What do you think? Is it right for a woman to abort a baby? Should the father of the baby have any say? Under what circumstances do you think an abortion is acceptable?
Please don't overly push any religious views, and respect others' opinions, thanks.
Personally, I don't think abortion is right if it is just for convenience, for example if a woman is married and has a good income, but does not want a baby at that time in her life. I don't even think single mothers or teenage mothers should have an abortion.
I think the sort of circumstances where an abortion would be justified is if the mother was raped and as a consequence fell pregnant, if carrying the baby full term will put the mother's life in danger or if the baby will be born into poverty/deprivation.
But having said all of that, I still respect other peoples' reasons for having an abortion.
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back, everything is different…
you once called your brain a hard drive, well say hello to the virus.
Generally, I am completely against abortion. However, saying that, there are some circumstances under which I am slightly less sure on.
I completely disagree with aborting a baby if it is known that the child is going to be disabled, because who's to say that there life is going to be any less important, happy, and so forth? Yes, it may be a struggle for the parents, but you can never tell how you're going to cope with a disabled child until you have one.
I'm also against aborting a baby for convenience and social reasons, but also if it seems as if money is going to be a problem. I think a life is much more important that money, and yes, there may be poverty, but who's to say that it will last? Who's to say that the child will be any less happy, etc?
I could go on, but I won't, and I'm sure there's plenty there already that people can pull apart! Haha. x
I'm pro choice on this. I think, if your settled down and can afford to have a baby then you shouldn't get it aborted and should keep it and next time use protection.
I also disagree with people who think, "oh it doesn't matter if I get pregnant cause I can just have an abortion" and go around having unprotected sex with any tom dick or harry and have numerous abortions.
Use protection instead or don't have sex..cause likely its the kids thinking that anyway.
I think abortion is ok if you know you can't manage a baby.. like if your still in school for example, or struggling with MH problems (like really struggling and knowing there was no way you could keep the baby) My aunt's sister has something wrong mental health wise and she had loads of kids each time the kid got taken off her. so I know mental health problems can make things harder.
If the child has something seriously wrong with it i think it's ok to abort it and then obviously in things like rape.
I don't see the point of someone trying to bring up a baby when they're physically or mentally not ready for it. But saying that if people think they are old enough and ready enough to have sex they're old enough to use a condom/other form of protection but I know accidents happen and sometimes controception isn't 100%..in which case abortion should be avalible.
Life can be beautiful if you let it.
Step back, breathe and take it in
good question i think that if a male female concentingly have unprotected sex knowing the risk of pregnancy then both the female and the male have the right to decide on the out come sure it is the female that has to go through every thing and the pain
but males have feelings about such things as well and it is a part of them that is going to be terminated and the male should be understanding of the females choice
in any other case where the father wants nothing to do with the child it is up to the mother
in any case where it is a rape or anything it that aspect then not one person has the right to judge the mothers actions
i would be quite pissed if some one aborted my child with out first telling me and asking what my thoughts were first i would more then likely agree with her anyways but that is beside the point
i have always been pro choice. now that i am pregnant i know that i could never ever abort a child of my own. i read my weekly updates about how my baby is growing and i couldnt believe what i was reading sometimes. i had my scan at 13 weeks and my baby turned over and waved its arms around - it even had little fingers. the legal limit for abortion here is 23 weeks which i think is barbaric. i think if you are going to abort a fetus, it must be done before 12 weeks. there was a child was born at 23 weeks and she survived. i watched the abortion debate on tv and there was a man who made a valid point - he said he thought it was barbaric that on one floor of a hospital they would be aborting a 23wk old baby while they were trying to save the life of another on a different floor.
the programme was actually a little graphic for me - i witnessed a child being aborted and i couldnt stand it. they dont pull the child out intact, they rip it apart.
i also couldnt stand another girl on the show, who at 16 was having a late abortion. the reason for that was she didnt know how to tell her mum. when asked how she felt about it she said she wasnt really that bothered.
I'm looking forward to the non-superstitious society of the future that uses birth control and has their genetically modified disease-free babies implanted if and when they choose to have children under a government regulated population control system. Those who wish to go about the natural process, genetic defects and all, can pay for their own healthcare system so the rest of society can afford to move on and advance further.
Squabbling over abortion is today's equivalent of debating whether or not it's appropriate for a woman to wear a red dress to church. In time there will be no need for debate.
My biggest problem with pro-lifers is that they're typically the same people who are pro-death penalty and anti-stem cell research, which pretty much halts any hope the human race has for bettering itself.
I was born at 26 weeks. Just three weeks after the limit for abortion. I agree with you Raven, that the limit should be 12 weeks.
I also dont agree with aborting a baby that is disabled. If I had a baby with Downs Syndrome, or severe Autism, it would difficult at times, but there will still be so many happy and joyful moments that I wouldn't trade for the world.
Abortion is not a form of contraception. If you want to have sex, then you need to be mature enough to think of the possible consequences.
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back, everything is different…
you once called your brain a hard drive, well say hello to the virus.
Firstly, forgive me if my knowledge is somewhat limited on the subject - and if therefore what I say is factually wrong it isn't something I have looked at in great length.
Anyway, I think I'm for abortion.
When a 'baby' is aborted it's just a group of cells, not a life. I don't think there's anything wrong with getting ride of a group of cells. Yes, the cells have the potential to become a life, but then there is potential to become a life every time you have sex and use contraception and that potential for life is effectively taken away because you decide to use contraception. If you thought about it, every time a woman does not fertilize an egg, the potential for life is being eliminated.
I think abortions are fine, up till the point whereby the embryo/fetus develops into a sentient being. As a person uneducated in abortion, I am not sure where along the line that point is though ...
I do, however, think the father should have a say in the matter. I think the child is as much as fathers as it is a mothers and he should therefore have as much right to decide against an abortion than the mother. I think if one of the parents objects to an abortion they should, ideally, speak to professionals and try to come to a similar opinion. It's a tricky one though, if they can't. On one hand I don't think a father deserves the right to keep his child, on the other though I don't think a mother ought to be forced to conceive a child against her will - and that would only end in backstreet abortions etc.
Last edited by Alcohol Induced Altruism : 30-10-2007 at 12:55 PM.
Hunger only for a taste of justice, hunger only for a world of truth, for all that you have is your soul.
i also would like to add that in the end of it all humans are animals (well a breed of animal anyways)
cats can abort there babys as can a kangaroo and quite a few other animals
and in my research of herbs i have found a few herbs that if used during the first 2 months of being pregnant will force the body in to a mis-carrage with no effect on the mothers body (non that has been found any)
life like death is apart of nature
Last edited by Abintra : 30-10-2007 at 12:04 PM.
Reason: bloddy typos
i think that nails it, if you are adult enough to have sex then you are adult enough to take care of your responsibilities.
my mother was offered an abortion when she was pregnant with my brother as her first child was born with a heart defect. she said no and i look at my brother, now 22 and its awful to think that someone offered my mother the oppertunity to end his life without a second thought.
I guess where you stand on abortion depends on whether you think that life starts at conception or birth.
Catholic's don't use contraception (apart from the rhythm method) because, as you said Alcohol Induced Altruism, they believe that contraception prevents a potential for life.
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back, everything is different…
you once called your brain a hard drive, well say hello to the virus.
if you are adult enough to have sex then you are adult enough to take care of your responsibilities.
That's how the world "should" work, not how the world "does" work. It doesn't account for females under the age of 17, those with mental handicaps, or any number of other issues that would inhibit proper parenting. The ability to give birth does not require maturity or a grasp of one's responsibilities. I think the record holder for giving birth is somewhere between 9-12 years old, that doesn't strike me as "adult enough."
Captain Nemo- If you are adult enough to have sex, then you should be adult enough to handle the consequences. I guess it highlights the need for better sex education.
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back, everything is different…
you once called your brain a hard drive, well say hello to the virus.
When a 'baby' is aborted it's just a group of cells, not a life. I don't think there's anything wrong with getting ride of a group of cells. Yes, the cells have the potential to become a life, but then there is potential to become a life every time you have sex and use contraception and that potential for life is effectively taken away because you decide to use contraception. If you thought about it, every time a woman does not fertilize an egg, the potential for life is being eliminated.
I think abortions are fine, up till the point whereby the embryo/fetus develops into a living, feeling being. As a person uneducated in abortion, I am not sure where along the line that point is though ...
I think your views do depend on when you think life begins. I, for example, believe life does start at conception, and so intentionally aborting something you know will most probably come out as a baby is wrong, generally. If you believe life begins elsewhere on the timeline, so to speak, then your views of aborting things, and what you're aborting, are going to be different.
As my trusty RS book says, the heart usually starts beating at only 4 weeks, and the arms and legs are usually formed by the 5th week. Many people have abortions much later on, and even at just 9 weeks the "thing" resembles a baby as we know it.
Contraception is a whole different matter for me, and doesn't come into abortion, but I won't go into it nowww.
On an another note, I, too, was an extremely premature baby. Just a few weeks before I was born I could have been aborted, and that just seems wrong. A baby is viable at just 23 weeks, and it's getting earlier and earlier with the technology and so forth these days.
I guess where you stand on abortion depends on whether you think that life starts at conception or birth.
Biological life begins when the first cell is formed, it's blood is separated from that of the mother and becomes a second individual biological being. Personally my ankle was cracked by a rocking chair when I was a baby, yet I have no memory of it. As far as I've been concerned, it never happened. That said, cognitive life doesn't fully begin until up to a year or more after birth.
i'm pro-choice.to be honest, if you don't want the baby...don't have it? & sure, there's the "if you're mature enough to have sex, you're mature enough to deal with the consequences" thing but like...really and honestly, since when was having sex always an "adult" or "mature" thing to do?
im not suggesting abortion should be used as or viewed as a method of contraception but like...if needs be then i have no problem with someone having an abortion.
I roll over and hold on tightly, and whisper "If they want you, they're gonna have to fight me,"
I think that abortions should not be carried out when the baby has a chance (however small) of living outside of the womb (even with help from medicine and technology).
I think having sex should be a mature thing to do, and it's sad that it isn't viewed that way by many people. Sex is an act which results in the making of another human being, which is an amazing thing which carries huge responsibility. Condoms are 98% effective, but there is still that 2% risk that it will not work, and people should be prepared for that.
Sex shouldn't be there for the sake of it, not when you think of it's purpose in life. It's amazing really.
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back, everything is different…
you once called your brain a hard drive, well say hello to the virus.
when i said that, i was referring to young girls who have abortions because they werent being responsible in their sexual relations. for example the girl in the programme who was having sex and had fallen pregnant but left it until she was in her second trimester before having the abortion basically because she was afraid her mum would shout at her.
i know that the world isnt perfect and doesnt work the way we would sometimes like it to, but i think people have to accept responsibility for their actions. i just dont agree with the attitude of oh well, i think im a bit young for this whole parenting thing, i'll just get rid of it.
i am not anti abortion. i do understand things like rape and if carrying the child would endanger the mothers health etc. i have supported friends of mine through abortion and i have also supported friends through birth.
in response to the comment regarding the baby only being bundle of cells - i do understand what you are saying, but if you could see the fetus you would realise it doesnt stay just a bundle of cells for long. as i was saying, at 13 weeks i saw my baby and by that stage it even had fingernails, its organs were beginning to funtion - the baby had even began to pee by then.
it isn't something I have looked at in great length.
