Everyone? If, as an expectant parent, an ultrasound or amniocentesis showed?

Question

some form of birth defect; would you opt for an abortion?

What if you'd been trying for years to conceive?

Dude...lets say cerebral palsy, for example....

Gorgeous:; No, Hun; I was thinking about when I lived in a tiny village yrs ago, and rented a little apartment in the basement of a house....upstairs lived a middle-aged woman and her severely handicapped son, who in fact, had cerebral palsy. He WAS, however given an amazing GIFT of the Lord, and that was he was able to paint incredibly beautiful paintings by holding a paintbrush in his mouth. His paintings sold for quite a fair sum each, and supported both himself and his mother. He always seemed very happy and content as long as he could do his wonderful paintings! He couldn't speak, but he could understand, and showed joy at seeing the pleasure they brought to others....

Dude; One of the many blessings we have here in Canada, is free health care for everyone. I understand it's not the same in the States. Granted, we also have additional private health plans through our employers as well, but standard care is there for everyone. Also, for children with special needs, there's the Shriner's Hospital as well....and it's absolutely free of charge.

Answer 1

I would not. If you woudn't opt to kill an adult or a child with a deformity or birth defect, then why would that be a reason to abort?

Answer 2

My mom had a baby at age 42, the test said he would have Downs Syndrome, he is perfectly normal and incredibly intelligent. My nephew had test come back that he had a chomosomal defect that would be fatal shortly after birth. He is 18 months and healty, so stinking cute! My other nephew, same age had normal tests and does have a serious chromosomal disorder. He may never walk or talk, but when I hold and snuggle with him I feel the peace that radiates from this perfect little being. My niece was born deaf and has had a seizure and the disorder she has could be much worse, but she is the funniest little girl I've ever met, as manipulative as my sister and even though she can hear via a cochlear implant, she plays that deaf card as well as a 5 year old can. I have other stories where tests have been wrong, but regardless of the outcome all these children are happy and a joy in life. So no, I would never have an abortion. Science isn't perfect, but God in his wisdom is.

Answer 3

If it was a serious birth defect like cerbral palsy, I would definitely consider abortion, depending on what trimester I was in. Not being in that situation, I can't say I'd "opt" for an abortion. But, my current household income, my boyfriend's and mine combined, would not be nearly enough to support a child with special needs on that level, or something of its equal. And I've been looking for a better paying job for 6 years and live in a city whose economy has been stalled for nearly 10 years, so yes, not having the money to support a child with such severe problems would be a huge concern. I would have serious moral issues bringing a child into this world that I knew I could not provide adequate care for.

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Answer 4

I would NEVER consider an abortion no matter what the circumstances for religious and personal reasons.

One of my personal reasons is I would be horrified if the embyo of a dog was cut into tiny pieces and vacuumed out of a womb let alone the embryo of a child. How much do they FEEL of that? I could cry just thinking of it.

Reason 2- going along with the birth defect scenario... I had a half-sister with spina bifida. The doctors told my mom the baby would never live. At 5 years of age or so, the doctors said she'd never see 10. My sister lived to be in her 20's. She was paralyzed from the waste down and mentally retarded, but she was happy and a joy to be around. I could not imagine my life without having known her.

Answer 5

I read a book once...and unfortunately don't remember the name. (It's based on a true story.)

The lady became pregnant, she and her husband told the family. Everyone was so excited!

At one of her visits, the doctor informs them that the baby she carries had servere birth defects and will never live a normal life. The doctors strongly recommends to end the pregnancy. Both husband and wife completely disagree and they schedule their next appointment.

Again, they are warned of the defects and strongly urged to end the pregnancy. They finally give in and will discuss it. Which they do.

Their religious beliefs are completely against abortions, no matter the reason. They discuss it with each other and their family...and come to terms, it would probably be the best thing to do for the child. They decide to abort.

She calls the doctor, he sets everything up and she goes in for her appt. She feels (emotionally) horrible, she knows what she is doing goes against everything she stands for and knows in her heart what she is doing is wrong.

As the doctor begins to prep her for the proceedure, she tells the doctors, "I'm sorry, I can't go through with this proceedure..." and she leaves.

They (the family) prepare for what is ahead of them. With all the abnormalities the doctors promise, they prepare. The day of delivery comes, mom goes to the hospital...

Labor is like the previous ones and she gives birth to a perfect and completely healthy baby. All of the tests had been wrong.

True story.

Answer 6

I suppose that would depend on the birth defect...?

Edit: That's a difficult one. I wouldn't push my partner to abort for that reason, but I wouldn't condemn it if she wanted to abort.

But hypothetically, let's say I'm a woman or say the decision is mine alone. Being an independent contractor, I buy my own health insurance, and my main concern would be supporting the child once born.

When a new parent adds a child to his/her insurance policy, there is a disclosure of pre-existing conditions. When Blue Cross sees CP on the application, it would deny the extension of coverage and I would have no means of providing the necessary care that CP involves.

It would be a much easier decision if I knew I had the means to support the child. That's why I'm critical of Christian conservatives (not necessarily you), who vocally oppose any kind of state assistance for things like this. It's respect for life, up until birth.

Answer 7

Tough decision sweetie.

I think quality of life is paramount. I would not want my loving child to be a vegetable, I would rather terminate the pregnancy. For conditions like spinal bifida which would cause the child pain, I would never put my child through that.

Now for Downs, I would have the baby because many Downs people are able to live productive lives with a minimum of out side help.

I hope this is not a grand-baby of yours.

I would terminate for cerebral palsy sweetie. They have no chance to live even a half way decent life.

Answer 8

I guess it would have to depend on the quality of life for the child, as I would love it the same no matter what, but if they would spend a lifetime of suffering? Then yes......

* I have a disabled son, who has Autism Spectrum Disorder. While this is not a physical defect, but a mental one, it affects the social part of the brain and his quality of life is perhaps not on the same level as mine or yours, abortion would not have been a consideration, even if such inutero testing was available. His mind functions perfectly well, as does his body, just he is unable to communicate his needs to us. Now if he were confined to a wheelchair, not having full use of his body, his mind was affected in a way that his thoughts were not his own, or he was in physical pain, then I think thats unfair to the child.........

Answer 9

I would have an abortion. Partly for my own selfish reasons of not wanting to have to deal with a messed up child. Childrearing is hard enough with a normal child. But also because it just wouldn't be fair to the child to have to live a messed up life and always be dependent on other people.

Answer 10

I had an ultra sound that showed my son was going to have down syndrome. We did some more testing and found nothing wrong. However when he was born we found he had a really rare genetic abnormality. He is the light of my life and I could not imagine life without him.

Answer 11

That is a tough one. I guess it depends on the nature of the defect. If the child will live in pain, then I would probably consider abortion.