The west is I think burdened by the idea of sin -- that any deviation from what is right is equally wrong with every other deviation. That this is nonsense is even revealed by the penances handed out by priests at confession -- minor sins require minor penances.
As I posted earlier, is an abortion wrong? I don't think so, but the issue comes up of late term abortions. By then, by traditional Buddhist thinking, the fetus is inhabited by a human spirit, but it is still pretty plain that the fetus is not sentient, at least to any important extent. That spirit will just have to deal with it and find another host.
So there is still no rational way to say it is wrong. I would say, however, that these abortions, being more dangerous to the mother, are to be avoided if possible by doing the procedure earlier in the term. Also legal regulation for medical standards would I think be more in order.
Because something is not immoral doesn't mean the state may not have an interest in regulating it. The two are different questions entirely and should not be conflated.
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