Atheists, Do you support abortion? I don't mean just the ones that would save the mothers life or in the case

Question

of rape-(some disagree) The vast majority of abortions are NOT to save the life of the mother or due to rape, So, do you support the majority of abortions? If so, why? 2.Does the death penalty that takes a life differ from abortion ? If so, why? 3. Many Atheist feel that some of the deaths or executions (such as in 1Kings 18:40) are the fault of religion and wrongfully done. If you SUPPORT ABORTION -AND- if you feel that the "CHRISTIAN" religion is RESPONSIBLE for unwarranted DEATHS, how can you justify one but not the other? Millions of abortions will be preformed this year. I think the number of abortions preformed in just a FEW years, will outnumber the ALL deaths recorded in the Bible. Most Christian religions oppose abortion and some support the death penalty. If you feel Christians were wrong in Biblical accounts of some executions AND that religion is wrong in opposing abortion, WHY? How can you JUSTIFY the killing done in ABORTION but BLAME Chistianity for the other ?

Answer 1

No. I'm pro-life morally in all cases except rape, incest, saving the mother's life.. and all the usual places it makes good sense to have abortions. I think that "Abortion as birth control" is abhorrent. We're going to end up with a society with a great deal of old people on social security and retirement, and not enough young working people to support them. We'll have to import labor, and really really weaken the economy in the process. We're already doing that to some extent. So, yeah, I don't support abortion, but neither do I think it should be criminalized. I believe that abortion should be strongly discouraged. I believe that women should be made aware exactly how bad they'll feel for having aborted their baby later in life, when they see a child and wonder what could have been.
I mean.. these are human feelings, and there's a wealth of evidence to support the claim that abortions cause depression and lead to suicide.
So, yeah, I'm pro-life until you start bringing laws into it. So legally, I'm pro-choice, morally, I'm pro-life.

Answer 2

Hope this helps:

"So, do you support the majority of abortions?"


I don't make judgment calls for how some individuals deal with an early term pregnancy. I only think that the government shouldn't interfere with private medical decisions in the first trimester. I see it as a rights issue -- for the woman.

" If so, why? 2.Does the death penalty that takes a life differ from abortion ?"

Yes, there is a huge difference from a living, feeling, cognizant human being from an embryo in the first trimester. A living human organism develops gradually, and most pregnancies in this time miscarry naturally, without any intervention. A few cells of a dividing embryo do not feel pain. They are not a human being yet - only the genetic blueprint is there. The brain of a fly contains 100,000 cells, but an embryo could have only a few. Abortion should be legal during this period because the moral issues are ambiguous and not black and white.

I also think women should not have to destroy the remainder of their lives raising kids they do not want (or may have been too irresponsible to prevent in the first place). Sex is not consent to children. Birth control should be emphasized first. Let's not forget that religious conservatives also opposed birth control a few decades back and used the law to push religion on every citizen (Griswald vs. Connecticut). I see the abortion debate as much the same thing. Every time I hear a pro-lifer say that the woman should have "closed her legs" (implying pregnancy is a punishment for her sex outside of marriage), I am similarly disturbed. It seems like conservatives are more pro-birth than anything. The concern over the zygote is only a mask for deeper issues of religion and state.

On a personal level, I would not have an abortion. I've also been celibate for over four years (age 21). But if I were to become pregnant, there is no way that I would be mentally or emotionally prepared to raise any kid. I don't presume to judge a woman who has become pregnant and does not want the immense struggle of raising a child. In the first trimester, that should be her freedom to decide.

I should also mention that my friend was raped by a school instructor when we were twelve. She didn't get pregnant, but the Catholic school didn't even support contraception, much less abortion. I think it would be barbaric to push a child with undeveloped hips to go through a pregnancy and surgical C-section. Let's not forget that societies in the past had routine deaths due to women going through excruciatingly painful childbirth and bleeding to death.

Answer 3

No, I don't support abortion, I support a women's right to make the very difficult choice for not only her sake, but the sake of the life the cells in her body would grow into. You see, until those against a woman's choice start supporting more policies to help these children after they are born, they don't really have a leg to stand on.

Not only rape, as you said, but birth control fails, and often children, whether because they are uninformed, often because of religious parents who forbid their children to be informed about the risks of sexual contact, or due to just plain out bad parenting, make mistakes. They rebel. Who is to judge if a woman has a good enough reason to have an abortion? Couldn't women just start claiming they were raped if that was the law? Should we set up a trial by jury to determine if a woman can have an abortion?

I am in support however, of limited abortion restrictions. Only under very strict circumstances should an abortion ever occur past the first trimester of the pregnancy, and this right now, very early in the pregnancy, is when virtually all abortions happen. A group of cells is not a baby.

Taking a turn, if you indeed do truly care about life, I must inform you we are destroying many fully developed fetuses of many other primate species by doing such things as over harvesting of the rainforests, but because of the elitists attitude that many have of the human species, many just don't care about this. While a group of cells cannot feel pain, a fully developed primate can. Many of these species are being pushed to the brink of extinction, and many have already fallen.

Answer 4

Disagree. Abortion is a personal choice no matter what the circumstance. I get disgusted by the women that use abortion as a form of birth control, but I can not judge. I have heard too many stories of innocent children tortured and abused for years and I can only wonder why the mother went through with the pregnancy. This is a touchy subject so be prepared for lots of responses on both sides. I posted an answer to a similar question and explained that I work at a Rape Crisis Center and have on occasion helped clients who have scheduled abortions. My most memorable client was a very young teenager who went to the police and reported that she was raped by a utility type worker. After the abortion, the police gathered DNA from the fetus and her Grandfather was charged and convicted of rape and incest. I received a lot of hate emails after my answer was posted. The emailers were very quick to say that she should have had the baby and given it up for adoption, but if you really think about it, can you imagine being 12 or 13 years old and for 9 months carrying a baby that was conceived out of hate and pain? No matter what age, rape or incest is probably the worst thing any person can live through and to have someone judge you or tell you that you must follow through a pregnancy and have it as a reminder of what happened is like being victimized all over again. *sigh* I am prepared for the hate emails and thumbs downs, I still stand by my belief that a woman has the choice.

Answer 5

Abortionists - those who think it is wrong do not see beyond the fetus state. No one thinks of that child being brought up. Can the mother and father take care of the child? If it is a single mom can she take care of the child? Will it be loved? Will it have enough food to eat? Will it get the medical attention it needs? Where are all those moral anti abortionists after the child is born? Do they care about the living life of that child? Not even a whit I can guarantee you of that. This is not a perfect world with perfect parents having perfect ideals with the perfect religion. That is fantasy.

There is NO consideration given to an impoverished person having this child, or if the person who is to be the parent is actually prepared or able to handle and care for this child. It is not murder to have an abortion; the child has not tasted the smallest issue of life. To abort after 7 months is a different matter but at that point an abortion would probably not be done.

Seeing an abortion or being involved is so awful, it’s frightening - well, that is true - no argument, but is it any different to watch a child go through life when it is unwanted, and uncared for? A child eventually grows up and one that is unstable does nothing for a society that insisted he/she come into this world - to endure the great sadness of not being wanted in the first place.

God does not make babies; it takes one sperm and an egg – Fact! It is defeating the reason and or purpose of why [if it were true] any god would create male and female entities.

Answer 6

"If you feel Christians were wrong in Biblical accounts of some executions AND that religion is wrong in opposing abortion, WHY? How can you JUSTIFY the killing done in ABORTION but BLAME Chistianity for the other ?"

It's simple...WE DON'T HAVE TO FOLLOW YOUR DAMN BOOK TO GET OUR REASONING!

First off, the majority of abortions happen within a few days of conception; the zygote is made up of 100 to 150 cells. There is no brain, no nervous system, no organs, no blood, no bones, etc. etc. To call that a human life makes ZERO sense.

Second, it's not just the mother's safety at hand. Some people simply cannot afford to birth or take care of a child or they take medications that can cause birth defects (my sister needs to take drugs like this for her arthritis) and their contraception just didn't work for some reason.

Third, even if it was illegal, it wouldn't stop people form doing it. With it legal, women simply have a safer option.

Forth, pro-choice doesn't mean pro-death.

Answer 7

This is from my own perspective.

1. Yes. When you strip out the morality that people have imposed on the issue, abortion is nothing more than an elective procedure that a woman can have performed. The fetus is only a potential life, until such time that it can survive (with minimal medical attention) outside of the woman. Until that point, it shares all of the characteristics of a parasite.

2. The death penalty is vastly different from abortion. One takes a human life, one prevents a mass of cells from becoming a life (potentially). I support justice. If the death penalty allows justice to be served, so be it.

3. Religion (not just christianity, but many others) has caused the deaths of countless humans. Again, until the fetus is viable, it is only potentially a life.

4. It would take generations, in which every woman had an abortion, to equal the number of human lives taken in the name of faith (this is not just limited to christianity).

Answer 8

I am one of many pro-life atheists. While I would support abortion in many cases, such as rape, if the life of the mother is threatened, or other extreme situations, I don't think it is justified in most cases. My reasons are not based on religion, but on the Enlightenment concept of natural rights. All people have equal rights. A fetus is not an independent entity, so it does not have the full rights of a person; but it is not nothing, either. It is clearly alive and growing, with its own DNA, etc. Thus, it becomes a balancing test: the right to life of a fetus versus the right of the mother not to be temporarily inconvenienced by a pregnancy. (Yes, I realize pregnancy is no picnic, but weight gain, morning sickness, and the trauma of delivery still aren't enough to outweigh the right to life of the fetus.)

Answer 9

I am pro choice because I think the abortion decision should be up to the individuals involved, not politicians and clergy who are detached from the situation. When looking at the big picture, I also think that abortion being legal is better for society. If a parent doesn't want to be a parent and is economically and/or psychologically unfit for parenthood, then they're not going be very good parents. Their children are more likely to be abused and neglected, which predisposes them to criminal behaviors and mental health problems.

Answer 10

Here are the facts:

1. No one can FORCE a woman to give birth.
2. A woman will not give birth if she doesn't want to.
3. It is HER body and only she can make decisions about herself.
4. Abortion is legal and is a medically safe procedure.
5. Most Americans don't give a dam about the subject.....they believe a woman has the right to make decisions concerning her own body.
6. A woman can have abortion on demand, and she is not required to give a "reason".
7. Only the whacko fundies make the noise about it.
8. If you are anti-abortion, then don't have one.
9. It's none of your business why a woman choses an abortion.