The topic of Abortion
 

Ok, since in the Political Palace there is a thread on the South Dakota ban of abortion, I wanted to start a thread in the Quiet Place on the GFF opinions of abortion in general.

What is your opinion on abortions and when is it "okay" to have one?

Please discuss. I'm a little curious about this topic.

My coworker Erin got pregnant as the result of a rape 3 years ago. Abortion is OK there.

I would say only when it endangers the mother's life.

Like Minion and Dopefish I think it would allowed in casa of rape or if the mother´s life is in a dangerous situation, in another case the people need to assume their attitudes and think before having done.

I think abortion should be legal, but only up to a certain point. Although I am not one to say when life begins in a fetus, I think a good starting point would be when the heart begins to beat. It is simple to measure, and most people would agree soemthing with a beating heart is alive. Anytime before the heart start to beat, an abortion should be legal.

A lot of people who get abortions do so because they do not want to be reponsible for their own actions. The captain of the cheerleading team sleeps around, and then finds out, much to her dismay, that she is pregnant. Obviously, this would be terribly inconvenient for her, for not only would it put a huge damper on her perfect life, but her reputation will be ruined. Obviously, the only logical recourse is to get rid of the baby. Abortion clinic here she comes.

This is purely fiction, but in a more generalized perspective, this is what goes on in regards to abortion in America.

People act in a liscentious and unwise manner, and then try to not have to deal with the consequences.

Granted, there are SOME instances where an abortion could be considered "okay," such as rape babies, or children where the life of the mother is threatened... but this market is in short supply, and not reliable enough to depend on as an income source.
They encourage people to be sexually loose, so that the abortion clinics can make a killing (pun intended) off of these people.

Social engineering anyone?

This is why there are so many groups active in defending "a women's right to choose." Because they want a cut of the cash pie. I guarantee that abortion clinics pay some hefty dues to various groups to defend them.

I think abortion is alright in the case of saving the mother's life, or if the mother was a rape victim.

Other than that, stick it out and have the baby adopted.

Also, making abortion illegal will not fix anything. In fact, I would think it would make things much worse.

Unfortunately, you might be right.
The problem now is that society has become dependent upon abortion clinics, and it doesn't look like America is going to steer any farther from hedonism that it usually does.

However, I DO think that by making abortions illegal, it will significantly reduce the number of abortions performed. The catch is that it would just make them more dangerous to perform, since they will have to be done underground.
One would hope that by making it illegal, people would think twice about having regular sex... but this probably will not be the case.
Damn the coinsequences, they just want sex.

Are you asking a joke or a serious question?

Then that requires some explanation on your part. Do you honestly need an explanation about the ethical, physical and emotional differences between consentual sexual intercourse and forced sexual intercourse?

You're right; "in all but the most extreme pro-life™ viewpoint" a fetus is a fetus.

I'm glad, then, that we don't live in a world where everything is black and white.

I really only see abortion as "okay" if having the child would endanger the mother's life and in cases where a pregnant woman finds out that her baby has a horrible genetic disease or something. For example, if I were in the position to choose, I would never bring a child with something like Tay Sachs into the world. I believe that abortion is the lesser of two evils in a situation like that.

Actually, Yama, you have a good point, and one that I had been wondering about for a long time.
It is not actually an extreme view of pro-lifers to also try and protect the lives of those born of rape. It just is not very diplomatic enough to warrant any mention right now. The thing is, the common perception (of non-prolifers) of children is that they are a "burden," or "punishment," or other such words with negative connotations, not as living beings worthy of life, no matter how terrible their origins.
The reason that people usually allow concessions for rape is because the main argument for abortion is that a woman has a "right to choose," and if sex was forced upon her, she was not allowed to choose, but instead her rights were violated.
I suppose one could sum it up like: "She is to not be held responsible for crimes she did not commit."

Here's one for you: what if a man was raped and the woman got pregnant because of it? Then whose choice would it be to abort the pregnancy?

There is legal precedence in this matter...I'm just too lazy to find it. All I know is a woman raped a man, got pregnant, and the courts forced an abortion. What do you make of the ethical and legal rights of the woman in that case? Abortion is a dangerous procedure and can sometimes put the mother in even more harm...do the ends justify the means in that scenario?

I find it awfully odd that the courts forced an abortion.
Was it at the behest of the victim?
(need more details)

You're gonna make me look...grr.

Edit: for the moment, ignore what I said about court-ordered abortions. I seem to recall a case like that but can't find any info on Google or Wikipedia.

Meh. Take your time. There is no hurry.
This is the quiet place. You can get back to me what I wake up. :p

Chances are slim I'll find it.

I've always been pro-choice because of some very good reasons.

Yes, there is the option to adopt but when the kid finds out he or she was adopted, imagine the mental anguish they could go through. "What was wrong with me" or something like that. Or in extreme cases "YOU'RE NOT MY PARENTS".

Also, the infamous "dumpster babies" where the mother never wanted the kid in the first place, where does it go? The dumpster.

so if abortions were illegal, do you think there would be more "dumpster babies"

Aside from Underground abortions (cause you know it would happen) I'm sure there would be, not to mention more depressed kids that found out they were adopted.