@maxdancona,
maxdancona wrote:
How extreme are you on this issue, Bill?
1. Do you believe that a woman has a right to terminate a fully viable and health baby even after its due date (as long as it hasn't been born yet)?
2. Do you believe that only in medical emergencies (i.e. the life of the mother or the health of the baby are at risk) does a woman have a right to terminate a baby that is fully developed?
These are two different things.
If you are really saying that a woman can end a fully developed healthy baby for any reason at its due date.... then say this clearly. Because, my point is that most reasonable people draw a line somewhere. The question then is where you draw the line.
It is easy for me to accept abortions in the first trimester. This is a personal decision, and I don't defend it logically other than to say that in the first trimester the fetus is pretty basic and lacks most cognitive skills. Of course this line is necessarily subjective.
I have trouble accepting abortions in the last trimester. I have seen a birth, and I believe (again subjectively but based on real experiences with pregnancy and birth) that a baby is certainly a human being at birth and must reach a state of being human sometime before birth.
The question is where do we draw the line.[/size] I don't think that is an easy question.
The question actually being asked here is, "Where do we draw the line for when a woman can decide to terminate a pregnancy occurring in her own body?"
My opinion: There shouldn't be any "WE" involved. That is a decision each pregnant woman should be able to make individually...without anyone else being able to dictate which choice should be made...or when it can be made.
Any woman should be able to make the decision to terminate a pregnancy occurring in her own body at any time during the pregnancy.
Right up until the last day.
Yeah, you are correct...we (society) would not allow a woman to kill a baby (rightly so) once it is actually born. That has nothing to do with the question of whether or not she can choose to terminate a PREGNANCY occurring in her own body.
My guess is that almost no women would ever wait until the last minute before birth to exercise this option. But until the baby is actually born into the world...YES, she should have the right to end a pregnancy occurring in her own body. That would obviate the notion that society can dictate to her when (or if) the option can be made.
"WE" should not have the right to "draw the line." SHE does. After birth...when the pregnancy is no longer occurring in her own body...that changes.
