Abortion

This is perhaps the heavier of my two discussion threads tonight.

I have always been at great unease with the idea of abortion. I never genuinely understood much about it, and when I close my eyes and think about being in a situation where I would have to make a decision about whether a foetus should live or die (if it ever really is my choice) I feel sick, and would find myself unable to say or do anything.

This is not to say that I am not/have not been pro-choice. The main argument I have put to the question of abortion in the past is that as a man, it is not for me to decide over a woman's body, and I believe that the decision should rest firmly in the hands of the woman who is pregnant. Though I admit this may just be me passing the buck and not watching the responsibility of choice.

I have recently, due to my course, been doing a fair amount on the subject, and I realise now there is a lot more to think about than I first thought. I will not post what i have read here, as I wanted to pass the conversation onto you and find out what your opinions are. I believe any kind of academics would stifle the discussion before it begins, which is why I have written the stance of abortion I have held until very recently.

Morally, ethically, spiritually, emotionally, medically, whatever your viewpoint on the subject and wherever it stems from, I'd like to know what you all think.

I'm not going into details but I know two people who've had abortions, both for very different but both valid reasons.

This is a huge thing for someone to decide, and I have asked myself what I would have done in either of my friend's places and so far what I've come to think is that there is no way I could ever go through with something like that. However I do know that one of the two said something very similar before she got in trouble. Being scared changes the way you look at things in ways that you can't possibly plan for.

What I can say is that in both cases the decision was the best one for both my friends under their respective circumstances. It's not an easy thing to talk about, especially since I am close to them, but I can see why they chose what they did

I remember when my sister told me that her and her boyfriend were going to London because they were secretly going to get an abortion. She actually told me that before she told me she was pregnant. So, off they went to London, and I didn't say a word about it to anyone.

About 3 years later now, my nephew is running round the place shouting 'I'm a Transformer!'

I don't know why they changed their minds, but I respected their decision to get an abortion, even though I wasn't fully sure I agreed with it. People say adoption is another option, but I don't think any woman should have to carry a child for 9 months and go through everything that comes with it, plus the pregnancy, and then give the child up, if they don't want to. I see no real problem with abortion, provided safety precautions are adhered to.

My problem would be people using it as the easy way out. Abortion should be the last resort, and something to be taken lightly.

Ultimately, its the womans choice I believe. If I was in the situation, I'd support the woman who was dumb enough to f*ck me with whatever she chose. While abortion would probably be the better option for me, she may not feel the same way

I'm pro-choice mainly for safety reasons. The very idea of it I find...well, f*cking horrible (other than in those two cases), but it'll happen anyroad, so I'm all for it being safe and legal. And yes, it shouldn't be used as a contraceptive method.

I have to admit that I'd be devastated if my [hypothetical] girlfriend had an abortion, but if it came to that, I wouldn't step in her way and I'd want it done in a clean and safe manner with minimal risk to her life.

Truth be told I hate this debate, as I've seen it destroy quite a few good online communities in no time at all. I had a pretty big response typed out but deleted most of it because I didn't want to potentially antagonise anyone.

My apologies all, I thought it would provide though provoking debate, though I do see the potential for harm.

Quote: wombat, Feb 2010

My apologies all, I thought it would provide though provoking debate, though I do see the potential for harm.

i know you didn't mean any harm by it but i s'pose that Veg Rev can get too arguing about things, like when there were two threads about voting in 2009; they're on page 14 of Main.

Arguing isn't the right word but i can't think of a better one.

Yeah, that does sound better; i just said arguing because it was the first thing that came into my head.