As an animal rights activist, I am faced with an enormous dilemma. Do I call abortion anything other than torture or murder? I cannot rationalize the willful delivery of pain to a rat, cat, dog, rabbit, calf, pig, circus elephant, or unborn humans when alternatives exist.
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Is the killing of an animal against the law? Is murder against the law? People kill animals for food. As a vegan, I am offended by the process, but have never suggested that the killing be made illegal. I have urged that people take responsibility for their actions, and call the act what it is, murder, and recognize that their action of eating meat leads to the painful death of a sentient being. In that same sense, I am horrified by every single act of abortion. I feel the pain of every woman who feels that she has no alternative, and must make that life or death decision. It is a decision that she lives with for the rest of her life, and nothing can be more painful than to kill a part of oneself. Abortion is murder. It must always be called murder. Although it immediately ends a pregnancy, it must not be called a pregnancy termination. It must be called what it is, and if that change in nomenclature occurs throughout our society, it might become a less common act than it is.