Abortion

[staffymonkey]

Firstly Kazz I am pro choice for various reasons. I am a rape victim and when it happened the first thing I was thinking was 'Oh my god what if I am pregnant'. Lucky I wasn't however if I would have been I can say 100% I would have had a abortion.

 

I think one thing people should really look into when they say 'Pro Choice' do they only mean its the woman's right? I personally think the father (if known) should have as much right as the mother to say Yes or No to a abortion. What if the father says No but the mother say Yes, I know legally the woman can go ahead but is this right?

 

Cindy

 

First of all, I'm really, really sorry that happened to you.

 

As for parental rights, I don't know about 'right', but I think as it's the woman who is 'the host' to the feotus, she should make the final call - in ALL circumstances. Why? Because I feel giving both parents the right to decide could lead to serious problems and misuse of the legal system.

 

Imagine being forced to carry - and give birth to - a baby you desperately didn't want. If both parents had an equal right to decide, I'd guess that there's a fair possibility that there would be occasional cases where the baby was concieved under non-consensual circumstances (rape/incest/the woman being incapable of giving consent due to drugs or alcohol), a case taken to court, and it all being dragged out so long that the woman would be forced to carry the baby to term regardless. To be fair, even if the baby was concieved willingly enough, but was an accident, I still can't imagine the horror of being forced into motherhood. I may be misinformed, but I believe there was a case along these lines in the states a couple of years ago... I don't know what ended up happening to the mother and child....

 

However, even if there were guidelines in place to stop this happening, the question remains, morally speaking, if the father WAS a rapist, how would that effect the law? Technically, he's still the father, the baby's his flesh and blood, so should he have the same rights as any other father?

Edited April 28, 2006 by staffymonkey

[scotslass]

Firstly Kazz I am pro choice for various reasons. I am a rape victim and when it happened the first thing I was thinking was 'Oh my god what if I am pregnant'. Lucky I wasn't however if I would have been I can say 100% I would have had a abortion.

 

I think one thing people should really look into when they say 'Pro Choice' do they only mean its the woman's right? I personally think the father (if known) should have as much right as the mother to say Yes or No to a abortion. What if the father says No but the mother say Yes, I know legally the woman can go ahead but is this right?

 

Cindy

 

Well, most people who are pro-choice would say it's a woman's right to choose. If you start to say it's also the father's right, then why is the weakest person in the equation (ie the baby) given no say? Goodness knows how you would legislate for that, anyway - the state could hardly force a woman to give birth if she didn't want to, short of committing her to a locked institution. One thing we certainly shouldn't do as a society is encourage a move to amateur, illegal abortion.

 

It's one of the reasons I have a problem with a blanket pro-choice stance, though. The woman is the only person whose views are considered.

 

Liz.

[snow]

First of all, I'm really, really sorry that happened to you.

 

As for parental rights, I don't know about 'right', but I think as it's the woman who is 'the host' to the feotus, she should make the final call - in ALL circumstances. Why? Because I feel giving both parents the right to decide could lead to serious problems and misuse of the legal system.

 

Imagine being forced to carry - and give birth to - a baby you desperately didn't want. If both parents had an equal right to decide, I'd guess that there's a fair possibility that there would be occasional cases where the baby was concieved under non-consensual circumstances (rape/incest/the woman being incapable of giving consent due to drugs or alcohol), a case taken to court, and it all being dragged out so long that the woman would be forced to carry the baby to term regardless. I may be misinformed, but I believe there was a case along these lines in the states a couple of years ago... I don't know what ended up happening to the mother and child....

 

However, even if there were guidelines in place to stop this happening, the question remains, morally speaking, if the father WAS a rapist, how would that effect the law? Technically, he's still the father, the baby's his flesh and blood, so should he have the same rights as any other father?

 

There have been a couple of cases where the rapist has attempted to deny the woman the right to abort the child, none have succeeded as far as I am aware thankfully.

 

I also know of rapists who get off on hoping the woman concieves as that a) continues their abuse of her and b) is the ultimate in power for them.

 

I do have a question for those who are pro life ...what about the mothers life? Why is hers less valuable than a fetuses? Pregnancy and childbirth is still not a completely safe experience despite all the advances in medical science, every pregnancy carries with it a risk to life and to health, physical and mental. Surely the woman has every bit as much right to life as the fetus she has inside her?

[cycas]

I believe that an adult woman's life is worth a lot more than a foetus's. A foetus is just a potential, a possibility that might never come to pass.

 

I know this is an unusual view, but I consider an animal's life more valuable than a potential-human's. It is often said that people and animals don't miss what they have never had. Well, a foetus has never had an independent life. I believe that taking away the possibility of a future is less wrong than, say, killing a pig. And yes, I do eat bacon.

[greys mum]

for Kazz and Cindy and any other fugees for whom this thread may bring back some dificult memories

 

 

I have put pro-choice. It wouldn't have been something that would have been right for me. But I don't judge anyone that has had an abortion.

[GSDFan]

Pro Choice. I wouldn't lower the upper limit either. Sometimes the process of discovering you are pregnant and then getting medical help can take a while. No one should be forced to have a baby that ( for whatever reason ) they don't want.

[Happylittlegreensquirrel]

I do have a question for those who are pro life ...what about the mothers life? Why is hers less valuable than a fetuses? Pregnancy and childbirth is still not a completely safe experience despite all the advances in medical science, every pregnancy carries with it a risk to life and to health, physical and mental. Surely the woman has every bit as much right to life as the fetus she has inside her?

 

 

it would be possible to turn that statement round and say surely the foetus has every much right to life as the woman carrying him/her

 

I doubt its as easy as saying one life has more rights than another, whilst abortion is legal its the women who is carrying the child's choice and I doubt its a choice that any woman makes lightly

[sanrossscot]

I put pro-choice. I never want to have kids but use contraception for that. Abortion should not just be used for a form of contraception but the choice should still be available for other circumstances.

 

I found out some years back that my Mum had a termination- it would have been her fourth child, but having that child would have killed probably both of them I didn't know this for many years. The thing my Mum found the hardest was that she was in a ward of people that were pregnant and that were aborting for 'non medical' reasons.

[cindere528]

I have voted "something in between".

 

About 2 years ago, my son's girlfriend became pregnant and they decided on an abortion. I was not totally happy about it. We discussed various options, including them living with me & as they both worked nights, they could (between them) do most of the daytime care & I would look after it at night. My son, who suffers from depression came very close to having a total breakdown over it (in fact, looking back, I think he did have a breakdown but he refused medical help and my doctor said that he couldn't do anything unless he consented). Anyway, they went ahead with the abortion. They stayed together for another year but finally split up last November.

 

My son is now with a new girlfriend and they are planning to go off to work in Miami in the next month or so. He hasn't suffered a bout of depression for the last 6 months. His previous girlfriend was mentally unstable (history of depression etc) and together, they were not a good match. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against people who suffer from depression per se, but two such people in a relationship are a bit of a risk. As I said, I didn't agree with the abortion but I could see that it would have destroyed my son if they had gone ahead with the pregnancy.

 

I was very surprised at how easy it was to arrange an abortion, I think things must have changed a lot since Sam's lodger's experience. My son's girlfriend only had to visit the GP once, then was referred to the place at Leamington Spa. My son took her there, but did not go in the clinic with her, she went in alone & he waited in the car park. They were both a bit shell-shocked once it was over, but she seemed to be OK. I don't think she was offered any counselling.

 

Anyway, to end my ramblings, that is my experience and as I said, I have voted "something in between" because I don't believe that a woman should be forced to go through with a pregnancy against her will by the "pro life" lobby, but I also believe that abortion is a bit too easy to obtain. I think that counselling before making the decision would be a step in the right direction. I also think that the time limit for termination should be changed as the foetus is viable at a much earlier stage nowadays than when the law was made, and as pregancy can now be detected earlier, there is no excuse for a woman requesting a termination late in pregnancy unless it is on medical grounds. Terminations on medical grounds are a totally different kettle of fish in my opinion and I wouldn't dream of questioning anyone who decided on this course of action.

[doggy.lover]

I am definitely'pro-choice'. I believe that every woman has the right to choose what she does with her own body and it's nobody else's right to judge them. There may be medical reasons that women have to have them although I am against the women who use abortion as a method of birth control and have several abortions like a girl I knew in the Army who had at least 5 when I knew her.

[heva]

this is a real hard one for me! im a christian so i would have to say pro life! but then i have had many friends have abortions and i support them 100% i may not agree but im a friend and i support them! but i fully 100% understand why in some cases people do deside on abortion (rape etc) but i thik that everythoign is god given and i personally couldnt take away something he had blessed me with

[Guest caseyr]

I have to say pro life. To me nowadays abortions are becoming like going to the dentist to have a tooth pulled out cos its annoying you. I understand in extreme cases maybe its the only choice but i can say 100% that i would never have one under any circumstances. If you as a woman are old enough to decide to have sex then getting pregnant becomes a risk. I had a friend who had an abortion about 7 years ago, she had full support from her partner, parents and her friends to keep it nut no she decided to kill it as it didn' suit her. She is now a mum to a 4 year old. Her sister did excactly the same thing, made worse by the fact that my sister who would of done anything for a baby had just had her 4th miscarriage as she has internal problems. She now has a heathly little girl, but to see my sister go through that while someone else just killed hers cos it didn't suit her hurt alot. Children are miricles, not matter what anyone says and souldn't just be killed cos the "mum" couldn't be bothered to protected herself. Sorry if my views are strong but i've seen people go through pain to have a child

[sproggie14]

i can say 100% that i would never have one under any circumstances.

 

You really can't. Until you are in a difficult situation you can't say that for sure.

 

Children are miricles, not matter what anyone says and souldn't just be killed cos the "mum" couldn't be bothered to protected herself. Sorry if my views are strong but i've seen people go through pain to have a child

 

It's not that black and white. Accidents do happen no matter how hard you try to protect yourself.

 

Would it not be as bad or even worse for someone who struggles to have a child to watch an unwilling or unsuitable parent treat a child poorly?

[padfoot]

Pro-choice in all circumstances. I don't believe it is valid or relevant to cherry-pick scenario's we find "acceptable" for abortion. Either abortion is okay or it isn't. I can't see what difference it makes if someone was raped or is 13 or whatever other categories people bring into this...it is every woman's right to decide what happens to her body, and forcing women to carry babies they don't want is more barbaric than abortion IMHO.

Every child has the right to be born wanted and loved. I'd rather a pregnancy was terminated in the first trimester (as the vast majority of aborted pregnancies are) than allowed to continue to the point where a baby or small child lives a life of resentment and wishes they had never been born.

[Owlish]

I have to say pro life. To me nowadays abortions are becoming like going to the dentist to have a tooth pulled out cos its annoying you.

 

I'd be quite careful about making generalisations like this. There are people on this thread who have made this decision, none of whom have done so lightly, and I think to claim that abortions are there as a solution to something that's 'annoying' you is at best, insensitive, and in most cases, simply untrue.

 

I understand in extreme cases maybe its the only choice but i can say 100% that i would never have one under any circumstances. If you as a woman are old enough to decide to have sex then getting pregnant becomes a risk.

 

'Any circumstances'? How about where there is a risk to the motheer, where you might be carrying a rapists child, where the woman is mentally unfit for motherhood, where the child may be so severely disabled, it would live its whole life in pain, and so on..?

 

made worse by the fact that my sister who would of done anything for a baby had just had her 4th miscarriage as she has internal problems. She now has a heathly little girl, but to see my sister go through that while someone else just killed hers cos it didn't suit her hurt alot. Children are miricles, not matter what anyone says and souldn't just be killed cos the "mum" couldn't be bothered to protected herself. Sorry if my views are strong but i've seen people go through pain to have a child

 

So in part because you saw your sister's pain, you are now anti-abortion. What if your sister had been raped and forced to carry a child of the man who abused her? Would witnessing her pain in those circumstances mean that you would be pro-choice instead?