Who should decide if a woman has an abortion?

Question

The government?

A religion that the woman in question may or may not belong to?

People the woman has never met?

The man who knocked her up?

Or... the woman herself?

What do you think?

Answer 1

You start with the premise that an abortion is an option. I think the answer is F: None of the above. The God who gave the child life should be the one who decides when its life is over.

Also, there seems to be a lot of people who think that the baby inside the mother is the woman's body. They say to keep our laws off her body. I'd suggest keeping your babies out of abattoirs.

Answer 2

Oh boy what a can of worms has been opened with this question! Well, I am pro-life, but I believe that only the woman should choose if she has an abortion. Being pro-life, I would surely love for the government to make it illegal, but that wouldn't stop women determined to have an abortion from having one. They would do it illegally. Ultimately, the woman decides what choice she will make.

That said, I would just like to say that when I was pregnant with my first-born child, I had severe hyperemesis. I was literally throwing up EVERY 10-15 minutes, 24 hours a day, for 2-1/2 months straight. I could not keep ANYTHING down - not even a sip of water. I was throwing up until the only thing I could throw up was stomach acid. I was starving to death. I was hospitalized twice, and I was kept alive by a central line IV (near my heart) which delivered nutrients and fluids that I needed to live. I got my "nutrition" from an IV bag. A home health nurse stayed with me at night and gave me shots of anti-nausea medication, while my mother and my sister (a nursing student at the time - now a nurse) cared for me during the day and my sister administered my shots. It was the worst suffering of my life. My doctor, who herself was pregnant AND pro-life, told me that if I didn't improve soon, she would have to abort my baby to save my life. She ordered a sonogram to make sure my baby was still doing okay. I was 4-1/2 weeks pregnant when I had my first sonogram. My baby's heart was beating - independently of my own. That was all the proof I needed that my baby was not just some piece of flesh or a "fetus", which to me is a technical term which takes the human factor out of life. When I saw my baby's heart beating, I realized I was actually carrying a living human being. Today, that baby is my 6 foot tall 17-year-old son. I believe that the woman will ultimately decide whether or not she aborts her baby. I also believe that abortion should not be used as birth control. For me, the only way that I would ever consider aborting a baby is in a case of rape, incest or the mother's life is in danger. That's my opinion. Thank you for the thought-provoking question!

Answer 3

I think the government should decide. They should make it a law to ban abortion. It IS murder after all. Do you want to hear something that is just plain cold blooded? The baby cries when you kill it. How horrible would it be to sit there and strangle an unborn baby while it's crying? Then they throw the dead fetus into a garbage can where it then lays in the dump. It's disgusting. If women can't control their sexual urges, they need help. It's their own fault they got knocked up in the first place. If anything, they should carry out with pregnancy and give it to adoption if they don't want it. The only circumstances abortion should be optional are:
A) Incest
B) The mom will die giving birth
C) The baby will die after/during birth anyway
D) Both the mom and the baby will die during labor
Those are the only reasons to have an abortion.

Answer 4

The woman herself, with advice from her doctor and input from the father (if applicable).

I don't think "The man who knocked her up" should be summarily excluded from the equation, depending on their relationship at the time of conception (obviously a rapist has no right to demand a role).

Answer 5

Considering that a man's sperm is needed to impregnate a woman, I think that both he and she should decide together if a woman has an abortion. However, the ultimate decision lies with the child in the womb. I'm pretty sure that he/she would rather live than to have no chance at life due to the selfish acts of others.

Answer 6

i don't go for abortion but i think it should be decided by the baby's mother and father because it belongs to both. it definitely should not be religion that decides these things . God and religion are two different things and God already said not to murder. plus people that she does not know don't have a say in her life nor the baby's. it's a decision that is hard and shouldn't be and the people that get this info should be understanding not judge mental. that being said i think that abortion should only be considered if the mother's life is in danger or if it was a case of rape and that should be only if she talks to a head doc to see where her head is. like is this child going to mess her up permanently. good luck with this and you have my best wishes

Answer 7

The woman herself.

Answer 8

Of course the woman, no one else is gonna have the baby and no one else is gonna go through the operation... so she should decide if she wants to go through it or not.... the government can't tell anyone what to believe.... if the woman is part of a religion and she believes it's wrong then she should be faithful with her religion and trust that it is right not to get one.... but mainly it is the woman's choice

Answer 9

I think it should be a woman's choice if the baby is a result of a rape.

But if thats not the case, then I don't see why a woman is given right to kill someone. What if the man wants the baby?

And what if the woman wants the baby and the man wants an abortion. Why should a women be given such free choice?

Answer 10

The woman but the guy should take part in the decision. Honestly people need to learn how to use condoms.