Abortion... Okay or an ABOMINABLE CHOICE?

Question

Scientific standpoint: Sperm+egg-> fertilization-> embryo-> fetus-> baby-> adult. Stopping any one of these steps unnaturally kills a person, since this is the way we all start out. Where does sperm end and baby begin? I know certain medical conditions, ectopic pregnancy (tubal pregnancy), spontaneous abortion (miscarriage), and other medical conditions which each, in their own way, endanger the mother and baby medically demands the removal of the fertilized egg or embryo for certain death to both will result - I am not against this, I am against people using abortion as birth control and getting the child they want to have (i.e. free of birth defects)

Religious standpoint: Stopping the pregnancy process in any way, other than medically necessary, is breaking the Commandment "Thou shalt not commit murder". The war argument is used, and you come up with The Lord is NOT against war. He wages war against His enemies.

Where do you all stand on each individual issue?

Answer 1

I think that abortion is OK for only very rare instances and elective only up to a certain point. I think it is absolutely wrong to kill a human being after the 8th or 9th week of gestation.
Why you ask? Well, look in any medical book, study the growing stages of the embryo and fetus and you will see why.
Basically, I think it is better to kill an embryo (since it is an embryo, not necessarily even an established pregnancy since most miscarriages happen before it gets to the next stage)
Which is when it becomes a fetus, around the 8th week. THis is when I believe it is wrong. Once it becomes a fetus, it is absolutley without a doubt a person. It is human and alive, has arms, legs,--and is moving and "swimming", kicking around, has a beating heart, and can even suck his/her thumb by the 12th week.

If you ever want to delve into the serious ethical implications of abortion, and there are many, and look at it with an honest and objective eye, one must do two things: know in depth about fetal stages and see video footage of the fetus in certain stages such as "The Miracle of Life", and know about abortion techniques and if one can stand it, see video footage of an abortion being done.

Most people say they are 'pro choice' but have absolutely no clue how abortions are done in what stages--nor do they want to know and for good reason. I won't get into it, but some of it is so gruesome and so disturbing most people wouldn't even believe it is being done and can't comprehend it is actually legal.--THAT'S how offensive it is to MOST people's moral sensibilities.

When people get abortions due to severe deformity that is another whole other ethical issue. Some women get partial birth abortioned because of cleft palates, spina bifida, down syndrome, etc. But imagine if it was a false positive and you did that to a perfectly normal and healthy infant? and even if it was deformed, how does it deserve to be treated while it's being killed? How does a fetus deserve to be treated while being killed even if it was the product of a rape, incest, "unwantedness"?
In the second trimester they kill the fetus in a way so inhumane and brutal, we wouldn't even think about doing it to an animal...or even a preborn animal! ironic enough. It would be cruel and inhumane! We treat animals better and give animals more benefit of the doubt when it comes to pain and awareness than we do the human fetus, or do we? I think our ignorance on our compassion level says a lot about us as a people.
Now, I am an agnostic and abortion absolutely disgusts me. So, one does not have to or need any religious conviction to know that abortion is wrong in MOST circumstances.
However, I am 100% for birth control if only these idiots would use it and I am for the morning after pill available OTC, all this to hopefully prevent abortions. I am for anything to prevent abortions. Unfortunately, when people can, people will, if they have the money.
So this is why I wish abortion was illegal after the first trimester at least. It is so horrifying to me that women actually get abortions after the first trimester and that some "doctors"--if you can call them that-- actually do that for a living. It is so sad.

Answer 2

Abortion is a social issue that need be addressed by each individual & not as a group of person or persons. Abortion has to do with choice. It is a matter of choice. Abortion is generally bad practise but its never a murder. I can choose to abort any of the following..Sperm+egg-> fertilization-> embryo-> fetus->but not the new born baby-or the adult. Soul takes in or inhabits the body immidiately the new body is born & not inside the womb. That is why a new born baby must cry out when it is born or there will be a problem. when the new born babe cries, soul is saying "am in here now". The law of God holds us responsible for every action we take in life. so don't abort unless its highly necessary like trying to save the life the mother etc.

Answer 3

I don't think it's either "okay" or "an abominable choice". I think it's like any other surgical operation. You wouldn't be "in favour" of opening a person's body on purpose, but you know that's what it takes to save a person's life when they need to be operated on.

Abortion is a surgical procedure, and it's necessary in some cases, as in the case when the mother's life is at risk. I would totally agree in that case, or in cases where the child would have no chance of living. I mean, if the child will be born without a brain, for instance, what's the use of making the mother go on with a pregnancy (with all the inconveniences it has, and the tremendous psychological drama it means) if the child is not going to live anyway?

On the other hand, I wouldn't agree on aborting, just because you didn't calculate well, or if the condom failed, for instance. I mean, I don't think abortion is okay just to get off the hook. In those cases, it's better to give birth, and if you really don't want the child, or you cannot afford to raise him or her, then give them away in adoption. But don't abort. Who knows, maybe after the nine-month pregnancy, you might want to change your mind... On the other hand, I have to say I am a man. I will never have a child inside of me. So I would never be able to actually know the feeling. I think women's opinion on this is more authoritative.

Now, there are some borderline cases. Here, in Argentina, the media are discussing a very difficult case. A 19-year-old girl, which a severe mental handicap, whose mind is like that of an 8-year-old, was raped by her uncle. No matter if the sex was consented. She was LEGALLY raped, because she hasn't got the capacity to consent from a legal point of view.

This girl got pregnant, and because of her limited capacity, she didn't realise that till she was three months into her pregnancy. The possibility for abortion was then limited to a few more weeks. The law clearly states that a case like this (a mental incapacity) is legal in Argentina. But a judge chimed in, and claimed it was not legal. This delayed the whole process, and now, some people say it's too late for her to abort. Apparently, this delay was on purpose, so she couldn't perform the operation.

Answer 4

For the whole thing:
I see abortion as more than just a decision to kill a baby or not. It's just not that easy. In most cases, it is a choice between two evils. For example, murder or a lifetime of sexual abuse; murder or starving to death at a slightly later age because I can't afford to feed the child; murder or bringing a child into the world that will not receive proper care, love, or support. For some, that decision is easy - murder trumps anything else everytime. For others, the other choices they have in their lives are just as bad.

So, in the end, I would never choose abortion, but not everyone's choice is so easy. I believe adoption and proper birth control to begin with are the answers. I think it is far more irresponsible to not have protected sex when you know what kind of conditions you would be bringing a baby into than to save that baby from a horrible existence. None of it ends up looking very good.

Answer 5

As you say, procreation is an ongoing process which can be interrupted at any point, right from not having sex in the first place, through contraception, and drugs which prevent implantation, to abortion anywhere up to the moment of birth.

Somewhere along that process, most people would have a point where they consider it's OK to interfere to prevent the birth of a baby up to that point, but not afterwards - e.g. abstinence is OK, but contraception isn't.... or contraception is OK, but abortion isn't... or abortion is OK but only up to week 20... or whatever. It's simply a matter of conscience where you personally decide to draw the line, and on what basis.

For myself, I cannot accept that an undifferentiated bunch of cells has more rights than the fully grown adults who are responsible for its existence. I also cannot accept that it's right to kill a foetus when it's fully developed and due to be born. Logically then, there has to be a point somewhere in between that I decide, on the basis of conscience, is the point at which abortion becomes unacceptable. I don't know enough about it to have a definite view where that point lies, but it must lie somewhere in the 9 months of pregnancy.

It's in the nature of life that there are no easy answers to this kind of question, as it's a matter of subjective opinion rather than objective fact - and my opinion is that abortion cannot be wrong, per se.

Oh, and it's pointless to argue about whether the embryo is 'human life' or not - Of course it is. That is not the issue. The issue is whether a human life at a stage of being a tiny featureless blob of cells should be protected at the expense of the wishes of the parents - and particularly the woman who would have to give birth to it. I don't think it should.

Answer 6

I don't judge a situation I have never been in. Every individual case is different. I have given a child up for adoption, I know not everyone is able to. People seem to think that women just aw well crap I'm pregnant I am going to have an abortion. I can tell you that those I know who have had abortions had as much trouble making the decision as I did in choosing adoption. Nobody is pro-abortion, nobody thinks women should abortion as birth control. However what if a women gets a tubal ligation or a man gets a vasectomy and the women gets pregnant, they are married, used the ultimate form of protection offered and are not physically, financially, mentally able to care for a child.

Answer 7

I feel it is an unfortunate choice, many have to make. But just because some people don't approve, that doesn't mean the government can take their freedom of choice away. After all, people are hanging themselves from stainless steel hooks for a type of spiritual experience. So if someone wants to hurt themselves, it should not be an issue, unless they are under-age.

Answer 8

it is a mild concern...On one hand, no person could desire to rigidity a woman to hold the newborn that grew to become right into a made of rape to time era. on the different hand, why could desire to an harmless toddler obtain capital punishment for some thing their father did? i will actually say i'm happy i'm not a woman, because of fact i could bypass insane even questioning approximately what to do in that subject. As a male, i will in basic terms say that abortion for the sake of delivery administration because of fact of undesirable possibilities could desire to be banned.

Answer 9

1) As far as an operation goes, it should be as safe as possible.

2) To reduce abortions, reduce the need.

3) Comprehensive sex education and awareness programs.

4) Readjustment of the worth of women in society

Answer 10

Abortion (done by action of man) is murder. I do not believe prevention conception is. I believe life begins with the fertilization of the egg by the sperm.