Hey, I'm just asking a question, not saying I'd do this or not... but what do you all think about abortion? I wrote a paper on it last semester for my Comp I class, but I didn't get to ask other peoples' opinions, I just wrote what I thought. I wrote it just depended on the situation mainly... I mean if I got into a situation right now at the age of 19 and I got pregnant, I know for a fact I could not keep the child, let alone go through the pregnancy . I've got too much going on in life right now (military, college, boyfriend, job hunting, and normal young adult things, plus I have way too many self-esteem and emotional problems) to be raising a child. But then I would be killing a living being that God had created. But then again, if God didn't want us to be able to have abortions why would he make us smart enough to think of how to do it? Yes, you think well if you got pregnant it's your fault and you need to take care of your responsibility, I understand that, but there may be underlying factors and maybe you should not have a child...
Anyway, I was just wondering what others have thought about this, it is a very debatable item.
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i have a feeling this thread is going to go nuts...
abortion is not to be looked at as a way out... any COUPLE can prevent themselves from having a child if they do not want one. if by chance it happens that the woman becomes pregnant, deal with it... there are so many things out there to help you out, help you through something like this if you aren't ready yet for children... if you had and "accident".
the true useage for abortion is for those who lives are in harm from pregnacy, victim's or rape, someone who is suffering from a disease... not because someone's damn boyfriend forgot a condom for one night... they really need to start screening people before they let just any woman go for these things...
Interesting subject you've broached, Hoopsy. My thought is that with all the types of contraception out there, you'd figure people wouldn't use abortion as a last minute contraceptive ...
I think abortion is wrong, period. There will be people here arguing that, "well, what about in cases of rape or incest?" If abortion was strictly limited to cases of rape or incest, there would only be a fraction of the amount of cases now performed daily, my guess as a sort of "last-minute" contraceptive device for a couple who finds themselves in an unwanted, crisis pregancy.
Abortion not only gives a false sense of security (a problem has been "taken care of") but takes away the dignity of a woman when people say that it gives her choices. If a woman's body was created to hatch babies, how is the act of aborting a child empowering to her if it goes against the very nature of her being, of what she is about? And how does the act of abortion help her years down the line when she's READY to start her family? Is she prepared to cope with the emotional aftermath of going through an abortion? It's not easy making the decision to bring a child into this world, and then having to decide whether to give it up or raise it can only be harder, but I've yet to run into a woman who'll say that she's regretted not having an abortion. Abortions are dehumanizing in every sense of the word. There shouldn't be any unwanted babies out there, but in the event a woman finds herself in a crisis pregancy, there are so many childless parents out there who'd give anything to be able to raise that baby.
An interesting side note: I've been reading up on Natural Family Planning, which teaches couples how to recognize the periods when a woman's body is fertile for conception and when it's not, all based on monitoring her body through certain signs -- mucus discharge/consistencey, spikes in basal body temperature, etc. So there is a fool-proof method (96-98%) built into our bodies should we decide to use it.
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Jamie: you'd asked about position of cervix and periods of fertility. According to one NFP website, "around the fertile time, the cervix withdraws further into the body and its opening widens. FYI ....
This is a very touchy subject and I don't think there's a right or a wrong here, even though other people may adamantly disagree.
I am not opposed to it 100%, only in certain circumstances. The kind of abortions that take place after the first tri-mester I don't agree with. Partial-birth abortions are just disgusting and inhuman.
Here's where I believe in abortion... If the mother's life is in danger, the baby is malformed or would be born a vegetable, rape, or if the person really didn't want a child and wasn't in the right state of mind to have one. Others will argue that the baby can be born and put up for adoption and that is definitely a viable option, but not something everyone in that position is comfortable or willing to do.
Social stigmata's are also attached to pregnancy which also encourages abortions in the middle to upper classes. Becoming pregnant before marriage is a "no-no" in a lot of social circles, so abortions are rampant in those arena's.
Some people believe you are killing a person when the fertilized egg is simply only cells, but that is a matter of belief/preference. If you let those cells continue to split and grow, then a person would result over a matter of time.
There are so many clauses and factors involved in abortion which make it hard to decide either way whether it is right or wrong which is why it still hasn't been successfully made illegal. It breaks down to one's morals and beliefs. Who is the law to make a person decide for them when beliefs contrast? I think it will always be an ongoing "hot topic" and debate.
PS-- Yes, there are many parentless people out there that would love to care for unwanted babies. BUT, what about the people who get pregnant, don't want the kid, have the kid anyway, and raise them in a terrible environment? There are many babies like that out there too who grow up drug addicts, criminals, etc and just repeat the same cycle as their parents.
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Last edited by Leikela; 9th September 2003 at 3:01 PM..
Reason: Forgot some points I wanted to make...
Well, I am still not sure how I feel about abortion. Personally, I don't think I could ever go through with it no matter what the cause of my pregnancy was....just because I have researched abortion so much and have seen so many pictures and videos and read so much....it's just such a terrible thing and I could never bring my self to do it. That would mean a lifetime of heartache and guilt for me. But that's just me.
I do, however, think it should be legal, because if it was illegal, it would happen anyway and cause a lot more problems and a lot more mothers would die going to a quack doctor. So I am in favor of in being legal.
It's just a touchy topic and I am still not sure how I feel about it. I know I could never do it.
It just makes me mad when people use abortion as a form of birth control. There is a girl I graduated with who got pregnant like 5 or 6 different times and had an abortion each time in high school. That's the kind of stuff that makes me mad......
I am glad that it is legal for the sake of women's lives, but I could never do it.
I encourage anyone who wants to get more information about abortion to search the web....you will find so much information about it.
There is also a very good video called "The Hard Truth" that shows an actual abortion. It is a real eye opener. You can find it here Just click on the link "Hard Truth".
Originally posted by Leikela I am not opposed to it 100%, only in certain circumstances. The kind of abortions that take place after the first tri-mester I don't agree with. Partial-birth abortions are just disgusting and inhuman.
That is how I feel too, I wrote that in my paper. How could anyone let a baby grow inside of them, even develop practically all the way, and then kill them? I am totally against that, you might as well have the child and at least give it up to someone that wants it. You've already let it go that far, all you have to do now is push it out! I do not understand how someone could do that. But I'm not against having it done in the first tri-mester. But then again its still killing a living being...
I'm with those who feel uneasy about it personally -- don't think I'd ever do it myself -- but who believe that it must be readily available to anyone who feels that they need it.
I agree that relying on abortion as a means of birth control is stupid, irresponsible, and just kind of, well, sickening. BUT while various forms of birth control are readily available, they're not as accessible to certain groups of women as one might think:
- in some communities men resist wearing condoms, and married women/girlfriends are expected to be compliant when their husbands/boyfriends want sex.
- poor women without health insurance don't always have access to birth control pills or other forms of contraception whose use lies entirely within their control.
- very poor people often live in chronic chaos and upheaval -- that's part of the reason why they remain very poor, there's a lack of basic life skills. Living literally hand to mouth, frequent evictions, bunking up with friends/relatives. And countless other destabilizing factors, like drug and alcohol use. Even when contraception like birth control pills or shots are made available to them, such women may find it more difficult than women with more stable lives to remember to take the birth control pill every day at the same time, or to show up every three months for their shot. Planning is not their forte.
- teenage girls who know their parents would not approve of them having sex sometimes will not seek out information or advice from anyone, lest word get back to their parents, and/or because they are conflicted and ashamed about being sexually active.
Anyway, the point is that there are a lot of complicating factors which often lead to the women (or girls) who are least suited and able to be good parents getting unexpectedly pregnant. It's very complicated and draws on so many issues: women's education, how women are viewed in certain communities, welfare and housing policies. All of the things that affect poor people's daily life. Not suggesting, by the way, that being poor is an excuse for being irresponsible, or that being poor means that one WILL be irresponsible. But it's just not a cut-and-dry issue.
And so, in my mind, abortion is an unpleasant necessity. I wish it weren't, but until we can guarantee that every child born will have a good chance at growing up in a loving and stable home, I think we need to leave the decision about abortion to the person who is in the best place to know whether or not she's up to the task of responsibly carrying, and then caring for, a baby: the pregnant woman herself.
Originally posted by Jamie31
There is also a very good video called "The Hard Truth" that shows an actual abortion. It is a real eye opener. You can find it here Just click on the link "Hard Truth".
What better way to waste 10-minutes of your time? Nothing factual is presented in the film. You get some magnanimous guy in a suit comparing what you're about to see to footage from Nazi gas chambers. He quickly points out that the footage is taken exclusively from fetuses stolen from a dumpster behind a single Houston abortion clinic and that the film will be presented "without narration" (just in case you thought they were going to try to brainwash you). He tries to paint it as an unbiased exposure to the "truth" about abortion, hoping you'll ignore the fact that it's anything but.
What strikes me so ironic is the obscene and heartless exploitation of the "corpses" shown in the film. In one scene, an eyeball falls out of a socket, as if on cue. The producers, who are of the opinion that the bodies shown were living beings, didn't bother to show any respect for the sanctity of life when they chose to go for the guts and gore approach.
As promised, no one talks in the rest of the film which features 8 minutes of hard cuts between parts of fetuses (severed heads, limbs, etc.) being manipulated by hands and forceps and protesters being beaten, all to the tune of some indistinguishable sung anthem. An emotionally charged piece of propaganda? Yes. Enlightening in any meaningful way whatsoever? Not worth the time it took to download.
Well my God...I just found it interesting and thought others might think so too! I really didn't put that much thought into it. LORD!!
But actually, that isn't the film I thought it was. The film I was talking about....maybe it's called "The Harder Truth"...I dunno....it is a video of an abortion being performed except the whole time, the video is a live ultrasound of the baby as the abortion is being done. It shows very clearly that the baby is trying to escape the suction tube and shows the baby's heart rate significantly rise when it is being threatened. It also shows the baby "jerk" when the suction first touches it's body.
That was the film I meant to post. It really is touching - and factual. If I can find it I will come back and post it.
The way I see it....if you don't want to have a child....I don't want you having one. If you're considering eliminating your fetus....then you're not fit to be a parent. I view it as a much slower and more sinister killing to have a child raised by anyone that is not 100% prepared for the responsibility.
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Abortion, right or wrong or in-between?
. I've got too much going on in life right now (military, college, boyfriend, job hunting, and normal young adult things, plus I have way too many self-esteem and emotional problems) to be raising a child. But then I would be killing a living being that God had created. But then again, if God didn't want us to be able to have abortions why would he make us smart enough to think of how to do it? Yes, you think well if you got pregnant it's your fault and you need to take care of your responsibility, I understand that, but there may be underlying factors and maybe you should not have a child...
I do not understand how someone could do that. But I'm not against having it done in the first tri-mester. But then again its still killing a living being... 
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