And this is why this issue will likely never get the attention it deserves because we want to believe the statistics and that rape and incest aren't far more common than women report. There are a ton of reasons why women don't report these things especially when the abuser is a friend or family member but it doesn't mean it's not happening and at an alarming rate. Since working with women in these situations, I'm convinced that these issues are far far under-reported, especially when it comes to date rape, incest, and spousal rape (yes, being married does not mean you're body isn't yours and you don't have the right to say no). This abuse is especially not reported because the women/girls have a connection with the abuser and may even love them and not want to send them to jail. Either way, if we continue to only look at statistics and blame victims (as we love to do when it comes to sexual abuse issues), these issues will only get worse. Get a group of women (especially poor women) in a room where they feel safe to open up and you'd be amazed at the stories that come to light - stories that have never been shared with anyone.

You are right - it's not the only "noble" choice. There was another girl in my class who got pregnant her sophomore year of college, and she chose adoption. She found a family that was a great match for her. I applaud her for that. It was responsible. I still say abortion is NOT.

By your own statistics, 75% of abortions are post-conception birth control. That is way too high. Especially the "another" child part. It's not like they can claim ignorance of the birds and the bees on that one.

Not everyone has help from parents, a chance at a college degree, and a partner who is willing to help, you know.

Not everyone should be having unprotected sex, either.

If you don't have the means, support, etc to handle the consequences in a RESPONSIBLE manner, don't do the action.*

*This obviously excludes rape.

I completely agree. But that means we need to make it easier to get contraception for every social class and remove the stigma from asking for these contraceptive methods. That means all types, including the pill and Plan B. The goal IS to reduce the need for abortion by responsible contraceptive use, but funding for contraceptives and family planning groups are constantly under attack. It's not a simple issue or one sided. Screaming that people just need to be responsible but not doing things to help them be responsible is pointless.

I thought your statistics said only 3% of abortions met the rape/incest/medical threats to the mother's life criteria? I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing here. I said that of the women that have abortions, 75% say they can't afford parenthood. There are more that use abortion as "post-conception birth control" (whether or not they tried other methods) but have abortions for other reasons. Financial reasons are subjective. I'm sure that not all of those 75% are toeing the bankruptcy line.

I put "another" to be all inclusive. We're not only talking about teenagers and unmarried women. Just because a couple is married and has wanted children they can currently (but perhaps barely) afford doesn't mean they wouldn't seek an abortion if an unintended pregnancy were to occur. It is likely that such a couple would have less access to birth control pills or an IUD and the doctors visits required to continue such a prescription.

I call into question that 97% as specious. There aren't just 3 reasons to have an abortion. If those are the only reasons given, maybe that would be the break down, but that displays a bias in the study from the onset. What about birth control failure? Not all people who haven't been raped or are seeking an abortion for a reason other than for their health were practicing unprotected sex. It doesn't sound as atrocious to report that these responsible people had birth control failure and chose abortion, so lumping them in with post- conception birth control is more efficacious for the cause. What about women who decide to reduce the number of fetuses after in vitro to protect the life of their other fetuses? That doesn't fit neatly into any of these three boxes but happens more frequently than you might think. You also haven't taken into account the many abortions that are performed because of fetal anomalies that are incompatible with life. These parents desperately want children but make the decision to terminate their pregnancies to prevent their children from suffering. Where does that fit? It doesn't fall into the maternal risk category. Your numbers are flawed.

Exactly.

The only government healthcare I would like is free abortions.

That would cut down on alot of undesirables breaking into my car and stealing stuff.

Post conception birth control is still post conception birth control, regardless of whether a form of pre conception birth control was used.

The 1% was Health Reasons - mother OR child.


violetpretty - your "arguments" seem to be supporting my case, rather than refuting it. Not sure f that's your intention or not. I was using the stat more generous to the pro choicers to really say that any post conception birth control abortions are too many.

Wow.

Really.

And to think you could have been aborted too.

Because undesirables are the only people who get abortions?

Right?

I know that derailing a thread is a fine art, but people either feel that abortion is okay, not okay, or only okay in certain situations. I'll long ago quit trying to sway people to my point of view, but I have the right to have one.

The doctor in this thread didn't just perform abortions, he killed viable children after they were born. The argument is whether or not an unwanted living child should be allowed to be killed, or that a woman desiring an abortion should be recklessly allowed to die, or that body parts should be kept afterwards.

Any abortion is post conception birth control. It is preventing the birth of a baby, just like a condom, just like getting your tubes tied, just like all forms of birth control. The goal is to not have a baby.

The "reason" for post conception birth control may vary, but I am not understanding your path of logic here. If I have a heart disease that will likely result in my death if I carry a pregnancy full term and my husband gets a vasectomy so that we don't have to worry about that but something doesn't work and I get pregnant anyway and abort that fetus to save my own life, it is STILL post conception birth control, isn't it?

I know more people who conceived babies while on some form of birth control than I do those who haven't.

Right. This guy is definitely a monster and more than likely he had a lot more victims than just those mentioned in the reports.