Thread: ABORTION: Where do you stand?

So, I'm curious what everyone's opinions are, and the reasoning behind those opinions. I'm also wondering if having your own children effects your opinion on the subject.

Just so we're all clear, I am 100% Pro-Life. I was raped three days before my 17th birthday and got pregnant as a result of that. I then decided to have an abortion at 11 weeks in, and to this day it is my biggest regret.

I voted no children/pro-choice, but that doesn't explain how I view the issue fully. Once a fetus is viable outside the womb I think the best choice would be to keep it alive. If unwanted, adoption would be the best. I have no qualms about abortion during early pregnancy, however.

Originally Posted by BLUELINE976

I voted no children/pro-choice, but that doesn't explain how I view the issue fully. Once a fetus is viable outside the womb I think the best choice would be to keep it alive. If unwanted, adoption would be the best. I have no qualms about abortion during early pregnancy, however.

Alright. So what if I get pregnant and end up giving birth extremely early, let's say at about 20 weeks. Now, that "fetus" is certainly not viable outside of my womb, and even with medical intervention there's a large chance that it would die. Should I have the option of simply throwing it away, because it was not viable?

Originally Posted by buriedmonsters

Alright. So what if I get pregnant and end up giving birth extremely early, let's say at about 20 weeks. Now, that "fetus" is certainly not viable outside of my womb, and even with medical intervention there's a large chance that it would die. Should I have the option of simply throwing it away, because it was not viable?

Yes.

Originally Posted by BLUELINE976

Yes.

So how do you justify that from a simple humane perspective?

Originally Posted by buriedmonsters

So how do you justify that from a simple humane perspective?

I don't have to. You gave birth to a 20-week-old fetus that has no chance of surviving.

Originally Posted by buriedmonsters

So how do you justify that from a simple humane

Spoiler for unpopular opinion!:

perspective?

Spoiler for unpopular opinion!:

so what's wrong with murder.
serious question.

I say that losing that persons experiences and love memories and and other persons experiences and love for that person and everything they've done in the past is an absolute tragedy. absolutely awful.

but none of these things apply to a fetus. not one. there is nothing redeeming about a fetus except future prospects it might have. which also happen to apply to every single other sperm/egg combo we have on earth.

I don't classify abortion as murder, and by extension I do not classify fetuses as full humans.

No strong opinion either way really. On one hand, earth is already overpopulated. On the other hand what if it were me?

No strong opinion.

three months maximum, and I'm ok. more than three months... well if you didn't want the damn baby why the hell didn't you abort it earlier than three months?

(i know this is a really light response but i'll debate if someone attacks my viewpoint)

No children, pro-choice. No woman should be forced to bear a child she doesn't want.

Originally Posted by Marvo

No children, pro-choice. No woman should be forced to bear a child she doesn't want.

Where do you get this opinion from? Should I be able to abort a baby at any stage of gestation simply because I do not want to bear it?

Originally Posted by buriedmonsters

Where do you get this opinion from? Should I be able to abort a baby at any stage of gestation simply because I do not want to bear it?

Yes. Unless the baby is literally about to fall out of your womb, I honestly think that a woman should be able to abort at nearly any stage. This has to do with how I watch human life of course. I think that murder is bad, if the victim has any value to other people and if the victim itself cares about its own life in a conscious, human manner. If not, I don't see why killing such an organism is bad.


vvv Spartiate put into words what I was trying to say, in a less cold manner.

Originally Posted by Marvo

Yes. Unless the baby is literally about to fall out of your womb, I honestly think that a woman should be able to abort at nearly any stage. This has to do with how I watch human life of course. I think that murder is bad, if the victim has any value to other people and if the victim itself cares about its own life in a conscious, human manner. If not, I don't see why killing such an organism is bad.

I was 40 weeks pregnant with my daughter, and she gave no signs of being ready to be born. The doctors induced my labor because I was giving signs of developing pre-eclampsia. In you opinion, if I decided I did not want her at that 40 weeks and since she was still perfectly happy and content staying inside of me, should I have been able to tell a doctor to kill her?

Also, how in the world could you say that a baby has no value to other people? There are millions of people/couples in the world right now who would kill to have any baby that you decided you did not want to raise. Go find a woman who has been struggling with infertility, and ask her what the value of your unborn child is. I promise you she would tell you is it absolutely priceless.

I'll take this one

Originally Posted by buriedmonsters

I was 40 weeks pregnant with my daughter, and she gave no signs of being ready to be born. The doctors induced my labor because I was giving signs of developing pre-eclampsia. In you opinion, if I decided I did not want her at that 40 weeks and since she was still perfectly happy and content staying inside of me, should I have been able to tell a doctor to kill her?

yup. that should be a right that everyone with a kid in them has, as well.
surely it shouldn't be the ideal circumstance. but no one should be forced to carry a baby they do not want, or cannot support.

Also, how in the world could you say that a baby has no value to other people? There are millions of people/couples in the world right now who would kill to have any baby that you decided you did not want to raise. Go find a woman who has been struggling with infertility, and ask her what the value of your unborn child is. I promise you she would tell you is it absolutely priceless.

adoption does the same thing.
and to me, a fetus has no value. it has no experience, and has done nothing. just being a potential human is not good enough.

Originally Posted by buriedmonsters

I was 40 weeks pregnant with my daughter, and she gave no signs of being ready to be born. The doctors induced my labor because I was giving signs of developing pre-eclampsia. In you opinion, if I decided I did not want her at that 40 weeks and since she was still perfectly happy and content staying inside of me, should I have been able to tell a doctor to kill her?

Also, how in the world could you say that a baby has no value to other people? There are millions of people/couples in the world right now who would kill to have any baby that you decided you did not want to raise. Go find a woman who has been struggling with infertility, and ask her what the value of your unborn child is. I promise you she would tell you is it absolutely priceless.

I meant value, in the form of relations. Nobody knows the baby. The baby doesn't know anybody. Nobody else than the mother can realistically care about that baby, and if the mother does not want it, then she may have it aborted.

I'm not sure that I understand your point about infertile couples. Nearly all people on the planet are capable of producing babies. Are you saying that a couple's decision to not make any babies is bad? Or is it first bad when the couple accidentally gets pregnant and they terminate the fetus?

Originally Posted by Marvo

Yes. Unless the baby is literally about to fall out of your womb, I honestly think that a woman should be able to abort at nearly any stage. This has to do with how I watch human life of course. I think that murder is bad, if the victim has any value to other people and if the victim itself cares about its own life in a conscious, human manner. If not, I don't see why killing such an organism is bad.

completely agree.

you will find little support on the pro-life end.

also just a bone I like picking
the implication when people say they are "pro-life" is that people that are for abortion are "pro-death," which is more than a little silly.

Originally Posted by no-Name

completely agree.

you will find little support on the pro-life end.

also just a bone I like picking
the implication when people say they are "pro-life" is that people that are for abortion are "pro-death," which is more than a little silly.

That's cool, I'm not out to convert anyone. I've noticed this seems to be a very liberal group of people, which actually is the reason I wanted to make this poll in the first place. I am very interested in seeing how people defend being Pro-Choice.

Also, I've never said anyone was Pro-Death, and never will. It's pointless and argumentative.

So, pro-life means you can't abort at any time during pregnancy, and pro-choice means you can abort at any time during pregnancy..?

I can't really place myself in either category without knowing where the line is.

Originally Posted by buriedmonsters

Where do you get this opinion from? Should I be able to abort a baby at any stage of gestation simply because I do not want to bear it?

Every time you have a period, you are killing an unborn child through negligence (neglecting to have sperm enter your ovaries).

Originally Posted by Xei

So, pro-life means you can't abort at any time during pregnancy, and pro-choice means you can abort at any time during pregnancy..?

I can't really place myself in either category without knowing where the line is.

In my opinion (please share with me yours if it differs from mine), Pro-Life means you do not abort a fetus at any time of pregnancy. The only exception to this that I can currently think of would be if it was an ectopic pregnancy, in which case the fetus would only be able to reach a certain stage of development and then die due to tube rupture and would also place the mother in extreme danger. Pro-Choice means women believe abortion is a valid choice to an unwanted pregnancy, although the gestational age of which a fetus should be able to be aborted seems to differ greatly in people's minds.

I'm OK with abortion at any time and under any circumstance, however if the reason is simply out of choice not to go through with raising a child, I would prefer it be done as early as possible.

Nothing is lost when you destroy a fetus, and you can make a new one any time. All that makes life precious and meaningful happens after we are born.

Originally Posted by Spartiate

I'm OK with abortion at any time and under any circumstance, however if the reason is simply out of choice not to go through with raising a child, I would prefer it be done as early as possible.

Nothing is lost when you destroy a fetus, and you can make a new one any time. All that makes life precious and meaningful happens after we are born.

Okay, so if I decide I do not want my "fetus" at 40 weeks gestation due to...let's say financial troubles, I have the right to kill it? How do you defend that from a moral, or even simply humane, standpoint?

Originally Posted by buriedmonsters

Okay, so if I decide I do not want my "fetus" at 40 weeks gestation due to...let's say financial troubles, I have the right to kill it? How do you defend that from a moral, or even simply humane, standpoint?

As I said, if it simply out of choice not to raise the child, I would prefer it be early. To wait so long to finally decide not to commit to giving birth is irresponsible. However, from a legal standpoint, I don't think it should be impermissible. As for morals, they change from location to location and from time period to time period. These days, we can afford to try and salvage a sick baby or an unwanted pregnancy because of our technology and wealth, but did you know that in Roman Antiquity it was law to kill a deformed baby on the spot when it was born? Was this barbaric? Or maybe they just couldn't afford to try and support a disabled infant with the resources at their disposal?

All this to say that morals are subjective and are not set in stone for all to follow. I don't think an abortion is immoral because I don't think a fetus is a person any more than an apple is a tree. I can think of numerous circumstances where it would be appropriate to terminate a pregnancy right up to birth.

monsters, any response to the fact that you are letting future babies die whenever you fail to get pregnant?

Originally Posted by Xei

monsters, any response to the fact that you are letting future babies die whenever you fail to get pregnant?

I am all for things running their natural course. If a child dies in the womb due to natural causes, whatever those may be, it is devestating and horrible, but that is just life. My problem comes in when women think that just because a child has not exited their vagina, they have no rights and no value.

break it down now

Originally Posted by buriedmonsters

I am all for things running their natural course.

good thing you chose my favorite meaningless word! what makes something unnatural?
being "natural" is completely useless, as there are literally 0 (zero) unnatural things.

If a child dies in the womb due to natural causes, whatever those may be, it is devestating and horrible, but that is just life. My problem comes in when women think that just because a child has not exited their vagina, they have no rights and no value.

but they don't! they're not people, and shouldn't have been created in the first place, if they were to simply be dropped off or adopted. the mother does not want it.

I would actually argue that a child has no worth until it's alive for several months, but that's just my definition on life and how I classify humans.