An adequate ethic not only clarifies dilemmas of personal choice but also illuminates the question "What practices and policies ought to characterize a genuinely moral or good society?" An appropriate ethic of procreative choice must illuminate both questions, because life is inherently social and what government does or does not do affects everyone. Even so, it is important to affirm at the outset that it is more critical for women to face together and agree on the latter question "What is a humane social policy regarding abortion?" than to reach consensus on the question of the morality of the act of abortion itself. Differing personal commitments, all justifiable from a moral point of view, yield different conclusions about choosing abortion (Thompson, A. 1990).
It is important for women to recognize that if we did not have to consider the matter of procreative choice in its historical context where strong abortion taboos obtain, the focus of our discussion would be quite different. In such an "ideal" context, the basic moral issue for women would be how we might responsibly use the procreative power our gender bequeaths us. Given the politics of abortion, women have had little psychological space to pursue this question, which in the last analysis may be the greatest tragedy of all. For women need desperately to understand that we do possess a strong, creative social power and that we are genuinely morally accountable for how we use that power. The current context of debate makes it incredibly difficult for us to put this fact of our social accountability in perspective. Until and unless procreative choice is understood as a basic moral value in our society, women's full capacity as moral agents will not come to fruition.
A chief source of moral disagreement on this point is varying judgments about how the value of fetal life should be viewed......
