medically supervised abortion, anyone would think that the “abortion on demand” people want drive-in, drive-out service. I mean, how many times do these women plan to have (or think they might need access to) an abortion in their lives? What’s going on here? Don’t they know there are easier ways to prevent motherhood? The agenda here is clearly that they see abortion as a form of contraception and / or a tool for selective breeding.
   No-one of any compassion could deny the need for the opportunity of abortion to be available for those in the extremely unfortunate circumstance of rape. But the major issue on the streets and in the corridors of power seems to now be that it is every woman’s right to control her body and the outcomes of her sexual liaisons for up to 20 weeks after the event. I most wholeheartedly agree that it is every woman’s right to control her body and the outcomes of her sexual liaisons, and that is why we have signs and symptoms in our vaginas for 365 days of each year and a brain between our ears. I just fail to see why the right to abortion needs to be considered a contraceptive option, which it has now become.
   Whilst I guess such efforts as securing abor-tion as a contra-pregnancy option (as opposed to the much easier contra-conception options) is a valid endeavour for those of such motivations, for any woman who has ever had an abortion, her main considerations are markedly different. Most would agree that the decision was a very difficult one, and I don’t believe that too many women have ever made that choice lightly, or without considering all the aspects. Whilst abortion clinics have some very compassionate and good counselling staff on hand, too often in this debate, the woman’s spiritual feelings are ignored or whitewashed over.
   Having said all that, along with the fact that abortion does exist as a legal contraceptive option; and that many women do want it to continue to exist; and will continue to use it; let me tell you firstly, that yoga and tantra don’t have a specific doctrine on abortion per se. How could they? Even though they have been around for thousands of years, every modern day issue could hardly have been canvassed and a position decided. So when it comes to such things, what it always boils down to is the interpretation of the principles upon which yoga was founded and the level of awareness of the inquiring person.
   Many people often think that yoga and tantra have strict moral and ethical codes. Some closely related Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism certainly do, but the essence

of yoga and tantra has never been connected to some set of rules as to what is “right” or what is “wrong”. People also often assume that all yogis are complete pacifists, against any form of killing or violence, and hold that all life is sacred, but this is not totally correct either.
   As stated back in Chapter 2, the systems of yoga and tantra have evolved from mankind’s search for a deeper meaning of existence. All the concepts and practices are to assist in developing greater self awareness which flows over into greater cosmic awareness. That’s it.
   So is abortion a no-no or is it OK according to yoga? It depends! It depends primarily on whether you use it (like any event in life) to develop higher consciousness, or if it is done as an escape from the reality which is your ignorant self. Whereas the former is wise, the latter is stupid. Take your pick. But how can one use abortion as a means to higher consciousness? Easy. You use it as an object of meditation, extraordinarily deep meditation. You use it as a springboard to dive deep into the issues of who am I, what am I doing here, what is this thing called life, what is this thing called a foetus within me, is it conscious, is it alive, do I want it, could I want it, do I need it, what is its purpose in me at this time, what if I do choose to abort, what if I don’t, what does it all mean, what can I learn here about myself and my life from this event?
   Many people (both women and men) ask these exact same questions when faced with the option of abortion and many of them find greater meaning and understanding in their life from such introspections. Some of those people reach a conclusion that abortion is the best current option, and others reach the conclusion that abortion, is not the best current option. Their conclusions are then based on their own inner spiritual realisations and not on anyone else’s moral or ethical codes. That is what makes it right or wrong – not absolutist right or wrong, but rather, correct or incorrect, appropriate or inappropriate, true or not true for yourself and to your higher conscience. After all, you’re the only one who has to live with your conscience.
   For some people abortion is seen as the destruction of a potential life, and this is of course true. But are these the same people who eat Kentucky Fried Chicken, spring lamb, oysters and fish roe, all of which are far beyond the state of potential life? “Ah, but they are only dumb animals and we are humans”, they will say. “We are conscious creatures and they are not”. Really? So, at what level of human life can it be deemed conscious? It could be argued that a