Abortion The word alone causes civil conversation to flee the room. This is largely because the pro-choice and pro-life positions are being defined by their extremes, by those who scream accusations instead of arguments. More reasonable voices and concerns, on both sides of the fence, are given little attention. For example, pro-life extremists seem unwilling to draw distinctions between some abortions and others, such as those resulting from rape with an underage child. They would make no exception in the recent real-life case of a woman who discovered in her fifth month that her baby would be born dead due to severe disabilities. On the other hand, pro-choice extremists within feminism insist on holding inconsistent positions. The pregnant woman has an unquestionable right to abort, they claim. Yet if the biological father has no say whatsoever over the woman's choice, is it reasonable to impose legalobligations upon him for child support? Can absolute legal obligation adhere without some sort of corresponding legal rights? The only hope for progress in the abortion dialogue lies in the great excluded middle, in the voices of average people who see something wrong with a young girl forced to bear the baby of a rapist. Any commentary on abortion should include a statement of the writer's position. I represent what seems to be a growing 'middle ground' in pro-choice opinion. Legally, I believe in the right of every human being to medically control everything under his or her own skin. Many things people have a legal right to do, however, seem clearly wrong to me: adultery, lying to friends, walking past someone who is bleeding on the street~ Some forms of abortion fall into that category. Morally speaking, my doubts have become so extreme that I could not undergo the procedure past the first three months and I would attempt to dissuade friends from doing so. Partial-birth abortion has thrown many pro-choice advocates into moral chaos. I find it impossible to view photos of late-term abortion--the fetus' contorted features, the tiny fully formed hands, the limbs ripped apart--without experiencing nausea. This reaction makes me ineffectual in advocating the absolute right to abortion. I stand by the principle, 'a woman's body, a woman's right' but I don't always like myself for doing so. Fanatics on both sides are using reprehensible and deceitful tactics. An honest dialogue on abortion must start by re-setting the stage, by denouncing the approaches that block communication. According to the passage, the pro-life and pro-choice positions on abortion are ______.