Pro-Life or Pro-Choice? - Comments

I don't give a shit if it's a life or not. Bacteria is life. Tumors are life. A woman is a fully-grown human being who has the potential to contribute to society, therefor more useful than a zygote/embryo/fetus/whateverthefuck, so the liberties are hers.

Pro-choice is the absolutely radical notion that women can control their own bodies. Simple as.

But one thing both sides should be able to agree on is that the reduction of the number of abortions is the goal. That means getting rid of rape, and developing better birth control methods. An abortion is one of the most difficult decisions a person could make, and people patronizing them does not help them the slightest.

There's more to it than that, I think. I get where you're coming from and I'm certainly not going to tell you you're wrong to believe what you do and why. But it's not a black and white issue. I believe the fetus is alive, too--but I also believe that a woman has the right to choose whether she wants this living thing to drain and change her, mentally, emotionally, physically, in ways she can never change back. Especially depending on the circumstances. Abortion isn't an easy decision to make, but the fact of the matter is, sometimes that decision has to be made. It doesn't make the woman a monster--it makes her a troubled woman in a troubled situation. And I'm not going to tell her she was wrong.

...but the fetus is alive. It's in the first stages of developing into what we are today. The fetus has a beating heart, so I feel it really isn't up for debate at all.

I do see where you're coming from, and I understand that you don't mean "parasite" in the negative form, however, we are not parasites. We develop intellectual thought, we love, we feel, we hurt, etc. Our bodies are indeed hosts for another life, another human being. And I feel that terminating a life during the fetus stage, or terminating a life when it's 99 years old, is the same thing. It has a heart. And just like I've stated about in every post I've written on here, that's all that comes down to it. All I really have to say on the matter.

There's no scientific definition of when "life" starts or what even is considered being "alive" anymore, with today's technological advancements that can keep a person "alive" long after many of their vital functions have stopped. So, whether you're killing a living human being really is still up for debate.

Regardless, the fact remains that while a fetus may be a living thing, it is dependent solely on another living thing to live, without giving anything back--it's the textbook definition of a parasite. Do I mean that with the negative connotation it probably comes off with? No. But if you have a living thing that is using your resources, making it harder for you to function, and causing permanent physical, emotional, and mental consequences, I personally believe that you should have the right to choose whether to continue that.

Personally, I don't see ANY question of morality as a black and white issue. You believe abortion is 100% wrong. But there are others who feel as though they have no other option. It's not, "Oh crap, I got knocked up. Oh well, I'll just kill it and move on with life." Are some people like that? Yes, and I hate it. But for most people, this is a truly heartbreaking decision, and being ostracized, condemned, and in many cases harassed for it, doesn't help matters. It usually doesn't change minds--it just makes an extremely difficult decision even harder.

If I don't know the circumstances surrounding a decision, I'm not going to say it's the wrong one.

I did miss the question marks, and I do apologize for not noticing my error. And yes, she may still have those feelings even if she now has a child. But down to the very core of the matter, an abortion is black and white. It's either you kill, or you don't kill. In essence, the "shaded area", how the child was conceived, don't necessarily matter. A life is going to be born, or it isn't. The life in question is innocent, and has had nothing to do with the conception. That's where I'm coming from.

LAJunkie - Did you miss the question marks? As in, "So there are permanent repercussions for X...and what, there aren't for Y and Z?" Question marks. As in, I was questioning you, because you seem to have omitted that. If you agree that there are results A for all X, Y, and Z, then you can't use results A as grounds to single out X.

No one should be forced to have a baby they do not want.

LAJunkie - And there AREN'T permanent repercussions for the woman if she has a child she cares for the rest of her life

^Doesn't matter if she has another child, she still may have that.

And, my argument isn't solely about the woman and her after effects, it's about the child's life. Again, my opinion is that the child should live regardless of what circumstances they were conceived under.

...When did I say you wouldn't have permanent repercussions? My argument is that while yes, women who have an abortion have permanent emotional repercussions, there are also repercussions just as life-altering for adoption or keeping the baby, and if the woman will have permanent repercussions no matter what decision she makes, then she should be allowed to make the decision. I don't think it makes sense to say, Oh, abortion should be illegal because the mother will have emotional repercussions! when no matter WHAT choice she makes she'll have that.

AmorarEsDeVivir: You don't know that for sure, you can't speak for all women. We're all different. How we heal is our own business, and if we do have permanent reprecussions, then we do. You can't say that we don't.

And yes, that is what I'm saying. Think of me what you will, but no child should have their life taken away just like that.

I'm set in my opinion. Enough said.

v If my mom said she wanted to abort me because she didn't want me? My DAD didn't want me. My mom got pregnant because they got in a fight because she wanted a baby and he didn't, and just to be a dick, he flushed her birth control pills down the toilet. "Fine, you want a baby, here you go." But he loves me now, so whether he wanted me before I was born is irrelevant. I'd feel the same way if it was my mom.

People who use abortion as birth control disgust me. But the fact remains, you can't analyze every person's reason for ever getting an abortion to see if they have the "right" reasons. You can't legislate that way. I'd rather let those people be allowed to make stupid, selfish decisions and also allow those who really need to make this heartbreaking decision to do so, than shut out that option for everybody.

v I was more-or-less explaining the reason why I'M pro-choice, and how I feel about abortion.

But, I agree with that.

v. Re-read what I said and notice where I mentioned the word rape, directly after underage. My mother almost did abort me, it doesn't really bother me. She could have died because of complications. And you know what, if she would have aborted me to live, I wouldn't have blamed her. Sometimes the mother's life is more important than an unborn child's.

@erase the maps. But the underage girls, mostly, are stupid and reckless and never think of the consequences. They go out to have sex, don't think, end up pregnant and wipe it off their shoes like it's a piece of cr*p. There are millions of woman that can't have children, and they see people just strolling around aborting babies like it's the latest fashion thing. That's horrible.
And really, it all comes down to this; how would you like it if your mum told you that she wanted to abort you because she didn't want you? You probably wouldn't be like 'oh well'.

HOWEVER - erase the maps - On the other side of the same coin, just because you wouldn't be attached to a fetus you'd carried for a month (and you never know, you might be after all should that happen), doesn't mean others won't be. Ever known someone who had a miscarriage? She might have only been six weeks along, but even if she had no clue yet whether she was keeping it, she's still devastated. Yes, abortion is different in that it's the woman's CHOICE to lose that baby--or fetus, as you'd put it--but at the same time, there ARE emotional repercussions.

Abortion isn't a black and white issue. It's not universally right or universally wrong. That's why I'm pro-choice--because we can't legislate on a moment-by-moment basis, and even if I don't agree with someone's decision, far be it from me or my place to tell them whether they can make it.

LAJunkie - And there AREN'T permanent repercussions for the woman if she has a child she cares for the rest of her life, or carries this child inside her womb for nine months and then never sees it again and spends her whole life wondering what her baby will grow up to be like? She ONLY has permanent, hard-to-handle emotional scars if she has an abortion?

Beyond that, part of the argument IS for the baby. If a woman isn't ready to be a mother, why would you WANT her to have a baby? Adoption is possible, yes--but the fact is, there are more unwanted children than there are parents adopting. You're saying it's BETTER for the child to either grow up in a foster home, or in a home where s/he can't be properly cared for?

I'm pro-choice.

If a woman is underage, raped and becomes pregnant and you blame the women for aborting, you are an asshole. It's not her fault she was raped, and it's not her fault she became pregnant. Yes, adoption is always an alternative, but a majority of the time it simply is not.

My mother's had three abortions, 2 to save her own life, and 1 because she was just not old enough to have a child, and my grandfather would not let her keep it. If I did but some immaculate conception, became pregnant. There's now ay I could put a baby out for adoption, if it was with me for 9 months, I'd feel it was part of me. I wouldn't be attached to a month old fetus and I, with no shame would abort.

Also, a fetus before what is it, the end of the first trimester is nothing but a mass of tissue and cells. It's not a child yet, IMHO.

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There is one birth control that is 100% effective and lasts like three years. If people don't want children but want to continue having sex without having to murder the children every few months, they should have it. Otherwise, I see it, in my eyes and mind, as murder. Except, if having the baby would in other words kill itself or the mother. Or rape, of course.

WinterStarsAlive: That's awful, and I'm sorry you had to go through that, but I'm still firm in what I believe. It's good that you were taken away when you were. I've noticed on these comments that it seems people are defending the woman in the abortion situation. However, the question that I'm asking, who stands up for the child? And their rights? A human, alive, a beating heart. For me, there is no legit reason for an abortion. It's killing a baby. Some people don't like that phrase, but that's exactly what it is. Also, the psychological aftermath for the woman is sometimes incredibly overwhelming. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. It feels as though you've not only done that to your child, but you've killed yourself, as well. You never fully recover from something like that, but you learn to live with it.

AmorarEsDeVivir I didn't say I didn't know that. I just said it was gross :$ I know how sick people can be.. just sayin'

People make mistakes sometimes. Why should their innocent child have to pay for them? If they're mature enough to realize that they cannot support a child, then they should have the ability not to have one. Obviously there will have to be rules and regulations to stop people from abusing it as an other form of birth control, though.