Abortion: Are you pro-life or pro-choice?

[No*s]

I don't like polls; situations in real life can never be represented by a poll; I voted for women to have total choice because I believe the following:
I believe in reincarnation; we all have choices to make-the choices being rated as a lesson-if a foetus is involved, I believe that the purpose of the foetus was limited to that which a foetus can 'interact'. Perhaps the 'lesson' of the unborn child was to understand pain, if it felt it, or to learn about life with no purpose other than the initial 'spark' of life, followed by a 'non partcipating' form of being cherished in the womb.
My baser instincts wanted me to vote for 'only in cases of rape' - but having posted in the thread about the cumulative effects on the moralities of a woman forced upon her because of a need to feed her child, i realize that I am totally unqualified to vote on a subject on which my sex is the least affected; the final descision must therefore lie with the one whose body will be affected-the woman. I do not like my answer, but it is the only one I can give on the basis of my beliefs.

This is one of the reasons I never accepted reincarnation . The ethical implications are immense. After all, if I kill someone, what if it's their lesson to know what it's like to be cut to pieces? The same logic can be used to justify things on a national, or even global, scale. They will be reborn, and it's one of the lessons they learn.

IMO, don't take a human life. If in doubt, err on the side of life.

 

[Performance Park]

I don't believe in abortion for any reason. The back alley abortion argument is rather tired and a catch phrase for pro-abortion advocates, even though the practice of this seems to have been very rare according to research I have read. And the argument about rape and incest, while very sad, I don't think is a validity to abortion. I believe that it is a child in the womb and that the child should not be punished for someone else's horrible action. But that's me and I know there are many that disagree.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Whoops, I managed for vote for 1 when I should have voted for 2, as that is closer to my belief.

I found No*s' thoughts enlightening, but I find that belief in reincarnation actually heightens my consideration of what is ethical. For instance, I myself would never have an abortion, not even in the case of rape or incest. For the childs' sake, and also for the selfish reason that I would not be able to purposefully harm another human being. The ethical reasoning there could be that I would not want someone to do that to me in another incarnation, or that perhaps it had been done to me in a previous incarnation. (It was nearly done to me in this one.) If it were a friend thinking about having an abortion, I would urge her strongly to consider all the other options, including offering to adopt the child myself, if need be. I would not want the government telling me what was legal and illegal to do with my body, though, just as I'm sure no guy out there wants the government telling him what he can and can't do with his sperm.

 

[No*s]

Whoops, I managed for vote for 1 when I should have voted for 2, as that is closer to my belief.

I found No*s' thoughts enlightening, but I find that belief in reincarnation actually heightens my consideration of what is ethical. For instance, I myself would never have an abortion, not even in the case of rape or incest. For the childs' sake, and also for the selfish reason that I would not be able to purposefully harm another human being. The ethical reasoning there could be that I would not want someone to do that to me in another incarnation, or that perhaps it had been done to me in a previous incarnation. (It was nearly done to me in this one.) If it were a friend thinking about having an abortion, I would urge her strongly to consider all the other options, including offering to adopt the child myself, if need be. I would not want the government telling me what was legal and illegal to do with my body, though, just as I'm sure no guy out there wants the government telling him what he can and can't do with his sperm.

Even there, though, by taking a pro-choice stand, you're staking a claim that you have the right to determine the fate of not just another's body, but their life. Children frequently have different bloodtypes than their mother, and their life is certainly their life. It's not just the woman's body in question, but the child's also...and a human life.

Why is that the deciding factor, when the same question can be asked about a child? I can be equally certain that both men and women don't like other people determining if they have a right to live...

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Why is that the deciding factor, when the same question can be asked about a child? I can be equally certain that both men and women don't like other people determining if they have a right to live...

I completely agree and that is a very good point. Unfortunately, this is one of the many topics where I'm terribly conflicted about what I believe. I probably shouldn't be posting until I figure out what my stance is.

 

[No*s]

I understand entirely . Have fun working it out.

 

[Jaymes]

This is one of the reasons I never accepted reincarnation . The ethical implications are immense. After all, if I kill someone, what if it's their lesson to know what it's like to be cut to pieces? The same logic can be used to justify things on a national, or even global, scale. They will be reborn, and it's one of the lessons they learn.

Unless they've already learned that lesson, of course. In which case it would just be pointless killing.

Reincarnation should never be used as an excuse for murder.

 

[michel]

Im so incredibly torn between "A woman should be allowed to get an abortion at any time for any reason." and "Abortions should be 100% illegal. Period." that if there had been the otion to tick more then one then I would have. I chose the latter though simply because it is more morally consistent with the way I think and I think any qualms I may have over choosing this is similar to the scenario of me being 100% against the death penalty but wanting to murder a few select rapists I have had the misfortune to know if that makes sense.

I know just how you feel. frubals to you.

 

[Scorn]

I completely agree and that is a very good point. Unfortunately, this is one of the many topics where I'm terribly conflicted about what I believe. I probably shouldn't be posting until I figure out what my stance is.

I often don't post in these threads for exactly the same reason Feathers. These discussion however have lead me to research on many occasions and some interesting finds. All with the purpose of defining how I feel.

On the occasion of this thread I found this interesting link

http://www.cbctrust.com/abortion.html

The idea of the "quickening" seems to drawn me closer to an understanding. And in the research I've done, when viewing the histories of abortion, and as an element of definition, I find I cannot discount the underlying motives for the current abortion laws. Not so much as an argument for or against, but rather from an anthropological perspective.

What drives the current views? A better understanding of conception? Religious morality? Freedom morality? Or political expediency?



The jury is still out for me. On one hand I fully support the rights of a woman to choose. On the other, abortion should never be an option. I have yet to be completely convinced of either argument. And I don't think my position is unique. However, given that abortion laws as prohibition are a relatively new concept and that prohibition of abortion barely withstood a century of testing (at least in the west, I'm unsure of all countries), I find myself leaning to the more ancient wisdom.

Perhaps "Don't know" should be an option of some of these polls.

 

[painted wolf]

I am between pro-life and pro-choice. I don't personally beleive in abortion save in extreme circumstances (Harliquin fetus for example) but I also value the right for others to choose for themselves. I deeply beleive in self determination and self responcibility. I can not legislate for another what to do with thier body.

wa:do

 

[No*s]

Unless they've already learned that lesson, of course. In which case it would just be pointless killing.

Reincarnation should never be used as an excuse for murder.

I agree with you whole-heartedly .

 

[BUDDY]

To add to my original post, I would like to say that the whole argument for or against abortion comes down to whether or not fetus=human. I personally believe that it is a child and therefore it is inhumane to kill it, but and unlike many of the anti-abortion folks, I don't believe that those who believe abortion should be legal are horrible people. I doubt any of them would believe it is the right thing to do if they also believed that it was a child in the womb. I just hope that their can be a way to prove to everyone that it is a child, then we can end this argument and abortion once and for all.

 

[Saw11_2000]

^Well said.

 

[Lintu]

I'm not sure that it comes down to whether a fetus is human so much as the inherent value we place on embryos or fetuses. I would never deny that a fetus is human. This isn't enough for me to be anti-choice, though. Because a fetus is not a physically separate entity, I do not place as much value on it as I do on the choice of the human carrying it. I'm not sure what I'd do in the situation of an unwanted pregnancy, but I do not have any basic moral qualms about killing a fetus.

I don't believe people will ever come to consensus about whether a fetus is a child or not. It's not easy to change the way a person sees the world. Regardless of whether people decide to call a fetus a child, I will most likely still feel the same way.

 

[Yerda]

I would never deny that a fetus is human.

I would deny that it is a person. And as much as I am confused about the issue I would hazard that it is not murder.

To abort a foetus is something I will never have to consider, being male, and I am interested to hear about personal convictions that drive someone to pick 'pro-life' over pro-choice' or the opposite.

 

[Lintu]

I would deny that it is a person. And as much as I am confused about the issue I would hazard that it is not murder.

To abort a foetus is something I will never have to consider, being male, and I am interested to hear about personal convictions that drive someone to pick 'pro-life' over pro-choice' or the opposite.

I agree. And I too am interested in personal convictions that lead people to be pro-life. I am pro-choice because I could someday be in the position of carrying an unwanted embryo/fetus. I do not feel negative emotion at other people having abortions.

 

[Lycan]

I would like to say that the whole argument for or against abortion comes down to whether or not fetus=human.

IMHO-

Who cares if the fetus is or isn't a "person" in utero, the point is that it WILL BE (under normal circumstances) a living breathing human... so aborting is ending a life no matter how you look at it.

 

[Jaymes]

A chicken egg had the potential to become a chicken until someone took it from its mother at a ripe young age. Does this make eating eggs the murder of a chicken?

 

[BUDDY]

A chicken egg had the potential to become a chicken until someone took it from its mother at a ripe young age. Does this make eating eggs the murder of a chicken?

Ummmm....Yeah, okay. Sooooo, your saying that you look at people the same way you look at chickens?:sarcastic

 

[Circle_One]

Ummmm....Yeah, okay. Sooooo, your saying that you look at people the same way you look at chickens?:sarcastic

I do. I look at all animals the same way I look at people and I think Jensa has a great point here, actually one I was going to bring up on another abortion thread.