the moral quandary here is a lot more complex than I ever thought

Some years back, in my wife's second pregnancy, we found out that the baby had a birth defect that was terminal at the 20 week ultrasound. Organ development was severely stunted, and the baby would not live outside the womb, though it was possible that he or she would have carried to term. It was devastating. We had had an early miscarriage with her first pregnancy, and we really hoped this one would work out. I remember being so excited going in to that ultrasound, and then our hopes were dashed.

We decided that the best choice among terrible choices was a late-term abortion. Due to a variety of factors, we ended up having to travel out of state to a women's clinic to have the procedure done.

It was a fucking nightmare. Protesters on the sidewalk outside the clinic got in our faces as we walked in. They hung around for a few hours carrying signs and shouting. One guy literally stood on a soapbox screaming about murder. They tried to shame us for making the best choice we could for our own sake and the sake of the baby. They knew nothing about the particulars of our situation, yet we were wrong for sure according to them. My wife wept walking through that gauntlet.

Years later, what sticks with me most about that experience after the grief is the question of just who the fuck are those people that think it's a good idea to harass women making this decision? What is going through their minds? Why do they feel so righteous in doing what they are doing? I have never been able to come up with an answer, and frankly, I'm not sure I could stomach whatever their answer would be.

Each abortion is a choice fraught with moral uncertainties. There is not and never will be an answer as to whether abortion in general is morally right or wrong. For some it is, for others it isn't. It sickens me to hear about these attacks on reproductive rights turned into talking points to garner favor with an increasingly ugly conservative base.