Abortion Follow Up (questions for christians and non-christians alike)?

Question

A lot of you answerers gave answers that used the words "unless" or "only in the circumstance where..."

Are you saying that Abortion should be used as a reward for the "good" women who haven't slept around, or have been raped, and withheld as some sort of punishment from the promiscuous woman, or the "first-time-pregnant" teenage girl?

Where is the line drawn that defines the acceptability of having an abortion?

I'd like to remind everyone that this is an opinion based question.

The act of abortion may or may not be my business, but that is irrelevant to my question.

I'm just wondering what YOU think.

Answer 1

The problem with this is that if you draw a dividing line then you can look at cases just on each side of the line and argue that they should be on the other side.

The only totally supportable positions are:
No abortions under any circumstances.
Allow abortions at any point.

The problem is that both of these are unethical. Saying a mother has to die because the brain dead fetus has to be allowed to come to term is tantamont to murdering the mother. Saying that a mother can abort a 7 month old baby for no good reason is tantamont to murdering the baby.

Any other criteria is arbitrary. If the limit is set to 22 weeks then why allow an abortion at 21 weeks 6 days, but not at 22 weeks 1 day? The fetus is not significantly different in those 2 days. But following this you can push out or push in the date one day at a time until it is 0 days or 9 months, which is obviously unethical.

The only thing we can do is put an arbitrary line at a point which seems to provide a reasonable balance.

No one will be happy with this, but hopefully the majority of people will not be too unhappy.

Answer 2

Abortion is a fun subject, people get very excited about it and draw lines.

One thing I have noticed is that many Christians preaching against it, do so from a moral stantpoint verses a biblical stand point.

That is because the bible only addresses it once in the book of Exodus:


Exodus 21:22-24
"And if men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him; and he shall pay as the judges decide. "But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,"

This verse is pretty clear and highlights the fact that the God Christians worship didn't place as much value on fetuses as he did on the life of the mother.

So why do so many Christians consume their time trying to save fetuses, (many times at the expense of the mother's eternal life) an not spend thier time trying to spread the love of God?

God said that if a miscarraige is forced then the person doing it should be fined, but if the mother is hurt then it is an eye for an eye.

Shouldn't Christians who feel the need to picket abortion clinics, re-evaluate thier positions and start trying to help the poor and save the lost?

Fighting Abortion is a political tool not a calling

Answer 3

heres how I see it.

if continuing the pregnancy/labor is likely to threaten the mother's life, not only is it allowed, but its an OBLIGATION. it MUST be done.

in the first trimester, it should be able to be done at will. at least the first time, without challenging it. if its done alot... well thats just not acceptable.

second trimester, if with cause, then ok. the further along the more signifigant cause needed.

third trimester... only allowed in extreme situations (such as the life threatening part)

the idea being that very early in the pregnancy its not far enough along to be signifigantly considered, and that if you can't figure out that your pregnant and want to keep it or not, in the first 3 or 4 months... well thats a problem, theres really in general no reason that it shouldn't be able to be found out about, thought about, and decided by the 4th or 5th month.

Answer 4

For me, a woman can do with her body what she wants, part of that is deciding whether or not to have a baby. Should she become pregnant, she has up until birth to abort. A fetus isn't a person in my view, it's a collection of cells, life begins at birth.

Women who make the choice to abort do so with a great deal of thought, and no one has any right to inisit they take a specific action. It's their body, their choice, other men and women don't have a say in it.

Answer 5

Hypocrisy. No woman has more rights than the other.

It used to be that only rich women were able to have birth control, and not because it costed a lot. Poor women were not even told such a thing existed. It was to keep the low class in the low class while they are held down by children. This is no different.

EDIT: sansfear.....you're awesome.

Answer 6

How about if you are against abortion, you don't have one! And then you can quit sticking your holier-than-thou noses in everyone else's business. It is none of your concern whether a woman you don't know has an abortion or not. This world would be a better place if you people would just FOCUS ON YOUR OWN DAMN FAMILY!

Answer 7

There is no line that can be drawn about abortion- it is murder, no matter the situation with the woman. Granted I cannot imagine what it would be like to be pregnant by someone who raped me, so I am not negating that, however, the baby should not be given the death penalty. I know a couple of women who were raped and chose to place for adoption- that is a sacrifice- the mom made the sacrifice, herself, she did not make the innocent child who had no choice, pay the price, for the sin of the child's "father".

Answer 8

There is no line. Abortion is wrong. People talk all the time about a mother's right to choose, what about a baby's right to live? It's a life from the moment of conception.
The rape thing had me for a while, but women who are raped rarely ever get pregnant, because it is such a stressful situation it is almost impossible to conceive!
Teenage girls should not be sleeping with anyone. God said sex is for the marriage bed. When gives us a rule, it's for our own good, and I believe that part of the reason he gave us this rule is so that stuff like this wouldnt' happen. I hope I haven't been harsh on anyone. just giving my oppinion.
God bless!

Answer 9

RU-486 on demand.

Then late-term abortions would be all but history. There is *no* need for fetus-abortion when you can take care of it before it develops beyond embryo stage. No feeling, no brain waves, no heartbeat, not cute fingers or toes. Just jelly with human potential.

Answer 10

I'm pro-choice however the only limits I place on it are time. Unless the life of the mother is in danger there should be no late term abortions.