Abortion

[-g-l-a-m-o-r-ous-]

This is a difficult subject. Although I kinda agree people should have a choice, I can't help thinking it would be better if people went through with having the babies and then putting them up for adoption. I was lookin after my cousin whos a month old, and it seems horrible that this baby should be given up because the parents were too selfish to keep it. I agree that in special circumstances the baby should be aborted but only in these circumstances. I can see why people feel that the cirumstances of the parent should be taken into consideration. Maye this sounds immature but I don't see why a person cannot manage with the pregnancy for nine months and then give it up for adoption. So therefore I guess I am antiabortion.

[Eli]

I don't think that's immature at all, but then again I think it's very easy to say that, and a totally different thing to go through with it. Just like an abortion for some people might be a lot more difficult to go through with than they think it will be before they're in that situation.

Anyway, I don't think it's easy to give up a baby, no matter how sure you are about it. Just look at surrogates for example. I saw this documentary, and the surrogate, a very rational, reasonable and generous woman, dedicated to giving a baby to a single gay man. She was absolutely 100 % sure she wanted to do it, and the baby was not even ever technically or biologically hers, but still it was very difficult for her to give the baby away. There's even an adoption episode on the MTV show "16 and pregnant" that shows a very mature and pretty amazing young couple who decide to put their baby up for adoption because they know they won't be able to take care of it, coming from unstable homes. They had a very tough time giving the baby away, and like the surrogate I mentioned, they were dedicated to giving it away pretty much from the beginning. So, yeah, I think it's a lot more difficult than anyone can imagine without having been in that situation, but then again, I'm absolutely sure it's the right choice for a lot of people, don't get me wrong. I'm just saying I don't think it's easy, and I don't think it should be the only option if you know you won't be able to care for a baby. Like I said before, I think a horrible childhood and the parents' lives being ruined (education wise, economically speaking and in other ways, depending on the situation) and affecting their ability to take care of the baby, is worse than sparing a child from all of those things, if that makes sense.

I'm sorry if that was just a very weird post, it's late

[-Kevin-]

Like I said before, I think a horrible childhood and the parents' lives being ruined (education wise, economically speaking and in other ways, depending on the situation) and affecting their ability to take care of the baby, is worse than sparing a child from all of those things, if that makes sense.

So basically you think that a human should be murderedjust so its parents can have an education and materialistic things.

I don't agree with you though because I firmly believe that a bad life is so much better than no life at all. And I don't think its fair for someone to judge that a childs life could be so bad when the childs not even been born.

These babies should have the right to LIFE and its totally unfair that they should never see the skies or feel the sand between their toes and play in the sea just because its inconvenient.

At the end of the day you have to ask yourself :

Is it a CHILD or a CHOICE ?

I was at an anti-abortion protest a couple of weeks ago where I signed a petition against abortion and I got some very interesting leaflets and booklets. I will try and find some time to scan those and post them here.

[adellejefferiesxox]

So basically you think that a human should be murderedjust so its parents can have an education and materialistic things.

Maybe its like you'd want to spare the child of pain of enduring a hard life. If the parents had the baby and didn't want to give the baby away because that was too hard, not being able to support it finanically (and not just to buy materistic things such a ipods, music) but maybe the basics in life - like food, housing, baby expenses etc. If that makes sense...

[-Kevin-]

If someone wanted to abort their baby because they know they won't be able to give it the basics in life then they can put it up for adoption.

If someone cares enough then they would give their baby to someone who would be able to care for it better than they can. It maybe hard for them to do it but its better for the child isn't it. It's just selfishness again isn't it when someones not strong enough to give away the baby, so the mentality of "oh I'll just kill it before its born because it'll be hard on ME when I am putting it up for adoption."

They have to think of the child.

[KirstyEkua]

Without meaning to offend, it makes me angry that men go all moral and protest against something they'll never have to consider or complement in their life time. They'll never be able to grasp the emotional and physical consequences of pregnancy and giving birth and giving that, in most cases, the mother is the primary caregiver, it's a little unfair that men get to make these choices for women.

I'm pro life, but i'm also pro choice. Obviously i only agree with abortions under the legal limit - but in extreme cases - such as rape etc, if the pregnancy is going to seriously affect the mother's health etc, then i think it's okay to do it late.

I will never think it's acceptable for a child to be born to someone who is never going to be able to give that child any sort of good quality life. It infuriates me when the Pope makes statements saying how wonderful it is that 15 year old girls are having babies and they should be praised for making the decision to keep it - all that is going to happen is that child is, more than likely, going to go down the same route as her mother and the whole 'children having children' scenario is never going to stop. More and more children are being born into poverty because as a society we seem to have completely forgotten any moral standards and we're told it's perfectly fine to have babies without a second thought, have large families we can't afford etc.

Kevin, you seriously think that it's better a child is born into a 'bad' life than none at all? You'd support a child being born to addicts, teenagers who can barely care for themselves etc? A child that might spend it's life in care, shunted from foster home to foster home, all becasue the mother wouldn't have an abortion?

No one thinks of the child and the life it's going to have, and that's what makes me angry about the abortion debate.

Eli is right, adoption is incredibly difficult and a high percentage of children who are adopted suffer psychological problems later in life, and issues of abandonment. And sometimes i don't think it's fair to expect the mother to have to go through with a pregnancy if she doesn't have the emotional maturity, or understanding to do that.

Of course i don't agree that abortion should be used as a type of contraception. People who sleep around and who don't practice safe sex should have to deal with the consequences and accept responsibility.

But, if it's a genuine accident and you don't feel ready for a baby, in whatever sense, emotionally, financially etc then i don't think anyone has the right to force you to have that baby.

Like i said, people need to think of the life the child is going to have, and no one seems to take that into consideration when talking about abortion.

[-Kevin-]

OK maybe I don't support a child being born into a horrific life but most aren't born into such horrendous conditions, they may be less well off than others , I see a lot of teenage mothers that cope extremely well and people have got families to rely on as well to help them.

I think what annoys me most about abortions is how a lot of people use it as like you have said a form of contraception.

Another thing is that abortions can have a very damaging affect on a persons mental state afterwards. A lot of people who go through with abortions often regret it at some stage later.

Also I would agree with someone having an abortion very shortly after conception - just about though.

But what is truly sick is the horrible stages that people wait to have an abortion when things like pulling apart of living limbs of an unborn child and breaking its bones to get the child out.

[Traceve]

I'm 100% Pro-Choice. Having sad that though, I do believe that if a woman doesn't want to have a baby then they should be careful and encourrage using protection with their partner. Besides, who are we to say a woman must go through with a pregnancy if she doesn't wish to? It should be her choice because it's her body.

[Eli]

I don't agree with you though because I firmly believe that a bad life is so much better than no life at all. And I don't think its fair for someone to judge that a childs life could be so bad when the childs not even been born.

These babies should have the right to LIFE and its totally unfair that they should never see the skies or feel the sand between their toes and play in the sea just because its inconvenient.

Ask yourself though, on what basis are you saying that? Have you grown up with parents who were addicts, or who had you at an extremely young age and never got a chance to support you properly because they never got an education?

If you ask me, again it comes down to the quantity of life versus the quality of life, and I still believe quality beats quantity in many ethics/morals discussions. Just to drift for a moment, and I'm not saying we should call these things at all related, or suggest that low quality of life leads to suicide, but it's also a valid point when it comes to the quality/quantity question: If quantity always beats quality, then how come so many people find life so horrible they choose to end it?

Again, not suggesting everyone with a bad life is going to kill themselves, not at all, I'm just using it as a fairly strong (extreme, even) example of all the grey zones you have in this quality/quantity discussion.

Also, you mention baby versus choice, but again, on what basis? What makes you sure you're right when you say it's a baby, and not a cell reaction or something like that at three weeks? Or six weeks? Or twelve, for that matter? Obviously you need to draw the line somewhere, but until it develops characteristics of a human being, or even just a living being for that matter, is it really a baby? How can you be so sure you're right?

Like somebody else said, I also agree, like I said before, that it's sooo easy to just say everyone should adopt away their children if they weren't ready. I'm not saying this in a mean way and using the word to put it down, but speaking strictly according to the biological definition, a foetus is a parasite in the mother's body for nine months. For nine months she will be attached to a foetus, that's a parasite (again, not intended as a bad word, just according to the proper definition) affecting her for better or for worse. And in addition to the parasite part, affecting her physically, it also affects her emotionally, and no matter how determined you are, I never think it's easy to give away something that has been growing inside you for nine months.

Finally, you are obviously entitled to your opinions, and I would never try to convince someone that an abortion is right for them. What I'm saying is that people should be allowed to make their own decisions (within reason, obviously) as it is, like I said, a parasite affecting them through the pregnancy, and if they don't put it up for adoption, for the rest of their lives. I just don't think anyone should be allowed to make that decision for anyone else when that don't have any basis to judge because they haven't been in a situation to judge by.

[KirstyEkua]

But what is truly sick is the horrible stages that people wait to have an abortion when things like pulling apart of living limbs of an unborn child and breaking its bones to get the child out.

But that kind of abortion is illegal. And i doubt many people would agree it's okay to abort a child in the later stages of pregnancy unless it's for medical reasons.

I agree with what Eli said. It's impossible for anyone to make judgements until they themselves have been in that situation. No one has the right to tell a women what to do with her body and that's what infuriates me the most about people who are so anti-abortion they refuse to see the wider picture. And as has been said, adoption is not an easy solution. It has consquences for the baby too - which again people seem to completely ignore.

I am shocked some people find it acceptable to force young girls (or anyone for that matter) who've been raped to have their babies (just an example - i read an article where a 12 year old was sexually attacked and then was forced to have the child). What about her life. Doesn't she have a right also to chose?

I definetely agree with this. It disturbs me a bit when I see adverts on the tele advertising for abortions as if it's a quick, simple solution and I don't think people are educated enough on the emotional affect it will have on them. I wonder if abortions are becoming too easily accessible and that people should be educated (for lack of a better word) on the effect it will have on them now and in the future to ensure that they genuinely do want the abortion and it's not a whim decision. If people after that still want to go ahead and are fully aware of the consequences then that's their choice and at least they wont be living with the regret in years to come.

I'm pretty sure they don't show abortion adverts on the tv, do they? Actually, before you have an abortion you do have to go and talk to a psychologist, to esnure you understand the full implications of what you're doing.