Question About Therapeutic Abortion?

Question

I know that a lot of pro-life advocates would say that all abortion is wrong, under all circumstances and there is no such thing as "therapeutic abortion". I have a question though - why do all abortions get lumped into the same category? I work in health care, and every so often run into someone who had to have an abortion because either the life of the mother, or child, or both, was in danger. I know a lot of people might say the woman should not have become pregnant, but sometimes they find out about a major health problem after becoming pregnant. Why are women in this category with women who did it for personal reasons? Would you still consider someone on chemo or radiation or who might not live the full nine months it takes for a baby to be born to have had a "choice"?

Answer 1

Gosh, of all the questions I have answered.. this has to be of the top 2... very good.

To ans u..

I definitely agree with..
Life is a marvelous but if it is going to make life worse for another individual(s) then it should be evaluated..
You brought out a lot of good issued.. for doing so... and yet some do not want to hear it..

I think it is just like the double standard of men and women..
with men in control ... on how it is too be looked at??
Women who sleep around.. sl*ts.. etc
Men who sleep around... stud.. go figure...???

The outlook on such a situation needs to be up to the woman and she should free to make the choice right or wrong.. w/o any interference.. here's a star from me...!!!

Answer 2

I am staunchly pro-life. However, I am also in favor of the mother's right to life. If the pregnancy seriously risks her health, no one should force her to carry it to term. There is a strong likelihood that both people would die. If a call must be made, I side for the already born as opposed to the nacent human life growing inside the mother.

I don't personally know a single pro-life individual who believes that the mother should have to sacrifice her life for the baby. I can't imagine every having an abortion, but if my life were in serious danger, I would do it. I have 2 small children who depend on me for care and love. I would not be willing to sacrifice their mother for a child who very well might not make it anyway. I do not see that as hypocricy, but I do see it as a terribly sad decision.

I do not feel the same way about theraputic abortions for things like Downs Syndrome. I do not think we should be in the position to determine whose life is "worthy." What is the cut-off? An IQ of 60? 55? That smacks of eugenics, one of Hitler's hobbies. My pastor and his wife have a 2-year-old with Downs. When she was pregnant, they were basically told that they "had" to abort by three different doctors. Mom's life was not in danger, and the baby was otherwise healthy. All three practitioners knew that he was a pastor, and they were still shocked that the couple would opt to continue with the pregnancy. I see theraputic abortions where the mother's life is not in danger as a VERY slippery slope.

Still, if mom's life is at risk (as with an eptopic pregnancy, advanced cancer that requires aggressive treatment, etc.) I would never demand that a woman give her life for an unborn child. You cannot force someone to sacrifice their life for another person. That is not ethical, moral, or Godly.

Answer 3

I agree. I have a friend who had an abortion after having chemo due to cervical cancer. She didn't know she had cancer until after she had her ob-gyn do a pap smear after she was pregnant. If she didn't have the chemo, she may not have lived to give birth, but the chemo also killed the baby. It was a life or death situation and it the life in existance is more important. It would not be right to lump her in as a "bad person" because she chose to keep her life.

Answer 4

You are right. There are different reasons, I am against abortion being used as a form of birth control, but I am not against it in the instances of rape or incest. I think when people make the choice to be 'pro-life' they do not consider all cicumstances surrounding abortion. Instead of protesting, pro-lifers should be voulenteering at orphanages, being foster parents and adopting some special needs children of their own.....that will give true definition to their cause. :)

Answer 5

i agree.
i had to have one due to an ectopic pregnancy, and had i "given it over God" (pfft) the baby would have certainly died & i could have as well (at the very least it would have made it much more difficult to get pregnant with the one i have now).
i also know o f a woman who got pregnant with a baby that had a genetic defect, she decided to "give it over god" and delivered the baby via c-section--which still wasn't gentle enough & broke nearly every bone in the baby's body, causing it to die in agony within an hour of birth. the next time she got pregnant & that defect was discovered she aborted.

yeah, but we're both going to hell for being murderers.
::rolls eyes::

Answer 6

i agree, as a women who feels abortions are morally wrong there are those few occassions that open your eyes and help you realize that somethings are out of our hands as well as gods and we only have very limited options to correct them, more power to you for bringing such a strong subject to the table......have a great day!

Answer 7

I personally would give it all over to God in this situation. A parent can die at anytime in a childs life. Also if there was a risk of me dying having my baby ( which their is every time you give birth ) then my death had a purpose and my kid will live on because I am having it.
I feel sorry for rape victims and all those sick woman who are in a position and feel they have to have one but I think it is 100% wrong. We need to have more faith in God and leave this stuff up to him... miracles happen and the outcome is usually not what we expected anyway.
I just had my 6th child on mothers day and found it amazing how the medical field kept going on with all the risks of having a 6th ..and their was nothing wrong with me.. they love to instill fear.. you can bleed more.. die.. blah blah blah.... and yes it can happen but I can die crossing the street and we can all drop dead at any moment. If God wants you to be safe you will be..

Abortion is murder ... the excuses change but the act is still the same... poor babies.

Answer 8

many pro-lifers are merely control-freaks with a fetus fetish. they use pregnancies to punish women who have sex for pleasure and not procreation. it's sick. and these same lifers would rather put a dying fetus through suffering, than to end the suffering before it can truly begin.