Our Word represents the consensus of the Daily Egyptian Editorial Board.

This statement is printed at the end of this article each day. It is supposed to represent agreement, perhaps not absolute agreement but some form of unity of belief. But for the first time in many editorial board meetings, it was agreed Wednesday that a consensus on the issue of abortion could not be reached.

It has been 25 years since the historic Roe v. Wade decision. Since then, many things have changed in both America and the world.

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Communism fell in Russia, and with it the Cold War ended. The Berlin Wall came down. Six presidents have been in the White House, and Hong Kong became a part of China again.

But with all the changes in the last 25 years, the abortion debate remains controversial. The lines are still drawn and arguments still occur daily.

As the editorial board met Monday and Wednesday and debated the stance we should take on this issue, the only conclusion reached was we had no stance. Although it honestly can be said that most of us believed in a woman’s right to choose there was no complete agreement.

Some of us were completely pro-choice with no exceptions, while some were pro-life under all circumstances. Some were pro-choice except for varying factors such as:it should be legal except as a form of irresponsible birth control; it should not be legal except for cases of rape; should not be performed in the third trimester; or there should be parental consent. Some said it should be left completely up to women, while some stated that they support it legislatively as a whole but do not personally support it.

America is a unique mix of ideas. It is this fact that many find beautiful. We as a society have been given a right that citizens of other countries have not been given the right to disagree.