Are you pro-choice? Why or why not?

Pro. It’s your body, do with it as you please.

I am pro choice. I feel strongly about women being able to make their own choices about their body and life. I understand that it is not a form of birth control and it can become an easy fix but again this is a choice and it must be lived with forever, good or bad.

Pro choice. I don’t have any right to tell anyone what they can or cannot do with their body. And, a side note, does anyone else here think it strange that some people claim to be pro – life, yet support the death penality?

I don’t agree with abortion. But I don’t think me or the government should have a say in it.

Yes, I am pro-choice. I am against women having abortions just because having a baby right now is inconvenient. I am not against women having abortions when they are pregnant due to sexual abuse, or because carrying on a pregnancy during serious illness could kill them. I am against anyone else telling a woman what she can or cannot do, should or should not do, with her own body.

no I am pro-life A baby is should have the chance to live no matter what. No matter how far along pregnant a women it it is still a baby.

ALthough I am pro life I am not for the death penalty and If having the baby will kill the baby or the women then after you get a 2nd or 3rd opinion I still don’t like it but I do understand.

I am pro-choice. Women have every right to have an abortion. It’s wrong for anyone else to have a say in that. However, I don’t really approve of abortion without a valid reason (a valid reason: birth process will cause the death of the mother, bad reason: can’t afford to take care of the child [they should just put the baby up for adoption in this case.])

PRO CHOICE – nobody wants to go back to the days of self performed abortion by hanger. Every woman must have a choice. However, it should not be used as a method of birth control!

trudacia summed up my opinions on the situation.

I am pro-choice. My body = my decision. Until the baby is able to survive outside the mother’s womb, it is the woman’s life running through the fetus that gives it life. I am against the death-penalty, and no, I do not believe the two are in conflict.

In a more political, and maybe slightly more inflammatory sense, I believe the debate over abortion rights comes down to men trying to control women. If it were men who carried and delivered babies, this topic wouldn’t even be up for discussion, it would be legal under any circumstances, no questions asked.

I am PRO LIFE, and always will be- but I will respect your decision if you have to really undergo an abortion. What I am completely against is partial birth abortion. I agree with flyaway: if it’s a valid reason then okay… If it’s because you sleep around recklessly then you are inconsiderate and need to use protection. I wouldn’t and couldn’t have an abortion though… If I were to get pregnant right now i’d give it up for adoption.

…where he or she would wait with thousands of other kids, and either not be adopted or be adopted by a family that otherwise would have adopted another waiting child.

Pro Choice of the unborn he/she has a right to be born , I will fight this voice of the voiceless, massacre/holocaust of innocents till my last breath.

I’m glad to see that everyone here accepts the other’s opinions and there are no comments saying “if you have an abortion, you will go to hell.”

if you fight with the sword , with the sword you will be cast down. There’s one exception if you sincerely repent, and that is sincerely.

fine, lefteh, I’d keep it. Just to let you know though- I’d rather be alive then dead if I were that child waiting to get adopted. My opinion though.

@seVen: you meant pro-life, right? As in anti-abortion.

Pro Choice=support of a woman’s right to choose abortion.

And FYI 80 percent of the world’s population does not subscribe to that policy about swordplay.

Sure. If I had already been born, I would also prefer to live in limbo.
Why, however, would you put another child through that hell when you could instead choose to not bring the child into existence?

I suspect the major difference we will have here will be when we believe the child’s life truly begins.

You look at life as hell/limbo, I’d look at life as being a determined child that wants to be successful. A good friend of mine was adopted, and is thankful for her mothers decision everyday. Another friend is pregnant and giving her baby up for adoption, actually to her aunt who can’t have children. From my personal experiences, I dont look at it as hell like you would.

to the pro lifers: would it be better to have a baby born to a mother that really did not want him or her and so keeps the baby and just neglects it? or the mom has baby after baby to get more government subsidies? is it better to be born to a life of abuse and neglect? don’t forget, too, that many people looking to adopt a child don’t even look in the united states. they go to china or russia or central/south america. yes, abortion should not be used for birth control but how many millions of babies would we have if there were no abortions? it’s not a pleasant thought but think about it.

From my personal experiences, working for the county and watching hundreds of sickly, depressed kids herded around the shelters and homes like a bunch of unwanted sheep, eating shit food and sleeping on shared cots, yes, I often look at it as hell.

Yes, Lefteh I see your point. Despite what you’ve seen if I were that child I’d still want to live! I’d be determined to have a better life! I know this answer isn’t to popular on here but I still stand by it. I’m sorry those kids have to go through that lefteh, I really am.

@thehaight-you know I love you!! I think the point lefteh is trying to make is that some kids don’t have a chance to be “determined”. They are doomed from the start. Let’s face it….people who are adopting are looking for a certain type of child. The rest are left to live and grow up in shelters under horrible conditions. Does that mean they shouldn’t be born? I don’t know… but I imagine the Pro Life people believe that everyone has a soul. If that’s true, I would prefer that soul to have a good life and be born to someone who could take proper care of them.

TheHaight: i understand what you’re saying about being determined to have a better life, but the kid is stuck with the mom for 18 years, usually, so he has a long long wait before he can start the “better life.” most kids living with abuse and neglect don’t have much say in the way they’re being raised. and for a kid, 18 years is a really long time.

Trudacia: you too! I understand all points, but In my first post I was talking about myself and if I were to find out I was pregnant. Yes of course I’d do all the research I could and would make sure that child would be brought up in a loving home. I know it’s sad that most aren’t brought it up in the right conditions- I do.
I still stand by my point though….

I’m not understanding what is so wrong with abortion. Our planet already has too many people, our economy stinks, our resources are not infinite, etc. What is the big deal if we “kill” a few “coulda been” babies? I know I sound like a heartless bitch but I’m being real here. People can’t really think that the embyro or whatever is really alive? It’s not and even if it is, if it’s not the right time in your life for a child then by all means say goodbye and do what you have to do. Not all babies need to be born. Are classrooms in your elementary schools filled to the brim or half empty? What about daycare centers? Are pediatricians going out of business? I don’t think so. I know everybody thinks that because god or whoever said so it’s wrong but is it really right? There are some people out there that were irresponsible and got knocked up. Some of them took responsibility and became great parents. Some took responsibility and shouldn’t even be allowed to take care of goldfish. Poverty, neglect, and abuse are not fun and alot of the kids who deal with those things wish they weren’t born everyday.

@thehaight: it know you would. too bad the world is not full of thehaights!

@TheHaight: And your point is a good one. It is valid, as is mine. This is one of those issues where nobody is ever really going to be able to poke a hole in an opposing argument (as far as morality is concerned, anyway; legality is a whole different story).

A human life is one of the most incredible phenomenons in the natural world, yielding an infinite amount of reward and knowledge. It is the result of thousands of years of tweaking and perfecting to produce a specimen like no other man-made or organic matter can equal. Abortion is an issue that boiles down to decisions, prodominanately by the woman baring the child. Well, first of all to concieve a human life, it takes crucial decisions by both partners. Decisions like, I don’t know, wearing a condom? Condoms aren’t 100% effective but as they say in high school, absentice is the best contraceptive. Like the value of marriage in America, the value of human life (yes, I consider it living at the point of conception) will be drastically reduced if one simply gets rid of “a minor lapse in judgement.” To preform an abortion is like preventing life from reaching its fullest potential.

Intercourse is not no longer a esstional tool for the survival of the human race, it is now a mere pleasure that we practice for the sake of lust.

Indy: a human life is definitely one of the most incredible phenomenons, but to force a baby to be born to a mother that does not want it can doom the baby to an unfortunate life of misery and abuse, and if you’ve ever witnessed firsthand what abuse and neglect look like, it ain’t pretty.

also, it seems as if your post got cut off before you finished your thought?

I have a Y chromosome, so I don’t have a right to have an opinion in this matter.

I disagree with that, ketoneus.
Are white people not allowed an opinion to whether or not black-on-black crime should be specifically targeted?
Are women banned from having an opinion on the legality of selling one’s sperm?

@jca, the decision should not be if one is going to have the baby or not but if intercourse is going to take place. The neglected baby wouldnt have existed if the sex didnt happen. The issue we should focus more on is America’s casual sexuality. Yes, I know sex is one of natures little blessings but rational steps should be taken before it is executed.

The simple act of wearing a condom can elimanate 97% of your so called unwanted children. I’m afraid people (esp. women) will view abortion as a “get out jail card” and not the reality of a life being terminated.

First of all, the woman has the decision to not to take part in the act (in extreme cases such as rape, I believe abortion is perfectly moral). Second, there are numerous methods to prevent conception from occuring. A majority of the abortion cases result from bad decision making prior to conception, so abortion should not be viewed as a quick fix for a stupid choice. If the concept of abortion were not available, then people would greater appriecate the magnitude of a decision like intercourse.

@lefteh, I guess that was my backwards way of saying I’m pro-choice – I don’t have the right to tell women what to do with their bodies. My wife and I are (anxiously) expecting a baby in a few months and would never consider abortion ourselves. However, other women (or couples) might find themselves in a different situation, completely unable to raise a child. I’m not going to impose my personal preferences on others.

People that call themselves pro-life should wake up to the fact that humans have a biological drive to have sex. And they are going to have sex. If they truly want to reduce abortions, then hand out condoms and birth control like candy.

Ahh, and here we agree completely.

thanks trudacia and lefteh, I wish all discussions could be like ours.. :)

I’ll be the one to chime in with firsthand experience: When I was 19, I became pregnant & faced the hardest decision I’ve ever made. Being the only child of a single mother, who had me at 19, I saw my future, and my child’s, in relation to the hardships both my mother and I had faced as we “grew up together”. At that time, I could not envision carrying a child for 9 months and then giving it away, so I felt my only options were to keep the baby, or have an abortion. In the end, after much soul searching and many, many tears, I had an abortion. While I have never doubted that I was completely unprepared to raise that child, the decision has haunted me for my entire adult life. I wish with all my heart that it could be undone, ideally, that I’d never had unprotected sex in the first place, but I’d settle for having put the child up for adoption. It really hit home when I became pregnant on purpose, 8 years later. At 19, I was able to use the words embryo and fetus to distance myself, but at 27…I was carrying a baby, from the very first minute. Having said all that, I am still pro-choice. My decision was mine alone, and I would not presume to prevent others from deciding for themselves. However, I think that the counseling offered to women prior to having an abortion should focus as much on the emotional toll as on the physical risks.

Pro-choice, no doubt about it.

Thankyou Augustlan for sharing your experience,..You seem like a very strong willed women.

@Haight: Thank you. My thought process is: If young girls read my response, maybe they can learn from it, and do a better job of protecting themselves. In case anyone is wondering, I have been candid about this with my teenage daughters, as well. Information never hurt anybody.

Your daughters are lucky to have you! And, this young women (I’m 20) will learn from you as well. I may be pro-life but your story makes myself….neutral with it all.

@ ica If the mother does not want the baby there are options beside abortion that she can have.

I’m very definitely. most assuredly, wholeheartedly pro-choice.
Life begins when the fetus could survive outside its mother. This is just not possible in the first trimester.

Also, I’m fine with people who are anti-abortion (that’s the proper term—all humanity is in favor of life) but you must also be in favor of proper, truthful sex education courses for teens (Some church groups tell teens that condoms fail at a higher percentage than they actually do.) and you must be in favor of more welfare to help support these unwanted children. Most anti-abortion advocates are in favor of neither of these.

they say abstinence programs do not work. the sex drive is very strong. we’re animals.

I’m very much an individualist and I feel that the only person who should decide what I do with my life and my body is myself. I feel it is immoral to legislate a certain morality, especially when most of its proponents share a particular religious view and when the topic is so contentious. For example, I’d say it’s widely accepted that murderers should be lawfully punished, while the country is rather divided on the topic of abortion.

I probably would not decide to have an abortion myself these days, particularly since I’m getting older and am having baby cravings. When I was younger, I was in no position – especially financially – to support a kid on my own, so who knows what I would have decided then. I do know that I’m grateful that, had I had to make the choice, all options were open to me.

The alternative is not good. Back-alley abortions, people using crude and unsanitary tools.. We should learn from history that people are going to seek abortions, no matter what. I would much rather we have legal, sterile environments for women to go, rather than see them die of sepsis and other complications.

I hate the thought of abortion as an alternative to personal accountability, but I recognize that there are situations where they are warranted.

I wish kids were given “Living with sex” education, rather than just “sex” education.

Pro-choice. I believe that if the government has authority over women’s bodies, it’s a slippery slope until they start regulating birth control as well under similar logic. And that would not be good.

I definitely believe in pro-choice when it comes to ownership over a person’s body. I don’t have children but have longed for them my entire adult life. I couldn’t have an abortion under any circumstances, but I have a niece with Cystic Fibrosis – which pregnancy would be a death sentence for her. She practices birth control but we all know that BC is never 100% effective. While many people cry out against abortion, in the same breath advocate for cuts in social welfare to support unwanted children. One politician just made a comment about making kids clean bathrooms at school to earn their free lunch. This unseemly paradox feels like a double standard to me. While abortion is not for me, who am I to judge others and their decision to terminate a pregnancy?

no, because I don’t believe in murder.

I’ve seen here on fluther that the acceptable alternative to abortion is adoption; and I can agree that adoption would be the best case scenario. Unfortunately, adoption is not always possible. In the US adoption is a truly difficult process, so much that most adoptive parents go overseas to adopt. The reality to unwanted children is living in orphanages or foster care settings. My mom was orphaned at age 4 and lived in an orphanage until age 12 where she was fostered out as a maid for a wealthy couple. She and three other little girls were kept as housemaids and were treated like animals; actually was fed with the Great Danes the couple kept in the basement. Before you say that these things don’t happen today, let me remind everyone of the press release this very month on the three children who were found in Ohio chained to their beds and physically, verbally and sexually abused. While I think that reform needs to be in place for repeat abortions, I still feel that it is a woman’s choice and reproductive right. When asked my mom would say that she’s glad to be alive, on the other hand, she’ll tell you how horrible living in an orphanage or in foster care can truly be…