Should a woman be able to terminate a pregnency ANYTIME for ANY REASON?

HYPOTHETICALLY: Let's say the baby is about to be born tomorrow, a woman decides "shes not ready to be a mom", should she be allowed to have an abortion, why or why not? I want to know, what do you all think the restrictions on abortion should be IF ANY and WHY. Looking forward to your comments...

Comments

[Neil]

No.

They should be able to terminate to save the life of the mother.

The unborn are innocent human beings and deserve protection. No other rational justifies their deaths.

[Will Staples]

Considering that by that point the fetus definitely has brain activity and is capable of processing its (admittedly very limited) surroundings, I'd say it qualifies for personhood at that point. So I'd very cautiously say "No" for reasons that aren't to save the mother's health. I say cautiously because as a man this isn't an issue I can understand from all angles.

I'm have no problem with abortion for any reason whatsoever before brain activity develops.

[Annie]

This is a loaded and moot question. Roe v. Wade already permits states to prohibit abortions in the third trimester (when the fetus is viable and is likely to survive outside the womb) except to save the life of the mother. In fact, a few states make it a form of manslaughter if an unborn viable fetus is killed by an act of violence, or by a drunk driver or something similar.

I would guess, based on the legislation in most states, that the majority of people already would say "no," that abortion should not be permitted at this late stage of pregnancy.

[DJ Black Adam]

@Annie:

Thanks for commenting. The question is not moot or loaded, it is “hypothetical” (note that my question was prefaced with the term: “Hypothetically”.

I know what the law IS, my question was to see what people think or would like the law to be.

Sorta like asking: “Do you think people should be allowed to smoke marijuana? and if so, why”, answering that question with: “That question is moot, because marijuana is illegal” is kind of…how do you say…a cop out?

[Dirty Red]

No. I disagree with abortian. However I believe it is the womans's choice. But if the baby is due tommorow, then it is no longer a fetus. It is a child. A human being. A little boy or a little girl. To me that is murder.

But this was a good thought provoking question.

[Neil]

"But if the baby is due tommorow, then it is no longer a fetus."

What kind of fetus are we talking about here? It is a human fetus. The pro-legalized abortionists prefer terms like fetus because it literally dehumanizes the unborn. But fetus is just state of development: Human fetus, human toddler, human teen, etc.

Please reconsider what happens during an abortion: An innocent human being is crushed and dismembered, without anesthetic. Just because she can't survive outside the womb does not make her fair game for destruction.

[Darius T. Williams]

Damn - this is a hard question. I would say yes - it's her choice, but I think at a certain point a woman's got to be morally responsible for the decision that she's made.

You know how you delete an icon off your desktop and it asks you "are you sure?" I think the same thing should happen when a woman first gets pregnant. She should have a choice...and once she says yes - it's on and popping!

[Neil]

Hi Darius,

I like your "are you sure?" question. But wouldn't it be best to ask that question ahead of time - i.e., "Do I want to take the risk of getting pregant?" - than after the fact? Otherwise, aren't we ignoring that the life of another human being is at stake here?

Please keep in mind that women in crisis pregnancies are often pressured to abort by circumstances, boyfriends/husbands or parents (or more than one of those). When they feel they have no options they turn to abortion. Later they realize they killed their own kid and are haunted by that. If they just wait a bit they often realize they are glad they didn't have the abortion.

P.S. I agree that it is a hard question in some sense. Abortion is a very complicated issue from a psychological perspective, given all the emotions and pressures women face. But morally speaking it is profoundly simple: We shouldn't kill innocent life for any of the reasons used to justify abortion (except to save the life of the mother, which is consistent with the pro-life ethic).

[LorMarie]

I don't believe that abortion should be allowed in that case. In fact, I only support abortion for medical purposes like, mother's life/health, finding out the baby will suffer from some horrible condition, genetic abnormality/not developing properly--no eyes, skull, etc, or reduction of high order multiples. I see no difference between an abortion in those cases and taking a child off of life support. Not feeling ready to be a mother is a feeling that any mother can get at some point in her pregnancy.

[Roslyn Holcomb]

I don't think abortion should be allowed in that case. Once a fetus is viable, typically 24 weeks and up, abortion should be off the table except to save the mother's life. And that's pretty much the law as it stands in most states. Seems pretty reasonable to me.