POLL: Societal vs. Personal Views on Abortion

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In cases of Rape and/or Incest, the stance is to drop the subject. If the victim seeks my counsel, then I would do as I could to help them bring the child into the world (adoption is a perfectly viable option in these circumstances), but if she procedes with the abortion, then I would say no more about it.

If I had impregnated a woman, and she insisted on an abortion, despite my objections, I would be quite upset, and may never have the strength to forgive her for murdering my unborn child.

As to abortion in cases of Rape, Abortion is not always automatic either. It would take tremendous faith to carry the child until it is ready to be born. If the victim lacks that faith, then the pregnancy would jeopardize the mental health (or life if the mother becomes suicidal).

 

I've known many teenaged parents -- some did okay, some did not. I've also met many people who should never be allowed to be around children, let alone have them. But it's not up to me to decide.

I couldn't sleep very well if the decision were made to abort a child -- it is reprehensible to me that someone would abort out of convienence. "Oh, we just decided the time wasn't right." What a crock. Of course, I find the parents who disown their daughters because of an unwanted pregnancy to be just as heartless (the true hypocrites -- we would never harm an unborn child but we'll throw our daughter out if she fools around). Speaking of hypocrites, what about the oath of Hippocrates where doctors swear to never take the life of an unborn child NOT EVEN to save the mother -- how can you swear such an oath and then break it so easily? Such a confusing issue.

My real disagreement with the right-to-life group is who decides what? When is it okay? When is not okay? What would constitute proof of abuse/rape? Do we take the girls word for it or does she need to file charges? But then, she might drop the charges, so maybe we need a conviction first (that should only take a year -- just hold it in a little while longer until we decide). What a pain in the butt.

 

Can't help but notice that all the posters here are men. Hmmm... I will say that I, personally, would never have an abortion. (We need more women on this board, dammit!)

 

This is always a difficult topic.

My stance on this has changed over the years. Since becoming a father and seeing the scans of our son before he was born and then enjoying his company over the last year, I am now far more anti-abortion than I was a few years ago. I personally would find it very difficult to condone an abortion, whereas five years I wouldn’t have cared either way.

I also know plenty of people who have tried unsuccessfully to have children so that makes it even more heartbreaking to see potential kids being aborted.

Emotional stuff, really.

 

Hrmmm. Voted 1. Mind you I work in a lab and have no sense of ethics!

 

Voted one, but I wouldn't really have a say in the matter really and would support my partners choice whatever that may be. Due to her choice of contraception (3-monthly injection for medical as well as birth control reasons) abortion is unlikely to be an option by the time we discovered she was pregnant.

 

I did know the story of a nun raped in the Balkan wars in the nineties who chose not even to give the child up for abortion. Don't know how she pulled that off, but she was allowed to keep it and bring it up in the monastery, IIRC. I've also read a story by a young woman conceived of rape whom the mother decided not to abort and also to keep.

For someone married and with children already, it would probably be too much. Though maybe the children wouldn't understand much of the rape problem and would miss the brother or sister - well, half, but still. The idea that the child is both the woman's and the rapist's scares me. It surely isn't something anyone would want to share with a person like that. But, so much as I can't apparently be charitable enough to recognise a fellow human in a rapist, I'm sure it's possible to love the child.

At any rate, abortion on the grounds of criminal origin of pregnancy doesn't hold, as the child isn't a criminal but only the father - whom I would probably enjoy seeing publically castrated, which scares me in myself. It's just beyond me how a man could do something like that.

[ May 24, 2005, 11:42: Message edited by: chevalier ]