Planning ahead of abortion

I hate abortion. I could never have one, and I feel terrible for any woman who feels so desperate that she would walk into an abortion clinic. Yet I, like many people, recognize a woman's right to choose.\nBut I would love to see a society where more women do not have to make that choice. So I offer my five ideas to lower the number of abortions each year; I think this multifaceted approach is a compromise with which pro-lifers and pro-choicers could agree.\n1. Better sex education in schools. Kids need to be taught truthfully about prophylactics because as long as they believe condoms don't work, they will think there's no point in using them. They also need to be told about sexually transmitted infections against which condoms do not protect: herpes, human papillomavirus, crabs, etc. Tell them 50 percent of the sexually active population has been infected with HPV, and that it can lead to cervical or testicular cancer. Teenagers think they're immortal, but believe me, they'd rather not lose their plumbing. \nStop using those glorified Baby Alive dolls (because every child is clearly born with a keyhole in its back) and saying that "sex is what a man and woman do when they are in love." A lot of girls in middle school loved having the dolls, and most 14-year-olds think they are truly in love. Tell them sex is what happens when two people trust each other enough to risk the life-long functioning of their genitalia.\n2. Reform the foster care system. After all the news about children dying or being abused at the hands of adopted parents and foster care guardians, no girl or woman would want to risk her child being treated like some of the orphans. The first step: Hire more social workers and do more extensive background checks.\n3. De-stigmatize single parents and help them raise their children while preparing for better jobs. And while two parents are better than one, you can't force a woman to get married. Having an abortion is expensive, but supporting a child for more than 18 years is even more costly. Every child deserves food, health care, a home and education, regardless of the "sins" of their parents.\n4. Legalize same-sex marriage. If two people want to raise a child together, ease the difficulty, especially if these two people want to adopt. Numerous studies have shown that gay men and lesbians are completely fit parents and raise children with the same degree of success as heterosexuals. When there aren't so many children waiting to be adopted, a single mother won't be so hesitant to put up her child for adoption.\n5. Provide optional "divorce therapy" and offer tax rebates for (former) couples with children who participate. Help them have a civil relationship that involves more than mailing money back and forth, for the sake of their children. I know plenty of children of divorces who are well-adapted, happy and successful individuals, but usually, both parents have participated in their lives. I reiterate, with an addendum, that two parents are better than one, even if they don't live together.\nAbortion won't cease to exist until it isn't necessary. It's not an issue that should be used as a wedge; to do that is to marginalize human suffering.\nIt isn't something that can be summed up on a ballot that says "should abortion be legal? Circle 'Yes' or 'No'." Nothing is that black and white, and opinions are divided and intricate. \nThe anti-abortion movement should sponsor measures that would reduce the number of abortions sought and shouldn't wage a one-sided war against "sin." Instead of driving people further apart, it would unite a multitude of people fighting for what they believe is right.