Fellow Athiests, what are your thoughts on abortion?

Question

I'm pro-choice!
1. The world is already overpopulated as it is.
2. It's the woman's body, if she doesn't want it in her, who are you to say she has too.
3. Some mental and medical professionals suggest that a fetus cannot feel pain, no matter how far developed. For example, Stuart Derbyshire, a psychologist at the University of Birmingham, UK, is an expert specializing in how the brain feels pain. He wrote that there is "good evidence that fetuses cannot experience pain." he argues that the complex medical processes necessary for the experience of pain cannot begin until the jolt of life outside the womb kick starts them. The "Earliest" possible time for a fetus to feel pain being in the third trimester.

Thank you Sam, I forgot to mention "backalley" abortions" and how dangerous it'd be.

Nondescript, you make a very good point as well.

A sleeping person cannot feel pain Wisdom Cube??!!

That is beyond rediculous, if a cat jumps on you with it's claws while you sleep, you're gonna jump and wake up because of the pain from the claws on your flesh! I know my cat does it all the time to me.

Answer 1

I'm all for abortion.

There shouldn't be unplanned babies. If you're going to have a baby, it should be a deliberate act and you should plan appropriately for giving the baby a good life. Otherwise, don't have one.

There is an argument that if abortion were widely available, then people would use it as birth control. If that's true, I'm even more for abortion. If someone is so irresponsible that they would use abortion as birth control, they are too irresponsible to raise kids. Those are just the type of people I would want to have abortions.

Answer 2

I think it is thoroughly irresponsible to use abortion as a primary method of birth control. It should be reserved for situations where other birth control has failed, where the conception was the result of rape, where the fetus is known to have a severe genetic disorder, or where the pregancy is life threatening to the mother.

Certainly there's is a period early in the pregnancy where the fetus is little more than a cluster of cells. And certainly at some time before birth the fetus is a fully developed human being. Somewhere in between conception and birth the fetus has developed a nervous system and brain and might be capable of experiencing pain. I believe we should err on the side of caution in making an educated guess as to when that is. Personally I'd say abortions after the first trimester should be limited to life threatening scenarios. I'd have to see the scientific evidence regarding fetal development and brain activity to be more precise about the precise timing.

I don't think overpopulation is a good argument. From a moral perspective that could be used as a justification for killing humans for any number of reasons (too old, not intelligent enough, not good looking enough, wrong race, not economically useful, etc.) none of which I believe would be moral.

I don't categorically agree that "it's the woman's body and she can do what she wants" either. I'd accept that argument with regards to the morning after pill perhaps but not on a late term abortion for reasons of convenience. At some point there is certainly a second body, a second human being who deserves some rights as well and I believe that human being should not have to get outside the womb before those rights are enforced on its behalf.

Answer 3

It has very little to do with pain. A cow feels pain when it's slaughtered, but we consider it okay because the cow isn't self aware. It basically didn't even know it was alive. That's why abortion is okay, because foetuses also are not self aware. In fact very young babies are also not self aware, but to keep on the safe side I think it's a good idea to keep the law against killing babies once they're born. But the important thing is that a foetus doesn't know that it exists, or that it's being killed.
They're also not human beings, they are genetic material with the potential to become human beings in certain circumstances. A foetus is not a person, it doesn't have rights, it doesn't care if you kill it. The only argument against abortion that isn't simply wrong is the religious one, and since most of us don't live in theocracies that shouldn't be an issue.

Answer 4

1. I think adolescents should be educated about their bodies, human sexuality, masturbation, and the pros and cons of various methods of birth control.
2. It's not a question of when life begins, it's a question of when consciousness/sensitivity to pain begins.
3. Abortion should be allowed within the first trimester and not allowed during the third trimester. As far as I'm concerned, the second trimester is still open for debate, and the scientific data relating to fetal development needs to be discussed in a logical way.
4. Even if second and third trimester abortion were made illegal, I would not favor extreme measures of punishment such as the death penalty or life imprisonment.
5. In any case, it makes more sense to try to minimize abortion through education and birth control than by inflicting punishment upon those who choose to end a pregnancy.

Answer 5

I'm against abortion. The problem is that we haven't defined when exactly a fetus/infant/baby becomes a human. I've got no problem with destroying a blastocyst, because it's obviously a small bundle of cells and is not capable of cognition, but if it were discovered that older fetuses were capable of primitive thought, then I would consider them to be a human being and I'd consider destroying them to be murder. I don't care if they can or can't feel pain- a sleeping person can't feel pain either. But it seems to be unlikely that fetuses are capable of thought.

But also troubling to me is the fact that it will probably turn out that you aren't capable of independent thought until some time *after* you're born. In that case, if we're going to do this scientifically, the mother should have the option to destroy child after they are born. (like how some put babies in garbage cans)

I know that nobody actually thinks that way, but those are just my thoughts. I'm an all-or-nothing type person. Either legalize killing babies or make it illegal to kill fetuses.

So, in summation:
1. True, but murder is still considered "wrong"
2. It's not a matter of it being the "woman's body" if there's a human in it
3. If fetuses aren't capable of thought, then newborns and infants all the way up to toddlers aren't either. If that's true, then my libertarian sentiments tell me to support killing unwanted babies. All or nothing.

And, as I've said, no one else thinks this way, so don't think I'm advocating a position.

Edit: RE sleeping person feeling pain
Okay, I meant sleeping as in unconscious, like drugged. If you perform lethal injection on someone, you put them to sleep first, then you adminster the killing poison that stops their heart and lungs.

Answer 6

Well, I'm with you on pro-choice, and I back up your reason #2.

Personally, I'm not with #1 or #3, but no worries, the end result is the same.

I think it should remain a choice, and not have some religious fanatic make a legal decision that they impose on MY life. If some pro-lifer is against abortion, I have a novel idea....DON'T GET ONE!

But you know how those fanatics are, they pick and chose what part of the bible they decide to follow, and impose on others.

Hey Christians: Going to church makes you a Christian as much as standing in a garage makes you a car.

Answer 7

I think it's sad that a teen/woman gets into a position where they believe they need an abortion, but, I can't see the good in making abortion illegal either.

Desperate women have been having abortions a long time before Roe V. Wade.

It is their body's and their moral decision to make not mine or the governments.

Answer 8

At times, a regrettable necessity. It is, of course, obvious that a fetus is a human being from the moment of conception, but that cannot give it unlimited rights as against those of the mother, who will have to ingest an extra 50,000 calories to bring it to term, as well as dealing with the child for years afterwards. A compromise is necessary, and that laid down in Roe v. Wade was reasonable at the time -- and still is.

Answer 9

i see the problem right now being that we are not allowed to teach the realities of abortion to the populace because people think by doing so it condones abortion. i think if more girls knew about the risks and details of abortions, they would be more careful and there would be less need for them. abortion should not be used as a means of birth control because it is harmful to a woman's body and emotional being, but it shouldn't be denied by women who choose to terminate their pregnancies for similiar reasons. late term abortions often happen because they can't--or are restricted from-- a doctor's care. most abortions happen in low income populations. education is key. no one has the right to tell another what is right or wrong in their lives. rarely do we know the whole story.

Answer 10

So based on Stuart Derbyshire's testimony, sucking a baby's brains out during a partial birth abortion would hurt a lot or just kinda tickle?

And what does a psychologist know about medical stuff anyway?