion became mainstream in the 1970's in response to the Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized the procedure. Choice advocates praise that ruling because it brought the procedure into the doctor's office instead of back alleys.

Abortion on demand is even heralded as something the government should add to any present or future health care bills they may consider.

Obviously in the realm of debate there is another side to this issue. The exact opposite of the choice movement is the life movement.

Life advocates contend that it is the life of the child that is of more importance than the choice of the mother. They further contend that the child ultimately is without choice.

Where choice advocates consider the mass growing inside the mother's womb a fetus, life advocates consider it a human being that should have the same rights afforded to the mother.

Life advocates will point to psychological issues such as posttraumatic stress disorder that seems to be prevalent among those who have experienced an abortion. They will also point to an increase in medical complications from the procedure, especially in the teen years.

When the procedure of abortion is described it is often viewed as inhumane.

Add to this the fact that there are a growing number of families wanting to adopt a child, but are finding very few available. Life advocates would suggest that adoption is a much better choice than abortion. If, in fact, the pregnancy is unplanned and the child's arrival would be very inconvenient from a personal life or financial point of view adoption could be an alternative that may prevent potential medical issues for the mother and allow the child to grow up in a home where they will be loved and nurtured.

Many women who have had abortions will recall the date they had the abortion and will have onset depression in much the same way an adult laments the passing of a parent or partner.

It would seem the central issue in the abortion debate is between whether the mother or the child has the most choice, yet even this observation is, in itself, subject to controversy.