AbOrTiOn, good or bad?

Why is that in weird caps?

My stance is that I believe abortion is wrong. I think that it's destroying a life, and under most circumstances, it's a terrible thing to do. However, I understand that nothing is black and white. I think it's awful when a woman gets an abortion so that she can go back to a promiscuous and careless lifestyle, but not so bad if she was raped and became pregnant that way. But all the people I know who had abortions did it for what I believe are the wrong reasons. With so many resources out there like condoms, birth control pills/patches/shots, or emergency contraception, it should be fairly easy to prevent most unwanted pregnancies from happening.

I'm not one of those people who is so against abortion that I will bomb a clinic, physically stop people from getting it done, or be hateful to someone who disagreed with me. I've run into many angry pro-lifers who hate pro-choicers, and many pro-choicers who hate pro-lifers, and I think that's a stupid waste of energy.

One time I spent like a year developing this awesome video game, and then my brother erased it because it took up too much room on our computer. So, Ive probably gotten about as close as a guy can get to experiencing abortion, and I didn't like it.

He didn't even tell me he was going to do it though, so in a lot of ways that's even worse than abortion.

Your poll options are very general. "Good," or horrible?"

I don't think it's necessarily good by any means. Nobody's going to get pumped up because they're having an abortion, but it's an option some have to choose.

Unless their brother does it behind their backs. In that case they didn't even have a choice.

I think women should be allowed to have babies.

Only one. The overflow goes to Canada.

No, women should be allowed to have as many babies as they want... or more than they want in the case of "accidents."

SCoates

Are you including in "accidents" the case of rape? And, what do you think a woman is: a babies factory?

I'm pro-choice.. do what you want, it's your life... but I myself just couldn't do it unless the doctor told me it was nessacary or I was raped....

I am definitely pro-choice, and agree with Crazielady.

Then again, I agree with slappy too in regards to the
overflow going to Canada.

What's exactly is wrong with being promiscuous?

I smile, but I am not really kidding. Define the terms... Does this mean having sex without the benefit of marriage? Does it mean having sex with more than one partner? Do we immediately think of a woman?

If you've chosen to not have a baby and a baby is formed, why is the woman supposed to fall into this mindless mindset, "... now I must have the baby even though this will totally change my life."

Her original plan, her original birth control didn't work. Having a child is a huge commitment -- much bigger than buying a house or marrying. Yet, with each of those large life-changing events there are ways around a mistake -- a mandated three-day wait on your purchase papers or divorce.

Yet, with baby-making, the one thing that only women experience, the women are heavily pressured to accept their fates. In what other part of our lives would we careen around like this, not fixing mistakes?

Whoever said if men had babies, abortion would be a sacrament, had it right.

Piffka for President!!

No, a woman is only half of a baby factory. You also need a man for the proces to work. (They should be teaching this stuff in school.)

SCoates

I remember earing something about bees, but I didn't give much attention.
Anyway, thanks for the information.

Abortion is bad, always.....stupid question.

Nobody likes abortion.

But there are worse things, such as backyard abortion, late term abortion and babies who die after being left on doorsteps.

I am pro-choice and against abortion.

I believe that abortion should be legal. This is the only sane policy in our free democracy.

However, like the bumper sticker says, I would never have one and would be quite upset if someone suggested it. I feel very morally uncomfortable with the idea.

I am also very angry with both sides of the debate which often seem extreme. I always hate the "slippery slope" argument when it is used for any issue (as if we voters are not smart enough to make a clear line).

Abortion as birth-control is "horrible." Abortion as a means to control and counteract a bad circumstance (usually financial, but a pregnant 12 year-old or rape victim serve as other examples), while not necessarily "good," is a right, I believe, parents should have.

I think whether or not abortion is wrong is in part a question of science.

Firstly, to put my position into context, I should say that I'm not at all religious, let alone Christian.

Once a baby is born, most pro-choice supporters, I think, would agree that their arguments (effect on mother's life, baby being product of rape, assumption about future quality of life of baby) are all irrelevant, I expect they wouldn't support killing a baby for these reasons.

At the other end of the scale, few would suggest that an egg and sperm, as yet ununited, have 'rights' or 'interests' that should be taken into account.

Clearly a major change occurs between these to states. But when does it occur? The difference seems to me to be consciousness. But do we know when consciousness arises? Or how?

Presumably an egg and sperm are 0% conscious. So what, and when, is the first step? I'll confess, I do not understand, however small the steps are, how something lacking consciousness can become even minutely conscious. A move from 0% conscious, to 0.000000000001% conscious is still an infinitely large step. And, to my knowledge, no-one has yet been able to explain why we feel like we are conscious at all.

So I think the question is open to science, but I would say that:

If a foetus at the point of abortion is at all conscious, then abortion is always wrong (as it would be wrong to kill the baby, even though it is 'less' conscious than an adult).

If a foetus at the point of abortion is not at all conscious, then abortion is never wrong (even if used as a method of birth control, done 'frivolously', or whatever).

Anyone up on the science?

Think you've just nailed the whole nature of the debate right there djbt, the "pro-lifers" chant "baby killer" while the "pro-choicers" chant "WHAT baby?"

It all comes down to the big question of where the line should be drawn.