Theory versus practice

Most people trust their own judgment; a subset of those presume that nobody else's judgment can be trusted. This is most jarring when it results in a glaring hypocrisy, as in the case of these pro-life activists getting abortions (and asking the staff to help them sneak in and out of the clinic, etc.). You have to read a few of the stories to see how completely these women are able to privilegs their own experience; even after getting into an unforeseen situation themselves, they seem incapable of the empathy required to imagine that most of the people sharing the waiting room might be in exactly the same (or similarly justifiable) circumstances.

She told me that she had been offended by the other women in the abortion clinic waiting room because they were using abortion as a form of birth control, but her condom had broken so she had no choice! I had real difficulty not pointing out that she did have a choice, and she had made it! (Ontario physician)

The stories are really jaw-dropping. I'm sure that there are principled members of the pro-life camp, but there are plenty of folks for whom it's just about punishing women whose morals they suspect. You can see why dialogue might be difficult . . .