I have argued this one long and hard - my issues is over the degree to which we seem to make life so unrealistically precious. It comes from a lack of belief in reincarnation I suppose - but we are so stuck in trying to save every human life - that we are now breading weak genes into society.  

One of George Bushes first Acts was to tighten the abortion laws - presumably in support of the pro life movement arguments that every ferus is a human and even in the first instant of fertilisation abortion is therefore murder - How does Bush then justify ordering the random slaughtering of thousands of Iraqi women and children.

I believe that the soul enters the body at about the end of the third month - and therfore any act of abortion after is questionable - but what if we discover that the child is downs syndrome or sbina bifida - should the mother be given the right to abort - if the birth takes place and the mother then walks away - is that preferrable - leave society to sort out the problems.

There are no easy answers to abortion - If it is illegal - then women will simply break the law - what do we do then put them in prison for life for murder.  

There are so many considerations I believe women should have the right - but that is not an automatic process - they should undergo councelling and support to help them with the decision and then if it is clear that abortion is going to be the best solution - do it.  

We are over populating the world and ther is no point in bringing unwanted babies ijto the world resulting in a host of further sicial problems in caring for that child - at te same time I agree tha abortion on demand as a form of birth control is not a good idea - and girls need to feel that getting pregnant is something to avoid unless they are serious about wanting to bring up a child.

Pandas (When they give birth, a rare enough thing) often give birth to two cubs. One almost always dies within 24 hours, if not stillborn.

Technically, therefore, the deathrate of Panda cubs is one in two, or 50%.

Cats...I'm not going there. ;D

Jayne Sakura 

Hmm... I can think of several brats who could use a retroactive abortion. Seriously, though, that's a good point.

By the way, how common are panda and kitty abortions?

I'm against legal abortion on demand. If the pregnancy is the result of rape, or the pregnancy will place the female at greater risk than normal (she could die or be seriously injured, based on medical diagnosis), then abortion should be a legal option, but abortion should not be used as a means of birth control, because it involves the taking of a human life.

To me, it's not an issue of trying to control women's bodies. I think the babies' bodies deserve consideration, too. It's difficult enough to take a human life when the act is justified, but doing so for the sake of convenience is murder, in my opinion, and that's why I'd prefer it were illegal.

Regarding the choice issue, what about all of the pre-conception choices? In order for a pregnancy to occur, each partner in a heterosexual couple has to make three choices:

1) whether to have sex
2) if so, whether to have intercourse vs. some other sexual activity
3) if intercourse, whether to use a method (or methods) of preventative birth control

As adults, we have total control over our bodies and we have all the choices we need to avoid having children. Six choices (2 x 3) have to be made before pregnancy is even possible, so I never bought the pro-choice argument.

In the medical exception, we certainly don't want to condemn the pregnant female to death just because she wanted a child, so she should have the right to make that decision herself. It's a no-win situation, so the law should back off.

In the rape exception, the victim's rights were violated and choice was denied. It's not desirable to have to kill babies in the womb, but it's not desirable to further violate the victims by forcing them to become parents against their wills, either. Again, it's a no-win situation, so the victim should be allowed the right to decide how to handle the unfortunate situation.

For the other situations, both the female and male in question chose to have unprotected sexual intercourse, and they knew where babies come from. They made their choices and assumed the risks. If they didn't want to become parents, they should've made different choices. There's no justification for killing the baby at that point.

Anyway, that's my opinion. http://mywebpages.comcast.net/fashionlab/Images/Smileys/Smile01.gif

Ladies:

This will most likely be something I post very little in...my SO works for a Pregancy Resource Center; thus I hear all this stuff all day and and half the night. Frankly, I am somewhat tired of the whole mess. Most folks have a choice...to either utilize some form of birth control, or to not have premarital or extramarital sex. When I was dating and things got to that point, I chose to be prepared...and also chose to accept any and all consequences. 'Nuff said about choice.

I did want to ask two questions, however:

First: We have to determine--Is the fetus in the womb a human baby, as opposed to say, a panda or feline baby?

If not, fine. Do whatever you like, and leave me the h*ll alone.

If so...

Second: If one is for abortion, which is medically described as the termination of life of the fetus (IE, the human--not panda or feline--baby in the womb)...

Do you therefore advocate the killing of human babies outside the womb? And if so...on what reasonable grounds?

Just curious.

Jayne Sakura

Ah, abortion, one of the most dangerous topics.

Abortion should be:


Always legal, no questions asked.
Legal, no questions asked, except for partial birth abortions.
Only legal in cases of unusually high danger to the female's health/safety or rape.  
Only legal in cases of unusually high danger to the female's health/safety.
Only legal in cases of rape.
Never legal under any circumstances.
Too controversial to discuss.

This is always going to be a controversial issue, and as Heather says we certainly don`t want to go back to the days of illegal abortions, I knew a woman who had one years ago and apart from the fact they used a wire coathanger for the procedure she almost bled to death afterwards as she was afraid to get medical attention for fear of prosecution.
What is needed is proper sex education, also the fathers of these unwanted children should be made to take responsibility for their actions, since when has it been o.k. to get a girl pregnant and then dump her and go and do it to another girl.
I guess this is just one more sad comment on the society we live in today.  :(

I wasn't going to bring this one up, but since it is here now, I feel a need to jump in.

I am not exactly comfortable with abortion, but I do not believe it is my place to tell someone else what to do on this issue.  There is not a moral consensus on this in our society, and this is a personal issue which the government needs to keep out of.  If the government is in a position of deciding which abortions are acceptable and which ones are not, then it is butting in where it does not belong.

Before abortion was legalized, there were numerous problems.  Desparate women would seek dangerous illegal abortions or attempt to perform the procedure themselves, often with disastrous results.  I do not want to see a return to this situation.

I do believe that abortions should be performed early in the pregnancy; once the fetus is viable outside of the womb, I have a problem with killing it.  I guess that is my particular moral standard.  Anyway, women have plenty of time to make the decision before the fetus becomes viable.

Heather H.