Why are people so shocked by an abortion at 36 weeks?

Question

I'm begining to think people don't really understand abortion. There are many countries who allow abortion right up to the point of birth.

Look, you are either for abortion or you're not. Why put a time limit on it?

In a pregnant woman's womb is a life. A life which at 17 days has its own blood cells, which two days later is developing eyes and the day after has an entire nervous system established.

A life that at 28 days is forming arms and legs, at 30 days is developing ears and nose and at 49 days is a miniature person with complete fingers and toes.

Why is that 7 week old life any less valuable than a 36 week life?

Yeah fanatic, I kind of thought so. Thanks though. I just don't understand the mentality that "it's ok at this point, but not ok at this point."

You get thumbs up from me LoveMyAngel*, I'm opposed to it too.

I understand what you're saying Jamie, but if that is the mentality, should we just let diabetics die? How about Kidney patients? People on oxygen machines? They can't survive either without some kind of intervention. If they can't survive on their own, should we just let them die?

Glutenfreegirl and others. You obviously are missing my point. (and Glutenfreegirl I have seen an abortion). The point I am making is there a lot of people who think it's okay at 7 weeks but not at 36 weeks. I'm trying to say it's wrong at any stage.

All the people condemning me, did you actually read the whole question? Geeze.

Answer 1

i am completely with you....i personally don't see the difference either its a person however developed thats like comparing a 5 year old and a teenagers right to live...kinda silly.

Answer 2

I do not agree with abortion although I do think that it should be every womans choice and I do think a time limit should be set on it. What I find difficult to understand is why anyone would wait so long and then terminate?

I am not speaking about those who find out their child has a severe disability but others, some people may have aborted as soon as they have found out about the pregnancy, which could be 4 weeks maybe even 8 by the time appointments get set etc but to leave it until 20, 30 or even 35 weeks to me is unforgivable.

I do not know how anyone could feel a child moving inside them, see it on a scan and be so aware of it inside them and want to kill it, knowing it is a person, possibly a person who could survive unaided at that point.

I think for many woman it can be ignorance of what stage the baby is at and what the procedure actually is, for some the do not want to know as it would haunt them.

I personally would feel different about a person aborting at 30 weeks compared to how I would feel if that person aborted at 8 weeks.

I really think that if a baby could survive out of the womb then it should be removed by section/induced birth and at least given a chance and put up for adoption etc rather than being murdered.

Answer 3

I think the line with most intelligent adults, who are not strictly pro-life, is where a child is fully developed and able to survive.

Yesterday someone posed the question "At what point can a fetus survive if born early". There were a range of questions, but generally most stated from 20-24 weeks on.

If you have carried a child to that point, I think it causes most people to ask "what type of person could do that".

I am not pro-life, I think everyone can make a decision for themselves as I did. However, at 16 weeks into my 1st pregnancy I am resolved to have this child and handle everything that comes with it. I have not yet felt my child move, I do not yet know if it is a boy or girl, but - I love my child.

I would no sooner think of killing my child at this point (when in the US it is still a legal option) - than I would consider killing someone who angered me by asking about having an abortion at 36 weeks.

If you decide to continue your pregnancy INTO your third trimester, I do not believe it should be an option any longer. Partial birth abortions (which I believe are the only option after 20 weeks?) are cruel and uncalled for. Bottom line. Anyone who considers abortion this late in the game, is a sad excuse for a human - and if allowed to have the abortion - in my opinion should go ahead with a hysterectomy and save us all the worry they will make such a selfish decision in the future.

Answer 4

I do not believe in abortion at ANY Stage but I believe every woman has the right to make her own decisions and its not MYJob to judge her, that is between her and God.

Secondly, are you nuts? Do u not REALIZE What a late term abortion is? Do u not KNOW what they do to the baby in a partial birth abortion? Its disgusting and if someone did it to a baby who was already born,t hey'd be thrown in jail for torture and murder!

Any time past 21 weeks a doc will try to save a baby who is born early. at 24 weeks nearly all babies will survive with minimal assistance. That makes the point that 36 weeks is a hell of a long time to wait to kill your child! That baby could be born, placed for adoption and raised by loving parents instead of brutally murdered.
I dont feel a 7 week old life is any less valuable than a 36 week old life but there is a reason parial birth abortion is illegal--its inhumane and disgusting. Perhaps you should be forced to watch one and see how you feel then.


You didnt make it clear that you didnt agree but u asked and we answered! The main difference in the medical world is yes, a 24 week or older baby can live outsie the uterus, a 7 week one cant. Thats why each state has their own laws for when abortions can happen.

Answer 5

Ive not read the other answers, but to me, personally, it's a life - a human life at any stage. However, I know people who have had abortions or terminations in the early stages of pregnancy due to the fact that to continue the pregnancy will be detremental to the physical or mental well-being of either parent or foetus. If you can understand the meaning of the definition then there is nothing more to say, and you can understand the justification in certain cases. I am, by the way, pro life, but can understand why people terminate.

Answer 6

um you're full of it. the nervous system is not completely formed until 26 weeks. at four weeks, the fetus has no limbs. at 7 weeks the limbs are buds with webbed fingers and toes. there is a difference btwn a 7 week embryo and a 36 week fetus. the second is viable and sentient. and no, you're wrong. ELECTIVE abortions are not done after 12-14 weeks in many areas. an abortion is only done late term for maternal health or fetal deformity. obviously you don't know what you're talking about.

Answer 7

a 36 weeks its already a baby if the child was born at 36 weeks then it will survive and thats why people are so against it! - everyone has their own opinion about it! i DON'T agree with abortion in most cases, but do argee with it for some for example my friend who had tried and tried for years to become pregnant then when she do she was over the moon we all were, then she had serious complications that ment if she didnt abort she would risk loosing her own life she was deverstated as we all were! she already had a 7year son so she couldnt risk her own life! so my point is some women have no choice about it but i dont agree with people having abortions instead of using birth control, some girls have 3 or 4 as if its a trend and its wrong! and if some one is going to abort it should be before 12weeks that is also about the time for miscarrages! the girl on here that keeps going on about abortion at 36weeks is sick cruel and very very selfish

Answer 8

I guess because at 36 weeks they can survive and breathe on their own, at 7 weeks they can not survive outside the womb. A 36 week abortion is like taking an 2 day old infant out of a crib and killing it!
I don't understand why anyone would want to do that so far along!

Answer 9

I think this question is quite a intelligent one, with lots of good points, I think it would be terrible for a women to have a abortion at 36 weeks because it seems so much like killing a baby, but at 7 weeks the baby is no bigger then a grain of rice (I'm 7 weeks pregnant right) and I'm sure hasn't developed a nervous system of many of the things we contribute to being a baby, therefore it seems so much more horrid, I suppose it how we see things. You do make good points though.

Answer 10

I'm pro-life, no matter how old a baby is. I agree that a 7 week old life is just as valuable as a 36 week old life. But, I am more appalled at an abortion at 32 or 36 weeks because there is absolutely no contesting the fact that it is a BABY and not a "fetus" and because it can survive all by itself outside the woman's body. All the general arguments for abortion that people use kinda fall apart by this stage. It's also shocking because you wonder how a woman who has been feeling her baby move and kick inside her for all that time could detach herself enough from it to think that abortion is okay. A person who has an abortion at 7 weeks doesn't seem so sick because it's a lot easier to convince yourself that it's not really a baby at all, but just a "cluster of cells."

Answer 11

Perhaps it is because a 7 week old fetus cannot sustain its own life where as a 36 week old fetus can survive without any medical attention. There may be very many countries that allow this, but in the UK abortion after 24 weeks is illegal. I for one agree that the legal limit for medical terminations should be reduced, but also I firmly believe that the choice is up to the woman who finds herself in this position, not for the do gooders that rant and rave before they even know the situation. What would be more disgusting would be for a woman to have a child she did not want and it face a life of abuse and neglect.