Abortion and the stance you take?
 

Ok, this is a topic that is still a huge issue in the world today. I did a search and didn't find all that much discussion on it.

So, my question is to you other gcers. What are your feelings and or stance on abortion? Are you "pro life" or "pro choice" or are you indifferent about the whole thing.

I don't want to turn this into a huge flame war, I just want to simply understand some of you on a political level, not a do you choose this or that level.

Personally, I am "pro choice." I believe that a woman has the right to choose.

Where do you stand?

d

Good post dude.

I'm also pro-choice, for personal reasons along with the mentality that there is no way implemented political or legal measures should ever even approach effecting personal reproductive choices. Even beyond a woman's individual choice to the issue would be mine as well, afterall, it would be my kid too. Know what I mean? Besides, I COMPLETELY discredit the boohooing that goes on from pro lifers when many of them have never even had to think about making the choice of whether or not to abort. There are plenty of people who jump on the political bandwagon from the standpoint of trying to impose their morals and wills on others, which is bullshit. Leave the politics to the politicians, not in my personal life! Oh, while pro-choice, i don't think it is legitimate to use the option of pro-choice to get out of a mishap you may have had when you were 18 because you chose not to be smart about contraception. You're old enough to have sex, you're old enough to be responsible and deal with the consequences. In addition, rape, molestation and other things of that nature have my complete backing for the pro-choice err..choice.

Dealing with that situation is one of the hardest things in the world to do, and unless someone has had that certain nauseating feeling of the pressing, impending choice they may have to make, they have nothing to say on the topic, at least nothing that I would listen to anyway. We are all totally entitled to individual opinions. If you're pro-choice, great, pro -life , great, but your opinion matters little to me anyways on this issue. Bottom line is, abortion is a highly sensitive issue that should be resolved by the individuals whose lives it will affect, and no one else. To me, have any opinion ya want, I'll just use personal discretion to give more value to some opinions over others.

I would have to say im pro-life, cept in the cases of rape, molestation or if it endangers ones health. I think its a couple's choice (55% woman, 45% man, woman gets more b/c she does carry it for 9 mos), not just a womans b/c it takes two to make it. I kind of make the respirator analogy for it. A baby in the womb is using it mother to breathe, we do the same for people on respirators, they arent doing it themselves but have help. Why are they considered living and a fetus not? I could be using this wrong, but this just is MY opinion and Im open to others. People have the right to take whatever side they want :)

Im kind of torn on this one myself... part of me says pro choice and part says pro life.

The pro choice part of me says dont bring a baby into a potenially poor situation or environment. I would be totally for it when it comes to pregnency from rape.

The pro life part says, if you dont wanna so the time, dont do the crime. Just because 2 people were careless and arent ready for it, why should that child be denied life due to their irresponsibility? There are always famillies looking to adopt ect ect... Obviously mistakes happen in some cases, failed contraceptives ect ect...

One thing that I dont like is the saying, "its a womans body, its her choice" Granted, a woman will be carrying the baby in her body, but does that make the mans contribution anyless valuable? I think the mans rights get put aside or forgot about.

My cousin is actually going through a HUGE ordeal with his ex trying to get custody of their child. She was going to put it up for adoption(and actually DID, the familly already had the child), without him knowing what was going on. So now that she finds out that he wants the child, she decides to take it back(nice how spite can bring a mother and child closer:rolleyes: :mad: ) This has been going through the courts for a few months now and he can still only see his son with her present. This was even on the news up here... It gets me more upset everytime I think about it.

sorry for rambling....

Ok..there's a little more that I want to add to this.

If you choose pro-life, is that based on a personal decision or on a religious influence?

Why i ask this is because if it is based on a religious influence, do you favor the use of violence (killing doctors, blowing up clinics) in order to sway society to become pro-life. Because to me, it's ironic. How can one justify killing a doctor, or severly hurting others, in order to protect "pro-life." Taking away the life of one for the life of another is not pro-life, that's pro-violence if you ask me.

There is also a site I came across, I'll try to find it, headed by a pro-life organization. On one of the pages it has pictures of many doctors that perform abortions. For every doctor that has died or has been killed, there is a huge red x through the picture, and on the bottom of the page there is some crazy message like, "23443880 more doctors to go" or something like that. Anyone else ever come across that site, if it hasn't been shut down?

d

Ive heard about that site... Talk about hypocrites.....:mad:

Although I do not think it should be a form of birth control and/or abused, I am pro choice. There are too many factors invovled to say that every abortion is wrong.

Pro-life
 

I could never imagine having an abortion and I think it is wrong in every sense of the word. I look at it like this, if you have unprotected sex and have a child, you knew EXACTLY what you were doing. If you were raped and did not seek medical treatment, that is on you. Everyone deserves a chance to live. It bothers me when people get an abortion because they claim they weren't ready. No one is ever ready for a child. I am tired of people using abortions like some new generation birth control.

It is a sad day when people will no longer take responsibility for their own actions. Like Eminem says, you can't slip and fall on someone's D*^%!

Just a little background information, both of my parents were adopted and I plan to adopt as well. I would not be here today if my biological grandparents chose to abort.

Re: Pro-life
 

Assuming the rape conceived life, what kind of medical treatment are we talking about? A pregnancy test to confirm a pregnancy? IF so, then what? Or maybe the morning after pill? Some people consider that a form of abortion, not birth control. What type of medical treatment are we talking about? And for what circumstances?

d

I am pro-choice: who am I to stick my nose into other people's business - people I don't even know. However there are certain circumstances where I am pro-life, for instance when people think that abortion is just another form of birth control.

Here's an afterthought. In Vancouver there have been a couple of murders of doctors who carry out abortions; and one man has had his life jepordized twice by anti-abortionists: if someone is pro-life then why are these people out committing acts of murder/attempted murder?!

PRO CHOICE
 

I am definetly Pro-choice.

I don't know that if put in that situation it would be the correct choice for me and the girl. However for some people that is the action they are willing to take and they shoudln't be denied access to that choice. And a woman should be allowed to have absolute control over what happens to her body.

The thing that really bothers me about pro-lifers (the fanatical ones, like the ones who maintain the website that has "23443880 more doctors to go") is that they seem incapable of making the differentiation between being pro-CHOICE and pro-ABORTION. There is obviously a very big difference, adn it was something that a friend and I joked about during boys state.

Plus where do they get off trying to run other peoples life? That also really bugs the hell out of me.

Anyway I should get back to studying.

They had a special on Dateline (I believe) about this sort of thing a few weeks ago. I was sickened that they were going after abortion doctors. I mean they think it's wrong for women to have an abortion but they think it's okay to kill someone for practicing what was legal in that state?!?!? DEFINATLEY HIPOCRITICAL!:mad: :eek: :confused:

My whole stance on this issue has changed in the past 2 years. I used to be full-fledged PRO-CHOICE and my reasons were that I believed that if a women was harmed in anyway and was carrying a baby that was unwanted (by means of molestation or rape) she should have the choice to keep it or not. My reasoning was that often women who are raped want to move on with their lives, and although the baby could be given a good life through adoption, the child might try to find the mother later on in life. Plus the whole part of ridicule that a woman could face during the 9 months is more than any woman who has been raped should deal with.

I am PRO-LIFE now because I know for one I might not be around were it not for a simple choice my mom made 22 years ago. My mother and father were engaged when they concieved me, and they could have easily said we don't need this and had an abortion. Instead they had me. That's part of the reason why I changed my mind on the issue. I think too many young women AND men see abortion as an escape from their responsibilities. If you're not ready to be a mommy or daddy then don't have sex...plain and simple.
Perhaps what it comes down to isn't the choice...but the act. I think it's gross and disgusting. I don't think that I could ever put my body through that. I'd rather be disowned from my family for being an unwed pregnant mother (which would never happen) than have an abortion.
Choices come fast, but abortions last forever. You can't take it back. I'm just thankful I've never had to deal with this problem!

It takes 24-48 hours to for an egg to be fertilized. If immediate medical attention is sought the uterus can be flushed so the sperm and egg actually never meet. This is a little known fact and doctors don't usually tell victims about it. This prevents pregnancy-obviously. It can take a day or two of recovery because of the dilation but that would be much better that the emotional trauma of what to do about a prenancy.

Personally I am anti-abortion. I use that term instead of pro-life, because who is really "anti-life" or "anti-choice." I have personal reasons as well as religious reasons for feeling this way. I don't condone the killing of abortion doctors. In fact, it makes me very mad because it makes people like me look like my beliefs are less valid. Even though I am really conservative I feel like birth-control education is important-people have sex no matter what. Young people in other countries don't have the pregnany rate we do here. That's because they are 10 times more likely to use contraception, not because they don't have sex.

get down off that soapbox

BTW
I am totally against mid-breech cranial deflations (a.k.a. partial-birth abortions). These babies could live on their own outside a woman's body. That, in my opinion, is murder. I have seen one of these in person and I was absolutely disgusted.

greek girlie and Hootie, I am with you.
Seeking immediate medical attention can prevent a pregnancy that would end in an abortion.

In college I took a sex education course and Dr. McCarey said that the number of people seeking an abortion per year was comprised of over 50% second time operations. Half had already had an abortion at one time. It may have changed as this was in the 70's.
I heard an interesting news item last night. A child can now sue if her mother was in a car accident that leads to a disability (negligence) when she was pregnant. Yet, it's OK if the mother wants to rip the child apart in the later stages of pregnancy. I guess a dead baby can't bring charges.
In the case of incest, the mother's life, rape, I am really torn. The Catholic church believed it was important to save the child first, but what if there are 4 or 5 other little ones at home? Incest usually isn't reported in time to use the morning after pill. On these few points, I say it is between you and your God.
However, abortion as a means of birth control...because somebody screwed up...is so terribly wrong (in my heart and mind) that it DOES affect my political sense. Everyone says "What about the mother's right to choose, it's her body?" Well what about the BABY's choice?

One of my adopted daughters was conceived as the result of a rape. She is from a country where abortion is very easily available up to the NINTH month. Her birthmother, a teenager, shielded her pregnancy from her parents in order to save her baby.

I thank God for my daughter and I guess you know where I stand on this issue!

I fully believe in abortion and not just in cases on incest or rape. While it is easy to say that if you have sex and if you get pregnant then that is the bed you made for yourself and deal with it. I have to think of the potential child in this situation-is it fair to that child to live with someone that screwed up and may resent them. Also, will this child be living in a stable environment (though stability does not guarantee a normal child/adult it is the most ideal situation)? Will this child be provided for? I think it is selfish to bring a child into this world if you cannot provide for him or her and I do not want my taxes providing either. In the ideal world all would be responsible but this is not the case unfortunately. Personally if my mom had aborted me I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't care-you don't miss what you don't have.
I perform abortions almost every week-on cats and dogs but they are still abortions technically. The pet overpopulation is so overwhelming that I don't feel guilty about doing this. I sometimes feel that the human population is also getting out of control. I wish people would think about having children in a responsible way but there are many that do not. If you don't believe in abortion-I FULLY RESPECT your opinion, but I don't want the government telling me or any other woman out there that I can't have one no matter how I got pregnant.

[messed-up rant]

OK - a quick perusal of various sources will uncover for you some interesting information, such as when a fetus begins having a heartbeat, when alpha-wave patterns begin in the brain, and when 'mock-breathing' begins (with the still-fluid-filled lungs). Now - at what point does something become 'human?' Does being human entail having a heartbeat? Thinking? Breathing?

If so, every dolphin is, too, a human. Truth is, I don't think any of us are in a position to judge when something 'becomes' a person - think about it.

Now - why be pro-choice? People perceive a "right to choose" - a right to choose what? To have a baby (or not)? To go through labor? To have an inconvenient child, or one who will be born at an implicit disadvantage?

Well . . .

Why be anti-abortion? For many, it's due to religious and moral obligation - "killing" of the unborn child, or simply a belief that abortion should not be birth control - the "if you slip one past the goalie . . . " defense.

None of these arguments alone, from either side, makes much sense to me.

Straight up, this becomes an argument of moral values and, thus, religious structure. Think about it - this is an argument that relies on subjective definitions and notable exceptions (ie the word "living", the case of rape, etc), not one that has a clear backbone and structure. Is it murder? Well - it depends on how you define all this stuff.

I openly question the validity of imposing moral structure on others. This is NOT the same as making a law against rape, murder, or tax evasion - this is a subjective argument, with a significant split in public opinion from one side to the other.

As such - I don't think imposing any sort of anti-abortion legislation, other than making the availability of abortions "standardized" (ie eliminating partial-birth abortions etc) for all. I don't feel that imposing any sort of uniform set of values is reasonable, and abortion would be the classic example of this, I feel. I most likely would never have an abortion - but I feel that it's unimportant to my daily life that someone else may. I am in no position to rationalize making another's decision for him or her.

[/rant]

Now - if you want to hear a truly radical idea, we can get into the carrying-capacity of the earth, population controls, and the elimination of natural selection in humans . . . but we'll save that for another time - no need to toss the poopy into the fan.

I am pretty radical when it comes to this subject so whatever you have to say probably won't shock me. BTW abortion has nothing to do with religion for me but i know for many people it is intertwined.

To relpy to damasa first......
 

If you choose pro-life, is that based on a personal decision or on a religious influence?
For me its the fact that I just dont like to see people dying. Funny, Im mostly republican, pro-life and against the the death penalty. What are the odds of that.
Pro-lifers who go out and kill doctors and others who are involved with clinics are just DEAD wrong for doing it. It defeats not only the principle, but the whole freakin purpose of the cause. However, I would like to say that I have seen just as many harsh tactics get used by Pro-Choicers. Maybe not killing (that anyone knows of), but there have been many instances where they have been wayy more harsh pro-life. Two way street, sometimes both groups are nuts.
About the dolphin comment. This is just my opinion...a life is a life and breathing is breathing not matter what the species is.
About the comment of resenting the child and having it grow up in certain situations, this is just my opinion and thoughts on that....I'd keep my legs shut. If I cant help myself, there are numerous birth control methods out there for me and him to take. Sometimes you can even double up, i,e. the pill and a condom. If the condom breaks, your still in the clear. Morning after pill, hey guess what if your not sure, you have 72 hours to take it. Accidents do happen, BUT they can be prevented also. But hey people are going to do whatever they want. Its there lives and I always think you should live it for the best. For some reason I just think about the consequences of things I do before I do them, even if its in the heat of the moment. Sometimes, its after though. THIS IS JUST MY OPINION.
Also Im glad to see we have been handling this touchy subject in mature manner so far..hopefully it'll stay.

oh and I dont think any child is an accident, just using the example.

I think we should also clearify that no all pro-choicers think the same and not all pro-lifers think alike

Pro-Choice all the way.
 

This is a very sensitive topic for me. I am completely, totally, without a shadow of a doubt pro-choice. I seriously could write a book about why I feel the way I do, but I'll limit it right now to just a few reasons and personal examples.

First, I feel no one should be able to tell a woman that she has to have a baby. I get so sick and tired of seeing all these sign-waving protesters harassing women at clinics! :mad: Who gave them the right to tell someone else how she should live her life? How would they like it if a group of people decided to show up at their church as they are going to Sunday services and stand outside calling them names and screaming that they're going to hell because they don't follow the right doctrine? Or if a group of people found some past discretion in their lives and stood outside in public shouting about it to the world?

I'd be willing to bet that not a single one of those pro-life protesters has lived a 100% pious life and never made a mistake that they regret. It is for that reason that I firmly believe in the old saying, "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

I have a very dear friend who got pregnant in college. She was using birth control pills and, unfortunately, got pregnant even though she was practicing responsible sex. Her boyfriend supported her decision to have the abortion because they were both young and didn't feel like they a) were ready to be parents and b) couldn't give a child everything that they would like him/her to have at that point in their lives. They also didn't feel it would be fair to foist the expense of a child on their parents who were the only family members who could have afforded to bring that child up in a proper manner. So, rather than bring a child into the world under poor circumstances, they chose to have an abortion. I stand by their decision totally, and I feel that if more women would sit down and think about what kind of life they would be providing for a child then they might realize that it is better to wait and have children when they are more financially and emotionally stable themselves.

Moving on... To me, I don't think ANYONE has the right to criticize a woman who has chosen to have an abortion unless they have been in that very same circumstance. That's why I have such an enormous problem with men who protest so loudly about the evils of abortion. I guess it's pretty easy for them to stand there and yell Bible verses, knowing full well that there is no way for them to EVER be in that position themselves.

It amazes me when I hear people preaching in interviews about how a woman should give her baby up for adoption instead of choosing to have an abortion. I'd like to know exactly how many pro-life supporters would actually accept a woman's offer if she suddenly turned to them outside an abortion clinic and said, "Okay, I'll have the baby -- but you and you alone have to adopt my child and give him/her a prosperous, happy upbringing. You can't find someone to adopt him - YOU have to do it yourself." It's really easy to adamantly say, "Sure, I'd take the baby," right now in theory -- but if an instance like that happened in real-life, how many of those people would really back up their pro-life words with actions? I would, just once, love to see someone do that. I can just picture the stunned, deer-in-a-headlight looks on the majority of those protesters' faces. (Carnation - I know you'd be one of the few opening your arms out immediately and I truly respect you for that!) :)

Don't get me wrong -- I agree that adoption is a wonderful thing, and I have several friends who are unable to have children who are planning to adopt in the near future. But adoption isn't the best option for everybody.

An example: A high school friend of mine got pregnant in college. Her mother, a staunch pro-life Catholic (I'm Catholic too, by the way), convinced my friend that she should have the baby and put it up for adoption. Although it was not what she truly wanted to do, my friend bowed to her mother's wishes and had the baby. This was 7 years ago, and the girl has had severe emotional problems ever since. Carrying a child for 9 months and then giving her up was too much for that sensitive 19 year old girl to handle and she has not been the same person since. Even her pro-life mother now admits that it was not in her daughter's best interests to have the child.

Now, I'm sure that pro-life folks can give me twice as many examples as I have to justify their beliefs. But here's one more before I close.

My boyfriend's mother planned to abort him. She and her husband had married young and already had one child. When she found out she was pregnant again (just a few months after her first child was born) she was very upset. She was worried about how they would provide for two small children at that point in their lives. They weren't living in a space to accommodate another child and couldn't afford to move into a larger house. Her husband wasn't making much money and their marriage wasn't doing very well. She was convinced that having an abortion was the best thing to do. Her husband talked her out of it and my boyfriend was born.

I love him dearly, and I'm glad that his mother changed her mind. :) But, if you ask my boyfriend, he'll tell you without hesitation that he completely understands the way his mother felt and, even though he is obviously happy that she decided to go through with her pregnancy, he still feels that having a child isn't the best thing for everyone. He feels that every person's situation is different, and what is ideal for one is not always ideal for another. He refuses to judge someone on the choices they make and for that reason he is staunchly pro-choice.

Personally, I'd like to have every pro-lifer get pregnant unexpectedly one time and see how quickly some of their positions change. I personally have seen it happen twice in the past year alone. Once to a parent who suddenly found out her daughter was pregnant and the second time to a girl friend who, whenever the abortion topic was addressed, always made the comment, "well those girls are just being irresponsible... I would never be stupid enough to get in that position in the first place." (Unfortunately, there's never a dunce cap around when you need it. :rolleyes: )

I'll close for now because this is getting rather long. I hope no one takes anything I've said as a "flame". However, like I said in the beginning, I feel very strongly about this issue and I get rather emotional about it. I understand that others do also. It's just so easy for people to stand around and judge others when they haven't been in the position themselves.

Pro-choice all the freaking way.

I'm webmaster for Duke's Students for Choice, I'm a member of NARAL, Planned Parenthood's Choice Actiuon Network, Feminist Majority Foundation, People for the American Way...

This is my passion. This is my issue. This is my body. I am PRO-CHOICE.

Truthfully, if i got pregnant unexpectedly, Id have it or put it up for an open adoption. As you can see Im kind of passionate about this also in a since, cuz I keep on writing. I really dont like it when I hear woman say its my body...true it is but, and this is how I put it to myself, it wasnt just my body that was there that night and i wasnt saying its mine and you cant tell me otherwise or whatever either. Probably saying the opposite (dont mean to be blunt).

UMgirl,

I admire you for saying that. I really do. But in doing so you kind of emphasized my point.

If you got 100 unmarried women together in a room and asked them what they would do if they found themselves pregnant unexpectedly, the vast majority -- probably 90% -- would answer the same way you did. People are so quick to say, "If I got pregnant, I'd have it." And I have no doubt that, at that particular time, they staunchly mean what they say. Yet there's NO WAY to prove that statement until it truly happens to you. It's so easy to say, but 100 times harder to do. That's why many times when women find themselves in that unwelcome position, their minds change faster than you can blink. And that's why I don't think that someone should be able to make a blanket statement like that and call themselves pro-life unless they have actually walked in the shoes of a pregnant woman.

UMgirl, if next month you get pregnant and still decide to keep the baby -- and firmly believe that it is the best decision for you and your child - then I APPLAUD you, wholeheartedly, for standing up for your convictions! :)

However, I just don't feel that anyone really earns the right to protest abortion until they have the unfortunate opportunity of being faced with the decision themselves.

Hell, I said that myself until the condom broke, I had to take the morning-after pill, and my period was a week late...nothing like spending a sleepless week sobbing into a pillow and wondering if your life is over to make you think.

I am pro-life and I do not agree with blowing up abortion clinics!

Ill admitt I had (even though a comdom was used but I missed my period for 2 months...turns out just stressed) a scare and until out it was neg., the only thing I thought about was figuring out a way to say school while having a child if it was pos. I completely see and understand your point DZ but if we werent allowed to speak or view our opinion until we an experience with that something, then I believe we'd live in silence, not really knowing anything. I think everyone has a right to have their voice heard, but do it without extremes.

I am Pro Choice and even have volunteered at the clinics in walking the girls to the door past the protestors. I have been pushed, shoved, threatened and my face screamed into while ugly pictures are shoved up to my eyes of unborn fetus.

For me, I am not into the facts and statistics - I just don't think anyone deserves the scare/fright tactics that come about and I will help protect until things change.

This is a really good discussion, UMgirl. Your last comments are thought-provoking! :) I agree - everyone does have a right to their opinions, and should be allowed to express them. There is a time and place for that, though, and I think that the act of FORCING an opinion on others (i.e. protesting at an abortion clinic, taking steps to get anti-abortion laws passed) is one of the "extremes" that you mentioned.

To me, it's fine for people to discuss their viewpoints with others, and to debate the pros and cons of each side. But make sure that you're talking about it with someone who wants to hear it.

Those women walking into the abortion clinics have enough on their minds without having to listen to cries of "murderer" and "slut", or having to worry about the fact that the clinic they are visiting might be the next site of a deranged pro-lifer's violence.

And for someone to try to take away a woman's right to have an abortion -- to me -- is a step too far, also. Maybe abortion isn't an option for some people. Maybe they have strong feelings about those who choose to have abortions. But don't infringe on those who do by working to erase the legislation that protects a woman's right to care for her body in a way that she sees fit. That's just inflicting a narrow view of morality onto everyone.

For the record, I am pro-choice but I am not pro-abortion. I do not feel like abortion clinics should be used as the sole means of birth control for women, and I don't agree with women who use no birth control whatsoever and get pregnant over and over, knowing that abortions are available to help them out. However, it's not my place to judge those women or criticize their decision which is why I'm not going to play God and preach to them. And I simply don't feel like anyone else should either.

I am pro-choice. I don't believe that the government nor protestors have any right to tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body.
I will never forget when, about a year ago, I ran into an old friend of mine back at home. We had lost contact with each other after middle school. When her parents died in a car accident, she went from one foster home to another. Got into some bad drugs and was in and out of jail. She was a mess. She told me about how she had just gotten an abortion. Although she has since tried to get her life back in order with a part-time job at a retail store and she was going to junior college, she said she wasn't ready to have a child. Her reason why, "I hardly have the means to support myself nontheless a child. I ruined my own life. Why do that to my child?" Adoption was not an option for her. She couldn't bear the thought that there was someone out there who was biologically hers but belonged to another family. Also,her job entailed standing on her feet for 8 hours which something she could not do towards the last 3 months of pregnancy. For three months, she would have no source of income. She said that abortion was the best thing she ever did. She also said that if she kept the child, she would not be able to care for it 100% and the government would take the child from her and put it in a foster home....just as she was.
Maybe an abortion is not right for all people but it was for her. A girl who had already been through so much and was finally piecing her life back together did not need to go through it all over again.
If I were pregnant, I'm not sure what I would do. Pregnancy, although a beautiful thing, can be so scary for someone who is, quite frankly, a child herself. You never know what you would do until you're in a situation like that. And that is why I believe that every woman should have the option to have abortion if she so chooses.

I think my main belief about abortion is that it is just that - a belief of mine. What I feel and believe can (although it isn't) be proclaimed to the world, but I don't feel that it's my right to force my (mainly pro-life) views on the world. My morals and beliefs are mine alone, and I do not feel everyone should be forced to hold the same beliefs that I do. For that reason, while I consider myself pro-life, I do not think it is a bad thing for the government to have its current laws which allow legal abortions.

I do however, have issues with people who use abortion as a form of contraception or who condone partial birth abortions (that just makes me ill...) for non-medically critical pregnancies. Uch. I also have big problems with 'pro-lifers' who pick and choose when they support life. If you are pro-life, you should be pro ALL life...not just for fetuses. That means abortion doctors, too! Using violence to express your pro-life beliefs is twice as wrong as any acts you are protesting!! I am pro-life all around - I believe it's best not to have an abortion (if possible) and not to promote capital punishment either.

One thing I feel the need to emphasize, though, is that NO ONE things abortion is a 'good thing'. It's a choice reserved for people who feel they have no other options, people who are sad or scared. I doubt anyone walks away from a choice to abort skipping out of the clinic. It's a decision people should take seriously, but a decision they should have the right to make, even if people don't agree with it.

Thanks for clarifying Greek Girlie :D I think some people missed my point.

I completely agree with AggieAXO's stance on this. I am pro-choice. What choice would I make in that situation? Well it would depend on the situation. When I was in my 20's absolutely no way would I have even been able to handle a pregnancy, let alone a child. The older i get, the more I think I could and would have the child. But it is irresponsible to bring a child into this world that you are emotionally and financially unprepared for. I also believe strongly in a woman's right (a couple's right) to choose what is right for her own body.

That said, abortion is not a form of birth control and I am appalled that it is used as such by some people. Take responsibility for your own life and your own body, and if you cannot be mature enough to use birth control, you should not be having sex.

If this country went so far as to take away a woman's right to a lega l abortion-- what makes you think abortions would stop? They wouldn't, but instead women would go back to the "back-alley" and dangerous abortions they sought out before Roe v. Wade... And women would die.

Everyone is entitled to their view. But it is just that. Their view. Do not tell me what I can and cannot do with my body.

OK, getting down off my soapbox.

dzrose, if I may share the other side. In 1971 there were 5 of us who came to school as virgins. (Of course there were more, I'm refering to our circle) Within 2 years 3 had had an abortion. It was illegal then, and the risk was high. These girls NEVER got over it, never... They have since married-one has died but at those moments when you are just talking, it has been mentioned.
It's tough either way.

As far as the government not being able to have control over the body of a woman, why do we place more value on the "spotted owl" or the habitat of the snail darter than we do a human life?
If you think about it-I KNOW YOU WILL HATE ME FOR SAYING THIS-
a lot of this boils down to morality and premarital sex- kids having sex without the sense to protect themselves or knowing what to do if something does occur, young adults getting tanked OR swept up in the moment. Haven't you heard, it's the nice girls who get pregnant. There will always be those situations like dzrose mentioned, where they thought they were doing everything right, but by far the greatest number of abortions do not reflect that scenario.

Picture someone taking a sack full of puppies and drowing them.
Imagine taking your female baby and throwing it down the well, or taking the placenta from the late term aborted baby and selling it for food or hair products.
At 6 weeks, a baby will feel pain. Pain from a decision made by the very person who should give her life to protect him. Which of the above situations causes you the greater "discomfort"?

That's about all I have to say on the subject. I hope and pray no one finds themselves in this life altering situation. No matter what you woud decide, it would have a profound affect on the rest of your life.

This is perhaps the truest and most profound statement any of us have made thus far.

Whether you choose to have the unplanned baby, or choose to abort the unplanned baby...Neither decision is easy and each will have a profound impact on the rest of your life.

However, pro-choice--is a right to choose, that's all. I am not advocating abortion for abortion's sake. All I, and I think most pro-choicers are advocating is the right--the freedom--to do what you feel is best for you and your situation. Some of us would choose life. Some would not. But it is our choice.

I am 100% pro-choice. To me choice means just that a woman or a couple should have the right to make the best decision for them at the time. Does this mean that I would choose abortion for myself? At this stage in life no, but 6 or 7 years ago - probably.

For all the women out there who think that they could go through 9 months of pregnancy and place the baby up for adoption I applaud you. But, seriously think about what would happen immediately after the birth when you get to hold the baby for that short amount of time. Is adoption still something you think you can live with? I also think that adopting out is hard on the biological mother and/or father and you also have to consider that it will probably be hard on the adoted child. One day, no matter how great the adoptive parents are, they will probably go seeking their biological parents if only to get a since of who they truely are. - Carnation you probably could add a lot to this, as my only experience is with my old college roommate who was adopted. Adding to that my roommate was told by her adoptive parents that if she went looking for the biological ones that she would be disowned and not welcome in their house anymore. Nice huh?

A few other reasons for being pro-choice are that as long as abortion is legal society has a far better chance of these women going into a clinic and getting proper medical treatment. Think about all the back alley abortions and coathangers you heard about when abortion was illegal. Also, as long as we continue to close our eyes and ears and preach nothing but abstinance in schools how are we to expect that children will learn that there are many different reliable birth control methods, other than hoping their parents will have the guts to have a straight forward talk with them?

This may not sound like a great reason, but one of the biggest reasons I am pro-choice is because someone made a big deal out of a T-shirt I was wearing when I was 15. I was a cheerleader and we had people donate shirts for us to wear to cheerleading camp. One of our classmates father's was a politician and he donated shirts. I was wearing his shirt at the vacation bible school I was teaching at, and one of the ladies went to my mother and told her I had to change my shirt because the man was pro-choice. I was 15 didn't know what his political veiws were, and didn't care. I liked the shirt. My mom didn't appreciate the woman either, but in the interest of peace she brought me another shirt. Too bad I can't find the woman now to let her know that her strong armed tactics only served to shape my views against her.

Sorry this was long, but wanted to get it all out...

I can speak from experience.

and I am by no means making light of having an abortion. However, "profound" hit me hard. I think having an abortion to some people isn't as "profound" as some may think.

Please don't understand me. It's a decision I wouldn't want anyone to have to make but having an abortion for some people is the only decision and the best and the right decision to make.

I just don't think some women are thinking about their abortion everyday or walking down the street wondering "what if." I don't think some woman are devastated by the choice they made.

Adult, mature, republican, responsible, educated, lovely people in monogamous committed relationships have abortions all the time. Married women have abortions.

Condoms break. And the pill fails.

I don't think that abortion should be a form of birth control, i.e., it gives a woman an excuse to have sex while in the back of her mind she is thinking, "I can always have an abortion if I get pregnanct" but I thank God everyday they are legal and safe.

I could go on and on and on and on but I won't. but I could!

No, I never missed your point, you just didn't include the 24-48 hour fact. That was something I did not know, and also something you did not add.

Justamom, I respect your beliefs, and you do bring up some good points here. I realize that the decision to have an abortion is a very serious one, and is something that must be weighed carefully. You're absolutely right - It is DEFINITELY tough, either way. However, did these women you speak of ever say that they regretted their decisions -- that they could look back on the situation and say, without a shadow of a doubt, that they could have cared for their child well and provided him or her with everything that the baby would have needed back then? That they would have been able to be as good a mother back then as they would in later years?

I can tell you that none of my friends regret the decision they made. Of course, if you ask, they will mention that they think about how their lives would have turned out if they had decided to go through with the pregnancy. But there is not a single woman who has expressed regret to the point where if she could turn back the clock she would change her mind. All of them are content with the road they took and not a one feels that she made a poor decision...except for the girl who gave her baby up for adoption at the direction of her mother instead of following her own wishes and having an abortion.

The difference is simple: the spotted owl is an animal that is in danger of becoming extinct. That's why our government has passed laws to protect it. The human being is nowhere near extinction. If it were, then there probably would be laws against abortion because we would be doing everything in our power to keep the human race going.

I don't hate you for saying that at all! :) I really do understand what you're saying. However, you can't pass a law that allows one group of people to have an abortion and not allow the others. And if you ban all the abortions, there will be many, many women (including nice girls who got caught in a bad situation) who suffer because their right to choose has been stolen from them.

Quite honestly, the puppies and the female baby, who have both experienced their first unassisted breaths of life, cause me the greatest discomfort. Let me explain why I feel this way. First, a 6 week old embryo is so tiny that I find it difficult to even think of it in terms of a baby. Pro-life protesters place such emphasis on the pain that an aborted fetus suffers. They try to paint a picture of a child that is being tortured to death, but the truth is that any pain the fetus feels is so quick that it barely begins before it ends. A two year old child who falls off her tricycle and scrapes her knee will feel more trauma than a fetus who is scarcely the size of a butter bean.

But aside from all that, I personally feel that if a pregnant woman knows that she doesn't have the means to give her child the quality of life that it deserves, then it is better for that unborn embryo, who has never taken a breath or experienced real life outside the womb, to feel a moment of pain rather than a lifetime of unhappiness and suffering.