a question for the other prochoicers here besides me...?

Question

when do you feel a fetus is actually a human life? this question pertains to the issue of abortion. i for one am for pro-choice. however i still feel there is a point that a person should choose to have one, if she is going to have one. i really don't see any reason in waiting any longer than a month at most to terminate pregnancy. that being said, can anyone give me any reason, other than health risks to the mother, that they feel abortion should be allowed beyond a month into the pregnancy?

edge, are you suggesting rape victims who become pregnant should not be allowed abortions?

Answer 1

Well, some people don't even know they are pregnant one month into a pregnancy - I know many who don't find out til five or six weeks in. I think inside the first trimester is enough time unless it is doctor recommended beyond that because of a medical necessity.

Answer 2

Technically, the nervous system connections necessary to fully express human characteristics are not formed until about 1 year of age (after birth).

Until the fifth month of gestation, the connections that do exist cannot be said to register the world in any meaningful way. I say up to the 4th month, then. But I am very wary about allowing the government a say in a medical decision PERIOD. I think that keeping the politicians out of such decisions is more important than quibbling over when the fetus is what.

edit: If we can show with evidence that a fetus is a human life, all abortions should be illegal. Having a rapist as a parent should not be a death sentence for a child.

Answer 3

The Bible (OT) is pretty clear that a fetus is not a person. The penalty for causing a woman to miscarry is far less than for causing the death of a "normal" human being.

KJV uses "quickening" the feeling of the fetus' movements within the woman's body. So some pro-choice advocates use the average time that happens, around 3 months, if memory serves.

Some other Bible-believing prochoicers concentrate on the idea of the "breath of life" and fix the "no-go" date at the point at which the lungs are fully developed. (That can be a long time; my child was born at 37 weeks and couldn't breathe on his own because his lungs weren't "ripe.")

Answer 4

I know it's not a flattering term, but technically, unborn babies are parasites. Yes, they are living in the most basic sense, but let's be reasonable. If you take a 3 week, or even 3 month old fetus from its mother, how long do you think it will survive?

Yes, I understand the plight of the rights of the unborn. But what about the rights of the ALREADY born? As the person who is physically undergoing the process of creating the baby, I truly believe it is ultimately her right to decide what is done with her body.

Do you disagree? Does your religion disagree? Then you will be a good person for not doing it yourself. But you're not doing anyone favors by standing on a lawn picketing the actions of another. If a woman wants to abort, she will abort. And if she can be persuaded by a passer-by, well, then that probably says something about her ability to make decisions.

That said, I can certainly understand the outcry against late term abortion. However, I think placing limits on rights to abortion will lead only to the eventual ban on abortion itself.

That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

Answer 5

Well, there's a girl who lives a few houses down from me and she is pregnant. She said she was using protection so her boyfriend's condom must not have been 100%.

Anyway, she said he was insisting she get an abortion but she wasn't sure. I advised her that, as she was in her first trimester, if she went for the procedure, she may not feel as bad about it down the road but I suggested NOT waiting until the end of the second trimester to decide.

So I'd say, the second trimester gives you ample time to get all the important imformation needed to make an informed decision whether to end a pregnancy or not. However, that doesn't take into account the individual circumstances and the mental and emotional state of the pregnant woman. Sometimes decisions are impossible to make under the circumstances.

:)
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Answer 6

Not longer then the first Trimester, except in certain cases such as; mother's life is in danger, rape, incest, or birth defect.

The reason for the exceptions is they are dangerous to the whole and the individual.


Lucid Freedom: Actually you are correct i do believe that. Here is a good reason why i believe that. If you trace Genetic Down Syndrome (not things cause by outside effects such as drinking and smoking) back through the years it returns to one village in England. (give me two days to give you the proof I do have it) With that thought in mind, one child less then would save thousands if not tens of thousands. As far as the child of rape goes... Ask a few... I have.... most do not have good relationships with thier parent or parents for that matter. By the way look at the poor rate of adoption in the world right now.

Yes I am very spartan in my beliefs when it comes to those types of thoughts.

Bill your DNA argument does not hold up, DNA is DNA no matter the species. Human DNA and Chimp DNA are only 2% ddifferent. That is the difference between Mozart and monkey.

Answer 7

The youngest recorded survival is a delivery at 22 weeks gestation.. I would like to see the laws put at 16-18 weeks gestation as a final cut off to when an abortion is legal (it currently stands at 12 weeks) ..

Until a fetus is capable even with extreme assistance of living outside the mothers body it is a parasite..

Answer 8

Why arent we all fighting for other body laws as vehemently as we are for the right to cancel a pregnancy of a living thing? Why arent women picketing to prostitute legally, or go without a seatbelt, or decline a helmut on a mortocycle, be able to shoot heroin. It is in fact our bodies, right? Why is it when it comes to what ends up being a human being we fight the hardest to be able to teminate? I'm sorry, but this to me shows what sort of priorities our world has adopted.

EDIT: Hormoth, by that logic, I suppose you would support killing a fetus due to some genetic defect like Downs Syndrome, because it is much better to not even be born than to have the opportunity to be loved and have a fufilling life if we arent positive you will have one? Who is positive they will have a good life? No one is. Rape baby or no rape baby. You assume a victim of rape (which is a rare senario for this debate) will always look at her child with distain and fear. How would you know?

Answer 9

I agree with Donna. Nothing past 16 weeks, though I'd prefer it if people didn't do it past the end of the first trimester. In CA, you can have an abortion performed up to 20 or 23 weeks. The youngest baby born to survive outside the womb was born @ 22 wk. 6 days. Sad, isn't it? If you can't decide what you want to do by 16 weeks, too bad for you.

Yes, JD, they do. However, the limits vary from state to state, and as I said above, CA goes too far. That's disgusting. That is a baby.

Answer 10

I am pro choice, but I pray that mothers would use their choice to protect their babies. I believe God has plan for us even when our parents do not have.

Proverbs 16:4 " The Lord has made everything for His own purposes"

Psalm 39:4 " Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away"

Isaiah 44:2 " I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born"

Life starts at conception. Remember, you were also once couple of weeks old. You were you then even though they called you fetus.

Edit: Edge made an excellent point about rape cases. They are rare. Would it make difference if you were a rape child? A child has to pay for the price.