Pertinax wrote:
I don't think the Netherlands is a particularly convincing example. For the past half century, it has the reputation of an 'anything goes' country.
With all due respect, as a citizen of one of the first countries that legalized gay marriage, my patriotic feelings force me to a reaction to the assumption that “anything goes” in this country.
In an ideal world there wouldn’t be the need for abortions, but we don’t live in an ideal world.
With that in mind I much prefer strict legislation on the topic of abortion (as is the case in The Netherlands), than the practice of unqualified old women using knitting needles in shady back-rooms, to which some women who want an abortion are condemned in some countries.
I totally respect you and anyone who wants to protect life from its earliest beginning. As this conviction originates in religious belief, that conviction deserves respect.
But people who don’t share that conviction shouldn’t be forced to conform to the religious believes of others.