These days, when dealing with the internet, I make an effort to stay away from overtly political material. This is because I have extremely strong opinions but can't stand the process of arguing them on the internet, because when you take people out of a face to face situation, arguments devolve into two people essentially yelling at each other with their fingers stuck in their ears, and nobody looks good. Also, I don't like arguing about politics on a blog because it keeps me from enjoying writing in it, which is the only reason that this exists.

All that said, I couldn't resist delving into the world of politics today after reading this column:

http://philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=11662

Why? Because this column (which you should read before continuing here unless you want everything to be out of context), to me, is a perfect explanation of why abortion rights are more than politics. It involves real people, with real consequences. Taking away individual freedom is almost always a bad idea, and that column explains why: there are circumstances that people don't account for, that can't be accounted for until they arise.

Ms. Spikol says it best herself: "Why should other women-adults who may have their own reasons, or children who are too young to understand them-have fewer options? The right to an abortion doesn't lie in the rationale for getting one. Women shouldn't be forced to justify themselves, to tell their own stories, in order to make this crucial, well-considered decision."

I've been a loyal and consistent reader of Liz Spikol's columns for a long time (and her recently launched blog as well), and have had similar experiences to a lot of what she's written about, so maybe it's because she's not a complete stranger to me that this week's column moved me so much. Either way, I hope it's as thought-provoking for you as it was for me.

(In fact, I liked it so much that I wrote her an email about it, and she answered saying that I could distribute it to whoever I wanted to (like a writer will ever say, "no, I'd rather people didn't read my work") which is why I posted it here, and that she forwarded my email to her editor, who wanted to use it for the letters page. So look out for my name in the Philadelphia Weekly on Wednesday.)