Originally Posted by
apb
Difficult subject, I don't think there are any absolutely right answers. I would be interested to hear several women's views on the subject. After all, they have a much bigger role to play in the whole thing than men. I sometimes get the feeling that if men could get pregnant then you would find contraceptives much easier to come by and an abortion could be obtained as easily as a haircut. Anyway, my own view is a mix of those expressed already. In short: I do not like the idea of abortion as a method of contraception; I recognized that there are times when it is the most reasonable choice (e.g., life of the mother is at risk, rape, fetus is dead and will be stillborn); prefer the idea that it can be done safely; feel that it is a choice that should be made by those involved; and I have no desire to have my thoughts on this imposed on others. If you don't approve of abortion, don't have one and keep the government the hell out of the bedroom/doctor's office. It’s that simple.
To me, part of the problem that there is such a gray area in terms of what constitutes human life. To some, the moment the egg is fertilized, it’s a baby. At the other extreme, it does not reach human baby status until it could exist outside the womb on its own. That is something that science has to be able to answer for us. For example, many eggs that are fertilized never attach to the uterus, so never become a fetus. But at what stage does the fetus possess those attributes that make it human? I don't know. To me, late third trimester abortion is wrong cause the fetus could survive outside the womb. If you gotta do it, the first month would be the time to do it.
In cases of rape, the female should be offered the choice of the morning after pill immediately so that pregnancy can be taken off the table. I know some who would be against that. For anyone who feels that even in cases of rape, abortion should not be allowed, who should then be responsible for the baby? You going to force the mother to provide for it for life, give up much of her own life to do so, with the constant reminder of how that baby came to be? I certainly could not do that.
Same for cases where the mother's health is at risk. I don't know about the rest of you, but if my girlfriend was pregnant and was informed that there was a high probability that she would not survive if she carried the baby to term, I sure as hell would not be trying to talk her into going through with the pregnancy.
The other part of the equation, and one that should be considered more, is that of the female. As another poster indicated, if you advocate for no abortion, you basically put the rights of one individual (fetus) over the rights of another (the mother). I find that hard to reconcile in a free society. And what of the father? All too often in these cases the father just up and leaves. That is not right either. If you are to force a woman to have the child, then the man has to step forward and do his share of caring for and supporting the child.
Andrew
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