[v64]

> I'll repeat: What is it about our society that compels women to do this?

I don't think society has much to do with it. Pregnancy is an incredible ordeal for a woman to go through. Not only does it drastically change a woman's body, sometimes permanently, but it's also a process the woman has to endure for nine months. I don't see how it's surprising at all that this is something some percentage of women simply don't want to endure at all.

If you want to look at societal factors, I think a major one is that when an unwanted pregnancy occurs, the man is the one who has the ability to walk away. Faced with 18 years of single parenthood or an abortion that can reset everything to how it was before the pregnancy, the latter is the better option.

Some people say abortion is morally reprehensible. But like religion, I think your morality is a personal issue. If you're against abortion, then when you get pregnant, you're free to keep the child. If you're religious, pray for them. But in a free country, I don't believe you can make that choice for others. Homosexuality, interracial marriage, women not wanting to have children, these are all things that some group has argued as immoral at some point in history, but society has progressed. I hope abortion will progress similarly.