Texas legislator proposes $500 to stop abortions...what are your thoughts?

Question

Texas legislator proposes $500 to stop abortions
- A Texas legislator has proposed that pregnant women considering abortion be offered $500 not to end their pregnancies.
Republican State Sen. Dan Patrick, who also is a conservative radio talk show host, said on Friday the money might convince the women to go ahead and have babies, then give them up for adoption.
He said during a legislative conference in New Braunfels, 45 miles south of Austin, there were 75,000 abortions in Texas last year.
"If this incentive would give pause and change the mind of 5 percent of those woman, that's 3,000 lives. That's almost as many people as we've lost in Iraq," Patrick said.
Patrick has filed legislation to make the payment state law, but the legislature has not yet voted on it.
His proposal calls for giving any woman going to an abortion clinic the $500 option, to be paid no more than 30 days after the baby is born and given up for adoption.
Critics say the proposal would violate Texas and

federal laws against buying babies, which Patrick rejected as "the typical ridiculous criticism."

Heather Paffe, political director of Planned Parenthood of Texas, said Patrick's proposal "is very cynical and insulting to women and their families."

"It's insulting to think women would make that kind of decision so easily," she said

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070324/od_nm/texas_abortion1_dc;_ylt=Ai8bf.xytkCDhY_r9ZEgjo7tiBIF

It's not $500 to keep it after they give birth, it's $500 when they put the child up for adoption.

Answer 1

Abortion is not something I would personally consider, but I am not here to decide what others should do... Offering women money to not have an abortion can have catastrophic results...

What comes to my mind is the crack addicted mother who falls pregnant and decided on abortion... When offered 500.00 many if these women, so desperate for cash to support the habit that they would probably accept the agreement... These women are not going to stop using drugs or prostituting, and will not likely have any prenatal care...

So I ask are we doing more harm than good. Maybe this child will survive, but will it be a drug baby, or have diseases, or be born too early...

I definitely have issues with abortion, but I have more issues with babies being born unwanted, with a lifetime of probems in front of them...

Answer 2

How about stopping abortions all together!! If they would be more willing to investigate the reasons why a women is in the abortion clinic to begin with they would not have as many abortions going on. If it is the woman's choice to be able to have one.. then why don't they choose to use any type of birth control? If these women know they don't want children..then they should be more careful and just go ahead and tie their tubes!! Abortion is not a birth control and should be stopped as one! If at the end of all births a human is born, a life! Then why don't we just call it murder? Adoption is the best option and no one will ever be able to tell me different.. since I am adopted myself. Abortions should only be performed when it is a proven rape or incest case or there is medical proof that it will hurt the mother or baby to go thru the pregnancy. Not because you think you accidentally got pregnant.. there are not accidents.. too many ways to protect yourself these days.

Also instead of paying these women 500 bucks to keep their child or put it up for adoption. How about putting money to use in making it necessary to teach sex education in all schools since parents seem to forget to talk to their kids about it.

Answer 3

1st of all there is a law in our country that gives all women the right to choose RE: Roe vs Wade

2nd this guy is a NUT!!!!
abortion has no REWARDS and is a hard enough decision without throwing $500 into the equation

to get pregnant and have a child has REWARDS but is also a big enough decision without having to consider adoption with a prize of $500 attached to it

what the HELL is going on in Texas and our whole country!!!
I cannot for the life of me figure out how some people live with themselves!!!!

Answer 4

In reality is this any better than "selling" your baby? If you were to have a baby and then sell it to another couple that is illegal and you would face charges...Only our government would be able to get away with being above the law...I am personally pro-life, but this still inflamed me. While $500 at a time might not seem like a whole bunch, multiply that times the 75,000 abortions they are claiming have been performed per year...That's 37 MILLION 500 THOUSAND for ONE STATE for ONE year!!!!! Wouldn't an amount of money this astronomical be put to better use in sexual education and birth control to prevent the unwanted pregnancies in the FIRST place??? And there should be PLENTY left over! We have it backwards America... too many of us don't teach our children about sex and birth control and responsibilities but are then shocked at the amount of unwanted pregnancies...Education people...

Answer 5

Again a man world just because their d*** is worth less than 500 they think that a child life is worth 500
1- a woman should have the right to choose
2-while they are concentrating on abortion they should concentrate on health care that might help those woman
make better choises as well give other incentive to woman that have children like Canada and most of Europe
it is call child allowance

Answer 6

Hmmm . . . my only problem with this is that there are drug mothers who would do this for the $500. In our minds $500 is nothing, but to a druggie getting pregnant for $500 is a huge amount. I'm saddened by the rise in abortions, I just wish there were more effective education for all of these mothers.

Answer 7

That is stupid. What will $500 do for that woman. It is my right as a woman to make my own decisions about my body. No government or activist group has anything to say on what will happen to my body and I'm getting sick of all the BS associated with this. All those idiots will not be there to help the woman emotionally to give up her baby for adoption or help her raise a child for 18 years because she could not give the baby up for adoption.

Answer 8

Yes people complain about abortions, and yes, I do not agree with them being done, however Then we will have an adoption problem, trying to find homes for all the babies.... GOOD LOVING HOMES..... I think that money ought to be used for prevention. give any woman that will get the 5 yr implant , and keep it, 1000...... paid 200.00 a year. That would be one option.

I hate to hear about babies being killed however, Id hate to hear about these adopted babies being beat, beat to death, abused emotionally ect.

Answer 9

It sounds like another attempt by men to control women's bodies. There should be more effort to prevent these unwanted pregnancies from happening, not cheap incentives to "correct" them later. This is just putting a band-aid over a huge gash.

Answer 10

i still think a women should have a right to choose what she wants to do with her own body.

the last quote upsets me because its not up to other people to decide if a decision by another women was made easily or not, its so not fair to judge.

personally no i would not have an abortion, but that does not mean i have a right to judge those that would. my very best friend had one and even though i dont believe in them i was still right by her side giving her comfort and support, its not my body or my decision, so why should i just leave her in a time like that? its not fair.