Abortion

[Sparkle]

What physical and psychological risks do women take when they have an abortion? The range of possible complications may surprise you.
Roughly one million American women each year submit to abortion, making it one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures. But abortion is not without risk - to our bodies, our minds and our emotions.

Physical

Women face a number of possible physical complications as a result of legal abortion including hemorrhage requiring transfusion, perforation of the uterus, cardiac arrest, endotoxic shock, major unintended surgery, infection resulting in hospitalization, convulsions, undiagnosed ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, cervical laceration, uterine rupture, and death.


Seventeen percent of women participating in a study on the effects of abortion reported that they have "experienced physical complications (e.g., abnormal bleeding or pelvic infection) since their abortion." Based on reported abortion statistics, this represents 200,000 women annually experiencing physical complications after an abortion.


Abortion can adversely affect later pregnancies. Research has found that women having abortions are more likely to have a low birth weight baby in a later pregnancy. There are also indications that having an abortion can increase your chances of delivering prematurely.


Abortion can increase your chance of having an ectopic (or tubal) pregnancy in the future.


Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that having multiple abortions increases a woman’s chance of having a miscarriage in a later pregnancy.


All women, especially young teenagers, are at risk for damage to their cervix during an abortion, which can lead to complications with later pregnancies.


Medical researchers have also found that women who have abortions face increased risks of additional complications in future pregnancies: "Complications such as bleeding in the first and third trimesters, abnormal presentations and premature rupture of the membranes, abruptio placentae, fetal distress, low birth weight, short gestation, and major malformations occurred more often among women with a history of two or more induced abortions."


Abortion can increase your risk for breast cancer. A review analyzing 23 studies on breast cancer and abortion states that 17 of those studies indicate an increased risk of breast cancer among women having an abortion.


Existing evidence of an abortion-breast cancer connection prompted the New England Journal of Medicine to publish a February 2000 review of breast cancer research, which lists abortion as a risk factor.


Emotional

Women who ended their first pregnancy by abortion are five times more likely to report subsequent substance abuse than women who carried the pregnancy to term and four times more likely to report substance abuse compared to those whose first pregnancy ended naturally.


Research published in the prestigious Archives of General Psychiatry acknowledges that many women experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after an abortion. In one of the longest-running studies conducted on women after abortion, researchers found that over time, relief and positive emotions relating to the abortion declined and negative emotions increased. PTSD symptoms include dreams or flashbacks to the abortion, a general numbing of responsiveness not present before the abortion, and difficulty falling asleep.


In the same study, a survey of women two years after their abortions found that 28 percent of women were either indifferent about or dissatisfied with their abortion decision and 31 percent said they were uncertain or would not have an abortion again.


The circumstances surrounding an abortion decision can impact a woman, as well. According to research published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, "Abortion for medical or genetic indications, a history of psychiatric contact before the abortion, and mid-trimester abortions often result in more distress afterward. When women experience significant ambivalence about the decision or when the decision is not freely made, the results are also more likely to be negative."


After an abortion, women can experience psychological reactions ranging from guilt feelings, nervous symptoms, sleep disturbance and regrets. Also, as many as 10 percent of women "experience serious psychiatric problems following abortion.
As many as 60 percent of women having an abortion experience some level of emotional distress afterwards. In 30 percent of women, the distress is classified as severe.


A Finnish study of suicide after pregnancy found that:
"The suicide rate after an abortion was three times the general suicide rate and six times that associated with birth"

Suicides were more common after a miscarriage—and especially after an induced abortion—than in the general population
An increased risk of suicide after an abortion indicates either common risk factors for both suicide and abortion, or harmful effects of induced abortion on mental health.
Welch researchers examined abortion and suicide and concluded, "our data suggest that a deterioration in mental health may be a consequential side effect of induced abortion."

What really gets me, is that when a woman goes into a clinic to have an abortion 9 times out of 10 they are never told these scary facts! Sure they sign a waiver, but does anyone sit down and explain to them what the procedure entails and the risks involved?

I also wonder, of all the pro-abortion citizens of this world, which of you have been directly affected by abortion?

 

[Sparkle]

Rape, Incest and Abortion: Searching Beyond the Myths
David C. Reardon, Ph.D.

"How can you deny an abortion to a twelve-year-old girl who is the victim of incest?" complains an indignant supporter of abortion. "And how can you call yourself a loving Christian if you would force a victim of violent rape to give birth to a rapist's child?"
Every pro-lifer has heard these same challenges in one form or another. They are the emotionally charged questions designed to prove either 1) that pro-lifers are insensitive "fetus lovers," 2) or ethically inconsistent, allowing abortion for some circumstances but not others.

Unfortunately, most pro-lifers have difficulty answering these challenges because the issue of sexual assault pregnancies is so widely misunderstood. Typically, both sides of the debate accept the presumption that women with sexual assault pregnancies would want an abortion and that the abortion would in some way help them to recover from the assault. Thus, the pro-lifer is left in the uncomfortable position of arguing that the sanctity of life is more important than the needs of the sexual assault victim with whom everyone should rightly sympathize.

But in fact, the welfare of the mother and child are never at odds, even in sexual assault cases. Both the mother and child are helped by preserving life, not by perpetuating violence.

The reason most people reach the wrong conclusion about abortion in cases of rape and incest is that the actual experiences of sexual assault victims who became pregnant are routinely left out of the debate. Most people, including sexual assault victims who have never been pregnant, are therefore forming opinions based on prejudices and fears which are disconnected from reality.

For example, it is commonly assumed that rape victims who become pregnant would naturally want abortions. But in the only major study of pregnant rape victims ever done, Dr. Sandra Mahkorn found that 75 to 85 percent chose against abortion.1 This evidence alone should cause people to pause and reflect on the presumption that abortion is wanted or even best for sexual assault victims.

Several reasons are given for not aborting. First, approximately 70 percent of all women believe abortion is immoral, even though many also feel it should be a legal choice for others. Approximately the same percentage of pregnant rape victims believe abortion would be just another act of violence perpetrated against their bodies and their children.

Second, some believe that their child's life may have some intrinsic meaning or purpose which they do not yet understand. This child was brought into their lives by a horrible, repulsive act. But perhaps God, or fate, will use the child for some greater purpose. Good can come from evil.

Third, victims of assault often become introspective. Their sense of the value of life and respect for others is heightened. They have been victimized, and the thought that they in turn might victimize their own innocent child through abortion is repulsive.

Fourth, at least at a subconscious level, the victim may sense that if she can get through the pregnancy, she will have conquered the rape. By giving birth, she can reclaim some of her lost self-esteem. Giving birth, especially when conception was not desired, is a totally selfless act, a generous act, a display of courage, strength and honor. It is proof that she is better than the rapist. While he was selfish, she can be generous. While he was destroying, she can be nurturing.

If giving birth builds self respect, what about abortion? This is a question which most people fail to even consider. Instead, most people assume that an abortion will at least help a rape victim put the assault behind her and go on with her life. But in jumping to this conclusion, the public is adopting an unrealistic view of abortion.

Abortion is not some magical surgery which turns back time to make a woman "un-pregnant." Instead, it is a real life event which is always very stressful and often traumatic. Once we accept that abortion is itself an event with ramifications on a woman's life, then we must carefully look at the special circumstances of the pregnant rape victim. Will an abortion truly console her, or will it only cause further injury to her already bruised psyche?

In answering this question, it is helpful to begin by noting that many women report that their abortions felt like a degrading and brutal form of medical rape.2 This association between abortion and rape is not hard to understand.

Abortion involves a painful examination of a woman's sexual organs by a masked stranger who is invading her body. Once she is on the operating table, she loses control over her body. If she protests and asks for the abortionist to stop, she will likely be ignored or told: "It's too late to change your mind. This is what you wanted. We have to finish now." And while she lies there tense and helpless, the life hidden within her is literally sucked out of her womb. The difference? In a sexual rape, a woman is robbed of her purity; in this medical rape she is robbed of her maternity.

This experiential association between abortion and sexual assault is very strong for many women. It is especially strong for women who have a prior history of sexual assault, whether or not she is presently pregnant as the result of an assault.3 This is just one reason why women with a history of sexual assault are likely to experience greater distress during and after an abortion than other women.

Second, research shows that after any abortion, it is common for women to experience guilt, depression, feelings of being "dirty," resentment of men, and lowered self-esteem. What is most significant is that these feelings are identical to what women typically feel after rape. Abortion, then, only adds to and accentuates the traumatic feelings associated with sexual assault. Rather than easing the psychological burdens of the sexual assault victim, abortion adds to them.

This was the experience of Jackie Bakker, who reports: "I soon discovered that the aftermath of my abortion continued a long time after the memory of my rape had faded. I felt empty and horrible. Nobody told me about the pain I would feel deep within causing nightmares and deep depressions. They had all told me that after the abortion I could continue my life as if nothing had happened."

Those encouraging abortion often do so because they are uncomfortable dealing with rape victims, or perhaps out of prejudice against victims whom they see as being "guilty for letting it happen." Wiping out the pregnancy is a way of hiding the problem. It is a "quick and easy" way to avoid dealing with the woman's true emotional, social and financial needs.

According to Kathleen DeZeeuw, "I, having lived through rape, and also having raised a child 'conceived in rape,' feel personally assaulted and insulted every time I hear that abortion should be legal because of rape and incest. I feel that we're being used by pro-abortionists to further the abortion issue, even though we've not been asked to tell our side."

The case against abortion of incest pregnancies is even stronger. Studies show that incest victims rarely ever voluntarily agree to an abortion.4 Instead of viewing the pregnancy as unwanted, the incest victim is more likely to see the pregnancy as a way out of the incestuous relationship because the birth of her child will expose the sexual activity. She is also likely to see in her pregnancy the hope of bearing a child with whom she can establish a true loving relationship, one far different than the exploitive relationship in which she has been trapped.

But while the incest victim may treasure her pregnancy because it offers her hope of release, and the hope of finding a nurturing love, her pregnancy is a threat to the exploiter. It is also a threat to the pathological secrecy which may envelop other members of the family who are afraid to acknowledge that the abuse is occurring. Because of this dual threat, the victim may be coerced into an unwanted abortion by both the abuser and other family members.

For example, Edith Young, a 12-year-old victim of incest impregnated by her stepfather, writes twenty-five years after the abortion of her child: "Throughout the years I have been depressed, suicidal, furious, outraged, lonely, and have felt a sense of loss... The abortion which was to 'be in my best interest' just has not been. As far as I can tell, it only 'saved their reputations,' 'solved their problems,' and 'allowed their lives to go merrily on.'... My daughter, how I miss her so. I miss her regardless of the reason for her conception."

Abortion providers who ignore this evidence, and neglect to interview minors presented for abortion for signs of coercion or incest, are actually contributing to the young girl's victimization. They are not only robbing the victim of her child, they are concealing a crime, abetting a perpetrator, and handing the victim back to her abuser so that the exploitation can continue.

Finally, we must recognize that the children conceived through sexual assault also have a voice which deserves to be heard. Julie Makimaa, conceived by an act of rape, works diligently against the perception that abortion is acceptable or even necessary in cases of sexual assault. While sympathetic to the suffering her mother endured at the hands of her attacker, Julie is also rightfully proud of her mother's courage and generosity. Regarding her own view of her origin, Julie proclaims: "It doesn't matter how I began. What matters is who I will become."

That's a slogan we can all live with.

 

[jazzbird]

Gladiatrix....ummm....nice rhetoric....incubator...slave....

you call those who believe in life "anti-choicers"....how's that, exactly? Proponents of abortion give innocent children no voice and no choice, yet you attempt to champion such people as humanists with the mother's best interest at heart. When this mother is taking no responsiblity for her actions, where does the interest of the child come in??

Of course, if the fetus continues to grow, it WILL become a person

Is personhood separate from being human? You seem to say it is, yet that makes no logical sense. What are the values that make one a person, in your mind? What is a human being that is not a person? When is personhood added into a human being? How can you qualify and categorize personhood? Can we really draw an arbitrary line and say "on this side are all human beings who are people with value, and over here, on the other side are all worthless-non-people human beings who are not worth protecting?" It's absurd. How do we have the right to divide humanity up in such a way? All human beings are persons by their very nature.

Can you please justify the distinction between a human being and a person?


Wisdom67 - thanks for the testimony!

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Yet, because she's having some "fun" she has an abortion. Is it fair to the child that was conceived by this woman to be murdered just because of her promiscuous choices? Shouldn't this young lady be prosecuted? But it's ok, because it's all in good "clean fun".

You say it's ok for this woman to have an abortion. I would classify her as a murderer and a harlot actually.

NO - I don't say it's 'ok' for her. That would be using abortion as a form of 'birth control' in my opinion and that is in the dark grey area of wrong in my book - so don't speak for me until you're in my mind and are me. Thanks.

As for child rape victims and their 'want' to have an abortion you're insane. NO 12 year old wants to bear the child of their father, brother, father's friend, uncle, cousin, 'boyfriend', or whatever. The girl is 12. She's not even old enough in most states to decide which parent she wants to live with in the event of a divorce and you want her to become a mother. I speak from personal experiance - you speak from some essay. Let me go check which view I'm going to heed.... oh - yeah , that would be of the personal account wouldn't it?

 

[flicka]

Let's kick this up a notch, shall we...

Using your analysis from above let me interject the following person's true experience. I know a girl (she's 20 something) who has a child from one man, who she is raising on her own. She never married the man. She then got pregnant by another man, whom she only infrequently saw. She decided abortion was the way to go, so she did that. She is now screwing around with a married man. The chances of her keeping that relationship for long are slim and none. But yet, she's having "fun".

Yet, because she's having some "fun" she has an abortion. Is it fair to the child that was conceived by this woman to be murdered just because of her promiscuous choices? Shouldn't this young lady be prosecuted? But it's ok, because it's all in good "clean fun".

You say it's ok for this woman to have an abortion. I would classify her as a murderer and a harlot actually.

Let's not leave out the male harlots who got her pregnant in the first place. You know, the men who like to have their 'fun' only never to be seen again.
Kick it up all you want but I think we all know it takes a MAN to make a baby, the woman just gets the fun of pregnancy,childbirth,and public scorn by closed minded people like you.

 

[Sparkle]

Good point flicka!

It does take two, however it doesn't mean abortion is the answer

 

[Kira Faye]

I think a huge problem with this debate is the two types of people who get abortions. First there are the people, who screw around as many people mention and call selfish,and I agree that is really stupid. The there are the people with a genuine need for abortions, like rape victimes, incest etc........ Would u deny a poor starving south african woman who got raped and because of this will spend her life shunned and hurt almost to physical death, woudl u deny her a chance to have an abortion so she can have a life. What if u made her have the child? She and the child would probably starve to death or be beaten to death, fun life hey. I know this is an extreme view but its not untrue, I'm saying it to show that there are genuine need for some abortions.

However like I said before those people who make that choice to screw around and get pregnant, I don;t knwo but I have llittle sympathy and hope they give the child up for adoption, cause the child woudl have no life with its single mother who smokes pot and goes out with any guy.

I feel more adoptions should be pushed and made to seem better and nicer, unless extenuating circumstance, like rape and etc.

 

[stillsmallvoice]

Hi all!

I (an orthodox Jew) quote from a book I have on the (orthodox!) Jewish approach to various medical issues by Rabbi Dr. J. David Bleich:

"Judaism regards the killing of an unborn child to be a serious moral offense. An abortion may be performed only for the gravest of reasons, and even then, only subsequent to consultation with a competent [orthodox] rabbinic authority...The life of the mother takes precedence over that of the unborn child. Thus, when 'hard travail' of labor endangers the life of the mother, an embryotomy may be performed in order to save her...The fetus' right to life is subordinate to that of the mother, and hence the life of the unborn fetus may be sacrificed in order to save her...The performance of an abortion may be warranted for purposes of preserving maternal health as well as maternal life. No [orthodox rabbinic] authority permits an abortion which is non-therapeutic in nature. There are early rabbinic authorities who expressly declare that ritual laws such as Sabbath observance and fasting on Yom Kippur are suspended in order to preserve the life of the fetus. Suspension of such significant religious observances is clearly incompatible with indiscriminate license to destroy fetal life. Both the argument that a prospective mother may seek an abortion for any reason because denial of this right would interfere with her 'right to privacy' as well as the argument that the decision to abort is entirely a matter between a woman and her physician must be rejected as incompatible with Jewish teaching...Judaism teaches that man does not enjoy unrestricted proprietary rights with regard to his own body, much less so with regard to the body of an unborn child...The Talmud teaches that embryo is endowed with a soul at conception. Moreover, the Sages taught: 'There are 3 partners in the generation of man - the father, the mother and God.' Accordingly, a decision to terminate pregnancy is not one which is within the exclusive domain of the mother...It is well established that the quality of life to be anticipated if the fetus is carried to term is not, in itself, a sufficient reason for the performance of an abortion...Physical or mental abnormalities do not affect the human status of the individual or his right to life...Most authorities rule that termination of pregnancy resulting from rape is not permissible. However, the immediate post-coital contraceptive measures undertaken prior to fertilization of the ovum present a different but complex Jewish-law question. Immediate removal of the sperm by means of a suction device...would be warranted."

Thus, normative (i.e. orthodox) Judaism absolutely rejects abortion as a means of birth control. I certainly object to government funding for abortions that are non-therapeutic in nature.

However, we would completely reject vigilante violence against doctors, nurses, etc. who are involved in abortions (as well as inciting to violence against them) & to bombing clinics. Opposition to non-therapeutic abortions must be carried out within the bounds of the law.

Be well!

ssv

 

[Kira Faye]

Exactly, there are two areas, the ones usign it for contraception and the ones who dirly need it and now have problems because it has such a bad rep.

 

[Marissa]

Outlawing abortion is a band aid solution. It will reduce abortions, but that will simply bring around more problems. I'd rather attack the cause, rather than the disease.

We live in a society which is all about sex. It's impossible to get away from it unless you completely cut yourself off from society. It's in our movies, TV's and magazines. It's on our billboards and our radios. It's constantly in our faces because "sex sells". How can we expect others, especially non-christians, not to have casual sex if that is what they are bombarded with day in and day out? They're taught that it's simply there for fun, that it's not only okay but beneficial to have numerous partnes. Divorce is normal, and affairs don't shock anymore. I hear a lot of christians complain about the promiscuity of others and the abortions that can follow, but I see very few making a stand against the media that is encouraging this lifestyle. They're still watching the movies, and the TV shows, and buying the music. That's hypocritical. Lets do something about this sex crazed society we live in first. Lets stop bombarding our kids with images of woman in nothing more than a 3 cm2 piece of cloth and men barely wearing underwear, and then turning around and saying "NO, you can't have this". That's cruel and unusal punishment. It also doesn't work. The moment we're told we can't have something, we want it. If we're shown it day in and day out, we want it even more, and as soon as we can take it we do. It's human nature. Some resist, but many don't.

We need to go one way or the other. Many European countries have just as much nudity and the like in their media, but they're also very open about sex. The kids can have sex, they do know the consequences and it's respected. Consequently they have a lower rate of sexual activity in teenagers, and lower abortion rates. I don't support this, but it's better than what we've got now.

There's also something of a social stigma about abortion. I can't count the number of comments from women I've read/heard along the lines of "I couldn't adopt a child out. It would hurt too much" so they plan on having abortions. If that's the message we're sending these girls, rather than the message that while adopting a child out is painful it's also giving a child life. Something few women who have adopted out regret. Add that to the social stigma of being an unwed mother and fear of what people will say once you return home after having a child, without a child don't help. All three issue impact the abortion rate. Lets tackle these issues.

Lets make sure we're teaching kids proper contraceptive procedures. We have good sex ed in Australia, and we have lower abortion rates than the US on a per capita basis. I don't know what happens in all US schools but I do know what happens in some. (I know nothing of Canadian schools). I know that some schools teach outright lies about contracption. Along the lines of failure rates of both condoms and the pill being 50%. Then kids are told "if you're going to have sex you might as well not bother". In an attempt to scare them I presume. It's not fair to the kids. A 16 year old can make an informed decision, if we give them all the facts. We can't blame them for making stupid mistakes when we hide some of the smarter options from them.

Then there's the "selfish reasons" women have abortions. The financial reasons. The effect on the job is a real concern and not one to be ignored. It's not simply money. It's about your entire life. I know woman who have been fired after telling their bosses they were pregnant. It's hard to get a job when you're pregnant. Almost impossible. What is a woman in this situation supposed to do? Most governments don't take into consideration pregnancy when determining welfare payments, despite the fact that pregnancies do cost money. If you can't afford to be pregnant what option but abortion do you really have?

Then there's the good old pro-choice mantra of the womans health. Pregnancy is risky. More women die from pregnancy than from abortion. Whether there's a health risk or not, the changes a womans body goes through are large and can be life long. I am not comfortable with forcing a woman to be an incubator without giving her ample opportunity to change her situation. It's slavery, and I find that no more moral than murder.

Lets tackle some of these issues before outlawing abortion. After that, I'll discuss outlawing it.

I will agree to outlawing abortion at 20 weeks for non health reasons, but prior to that they should be on demand. That's an acceptable cut off date taking into consideration viability and brain activity.

 

[Marissa]

For those who say having an abortion isn't taking personal responsibility. Not taking responsibility would be ignoring the pregnancy, giving birth in a bath tub and then throwing the baby out with the water.

Abortion is taking responsibility. Just not in a manner you approve of.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

I agree Marissa - you're absoulutely right.

 

[jazzbird]

For those who say having an abortion isn't taking personal responsibility. Not taking responsibility would be ignoring the pregnancy, giving birth in a bath tub and then throwing the baby out with the water.

Abortion is taking responsibility. Just not in a manner you approve of.

I fully agree that we need to address the root problem, that is, our society's obsession with sex and the fact that our morals are in the toilet. I don't, however, agree that having an abortion is taking responsibility - it is taking action, yes - but certainly not responsibility.

 

[Outspoken]

For those who say having an abortion isn't taking personal responsibility. Not taking responsibility would be ignoring the pregnancy, giving birth in a bath tub and then throwing the baby out with the water.

Abortion is taking responsibility. Just not in a manner you approve of.

No, its not taking responsiblity, though what you offered is also not taking responsiblity, just as is having a baby and leaving it in the trashcan. Abortion is a quick fix, much like sucide is a quick fix.

 

[jazzbird]

I think a huge problem with this debate is the two types of people who get abortions. First there are the people, who screw around as many people mention and call selfish,and I agree that is really stupid. The there are the people with a genuine need for abortions, like rape victimes, incest etc........ Would u deny a poor starving south african woman who got raped and because of this will spend her life shunned and hurt almost to physical death, woudl u deny her a chance to have an abortion so she can have a life. What if u made her have the child? She and the child would probably starve to death or be beaten to death, fun life hey. I know this is an extreme view but its not untrue, I'm saying it to show that there are genuine need for some abortions.

However like I said before those people who make that choice to screw around and get pregnant, I don;t knwo but I have llittle sympathy and hope they give the child up for adoption, cause the child woudl have no life with its single mother who smokes pot and goes out with any guy.

I feel more adoptions should be pushed and made to seem better and nicer, unless extenuating circumstance, like rape and etc.

Yes, there are cases that involve rape - but those are so very few and far between. The vast majority of abortions are performed on those who are willingly sexually active before they are ready to take on the responsibility of pregnancy.

Why Abortions Are Performed
The overwhelming majority of all abortions, (95%), are done as a means of birth control.

Only 1% are performed because of rape or incest;

1% because of fetal abnormalities;

3% due to the mother's health problems.
Source: Central Illinois Right To Life

Reasons Women Choose Abortion (U.S.)

Wants to postpone childbearing: 25.5%
Wants no (more) children: 7.9%
Cannot afford a baby: 21.3%
Having a child will disrupt education or job: 10.8%
Has relationship problem or partner does not want pregnancy: 14.1%
Too young; parent(s) or other(s) object to pregnancy: 12.2%
Risk to maternal health: 2.8%
Risk to fetal health: 3.3%
Other: 2.1%

Source:Bankole, Akinrinola; Singh, Susheela; Haas, Taylor. Reasons Why Women Have Induced Abortions: Evidence from 27 Countries. International Family Planning Perspectives, 1998, 24(3):117–127 & 152 As reported by:The Alan Guttmacher Institute Online:

So, the 5% who are not using abortion as birth control, you argue should have the right to an abortion. I would like to say so too. After all, these women are innocent of the pregnancy, and they've been traumatized enough through the circumstances they've endured. I can't imagine the horror of being raped and then learning that I'm pregnant.

However, the fact still remains that the abortion kills an innocent child. One innocent person has already been marred by the events or rape or incest, but why must two innocents be hurt? Why is this child a less valuable human being? I am against abortion not because I think people get what they deserve or I have no compassion - not at all! I am against abortion because it is an issue of human rights! Any human being has the same inherent worth and deserves the same chance at life, no matter the circumstances.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Abortion is taking responsiblity for your child, and the death of it. Women do recongize that they have chosen and they will have to answer to wantever gods they believe in for what they have chosen. I would consider that taking responsibility. You call it a quick fix, like suicide, but it's not. The woman has to live with the memory of what she choose for the rest of her life.

 

[jazzbird]

Abortion is taking responsiblity for your child, and the death of it. Women do recongize that they have chosen and they will have to answer to wantever gods they believe in for what they have chosen. I would consider that taking responsibility. You call it a quick fix, like suicide, but it's not. The woman has to live with the memory of what she choose for the rest of her life.

So it's responsible to kill people? I don't get your reasoning.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Being responsible is recongnizing what you've chosen and accepting any consequences that arise from that choice. I am responsible for my abortion, even if I was forced the first time, because I will answer for it one day to my Goddess. You're twisting my words out of context.

 

[jazzbird]

Being responsible is recongnizing what you've chosen and accepting any consequences that arise from that choice. I am responsible for my abortion, even if I was forced the first time, because I will answer for it one day to my Goddess. You're twisting my words out of context.

No, that's not my intention to twist your words. I'm sorry - with a second read, I see more clearly what you meant. You said, "Abortion is taking responsiblity for your child, and the death of it." I see now that you mean that one takes the responsibility for the child's death, not that they are being responsible by killing it. Is that right?

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Correct.

It's not the most responsible thing to do to kill the fetus. Even as a pro-choice person who's had abortions I can say that having the child would be the most responsible reaction - however, not everyone is capable of that type of responsibility (for instance I was only an adolescent (barely) when I had my first abortion and was totally unable to have and care for a child, especially after being forced into the act which created that child) so... taking responsibility for your choice to abort is the next step downwards from that I guess.