What are your feelings on abortion?

[Delano]

Poll question: What are your feelings on abortion?

This is a powder keg of an issue. Another thread here made me wonder what people here think of it, but I just want a sample.

I am not including any of the "partial birth" scenarios since that procedure is extremely rare and seems to be mostly a tool of the right to try and outrage people and get their foot in the door legally...

[Delano]

1. I kinda wish...

I could do a poll like this on a non-partisan site, just to get an idea of the population at large (unfortunately, it would get massively freeped even if I could do it)

Most of the repugs I know are pretty much pro-choice. I never lived in the rural deep south, though...

[unblock]

3. most repukes are actually pro-choice-but-don't-tell-anybody

what i mean is, they're pro-life if anyone asks, but if they need one, they'll get one. they might admit that they're doing something wrong, but they won't change their views.

[Fleshdancer]

6. I dated one of those people many moons ago....

he was a conservative Catholic who was anti-abortion until I brought up the hypothetical situation of me getting pregnant. Interestingly enough, abortion is OK when it's his "problem". But to be fair, I need to stress that he never impregnated me (we always used protection with success which is also against his religion by the way) it was purely a "what if?" question. Technically I don't know what he really would have wanted if I really got pregnant.

[Fleshdancer]

4. I've always wished for something like that too

so did you vote in your poll?

I voted pro-choice 100% At one point I questioned late term abortion until I did some research on it. Since it's extremely rare and done either when the mother's life is in danger, or if the fetus has severe problems, I decided the government had no right to intervene.

[Delano]

11. I voted, but I'm not trying to push my opinion in this thread.

Besides, my opinion on the issue is not 100% black & white, and isn't set in stone.

[Fleshdancer]

14. fair enough

there's definitely a huge gray area when it comes to this subject. Approaching it as a black & white issue does more harm than good in my opinion.

[Michael Costello]

12. the poll would be a diagonal line

The number of people who think that abortion should always be illegal (even rape, incest, if the mothers health is endangered) and so forth is very small.

The number of people who think there should be no restrictions on abortion, that it be paid by the government etc. are also very small.

There is a diagonal line of what people think depending on this or that. Support for late term abortions is low so they were able to pass it, that's the current Republican strategy, chip away at Roe vs. Wade bit by bit.

[unblock]

2. pro-eviction rights

my view is that a woman has a complete and unambiguous right to evict an unwanted fetus from her body. if it's unwanted, it's a parasite, and she has the right to rid herself of the parasite.

however, if it's possible to remove the fetus from the woman's body and for the fetus to have a reasonable chance of survival, then it is our duty to try to do so.

note that this does not mean that a woman in the third trimester must carry the fetus to term. i believe she has a right to have a c-section or induced labor at any time. the doctors then must worry about how to keep the fetus alive.

[Angelus]

5. I'm against it personally, but...

I'm against banning it as well. I feel it should always be a woman's choice to get one or not...not the government's. If a woman wants to get rid of the baby, I say let her get rid of it.

[Zomby Woof]

7. I want them to be retroactive

8. I Believe That The Right Of Choice Is Great

But not as great as the reponsibility to protect life in all its forms. At the same time, I also believe that it is simply too dangerous to allow the government to restrict choice in such a personal matter.

It is a soul ripping issue for me. I wish I could find a way to resolve it, but neither of the obvious answers satisfy me.

[Maat]

9. I agree with Gloria Smith...

Remember, as an ex-social-worker, who has been involved in thousands of family situations, there is no doubt in my mind that having the choice prevents an unwanted child being born that is guaranteed to be abused.

Now, before someone says, "But they can put the baby up for adoption." They could ... but that is not what generally happens.

[Proud_Lefty]

10. Every situation is different

When I was in high school, we all debated the pros and cons of abortion. Every girl that debated eventually had an abortion themselves when they were put in that situation, including myself. I wasn't proud of having an abortion, but I couldn't have provided for a baby back then. Today, that sounds like a lame excuse, but I've seen a lot of neglected, abused children come into this world only because the parent(s) or grandparent(s) strongly opposed abortion. There are some good stories out there from not having the abortion, but mostly they're not so great. It's sad to see how many kids come into this world without a real chance of prosperity.

I am now married and a mother of two that we can provide for comfortably. After having my second child, I was extremely fearful of getting pregnant again. I knew I could not have another abortion, especially at my age, because I knew I could provide comfortably for another child. I just preferred two.

Only the mother or her close family knows what she can provide for. I want to approach the anti-abortionists and ask them to adopt or provide for all the neglected, abused and/or drug babies that come into this world because of their strong opposition to abortion. I want to say, take on the full responsibility they're trying to force on the young mothers if they feel so passionate about it. Successfully educate the public to minimize unwanted pregnancies and then, where they fail, financially and emotionally care for the innocent baby.

The overriding concern for an undeveloped fetus over the hundreds of neglected and abused children makes me sick. I love children and feel they deserve the most this world has to offer.

[MissAnnThrope]

22. Re:Every situation is different

Oh, I've had this conversation with countless pro-lifers. I've heard the same thing over and over. The neglected, abused and drug babies are all martyrs who will have a special place in Heaven. No, I am not making this up.

They would much rather have their own babies than adopt someone else's. Especially if that baby is a different color. Although, I'm told by a social worker friend of mine in NYC that there are laws there saying you can't adopt or foster a child who isn't the same race. It robs them of their cultural heritage. Considering the horror stories of the foster care system, I doubt any of these kids are learning about their heritage.

But it is true they care more for the fetus than for the child once it's born. That's why there are so many homeless children in South America. Uneducated poor parents who basically only have sex for amusement, the Catholic Church tells them birth control is immoral, so the fetus is sacred, but the child they have to feed is turned out on the streets. I find it absolutely sickening.

Yet in this country, the Catholic Church is more than willing to take back women who have been excommunicated for having an abortion, as long as they do Project Rachel and repent. I find this hypocritical. Why excommunicate at all if you're going to let them back in? Just let them confess and do penance. But then, the church wouldn't be able to endorse political candidates who are pro-life.

I also had the abortion debate as a teenager, with girls who claimed it was immoral and all the other arguments all ended up being very pro-choice when they found themselves knocked-up by some boy who didn't want to know them once they got pregnant at 17.

I don't even think it should be an issue in the elections. I think abortion is a decision a woman or even young girl has to make on her own. I can't consider it murder if it's not a viable fetus that can live on its own once it's out of the womb. That doesn't happen until after the 6th month. Until then, it requires a host. After that, unless there is a major problem with the fetus, such as, it will be born with no brain, it's deformed, etc, I do have problems with abortion. Then again, I was born exactly two months early. To the date. So I'm a bit touchy about late term abortions, especially since they do induce labor. If you can withstand labor for that, you can have it and give it up for adoption if there is no major problem with the child.

[Michael Costello]

13. I'll always choose an individual over government punishment

The US government kills people (the death penalty, not to mention wars in Iraq, Plan Colombia etc.) The US government evicts families from their homes when they can't pay rent to some landlord. Beyond Social Security and libraries, nowadyas the US government is much more of a malicious force than a positive one, and library hours keep shortening, and they are trying to kill Social Security. I would not give this body any more power than it already does, especially in terms of punishing individuals.

[Djinn]

15. I voted totally pro-choice

which wont be a surprise to anyone that's seen my posts in any threads relating to abortion.

That said I probably wouldn't have one if I got preggers now - have managed to avoid that sitch up to now touch wood - I'm not against it as such I just don't know if I'd have one now - I've got a decent job which would provide (unpaid) maternity leave for up to a year, and even though I really don't know how much long my current relationship is going to struggle on ('nother story) both my partner's and my own family would be supportive and I'm not that young anymore (sigh!).

For me the absolute upshot is that regardless of the laws enacted and cultural pressures brought to bear throughout history women (and men) have ALWAYS sought out abortions from ingesting certain herbs to finding someone willing to endanger the mothers life with a stick or coathanger.

Interestingly long before safe abortions were widely available certain people had access to them - when my mother fell pregnant in the 60's (to my dad who was a medical student) both my folks had numerous suggestions of where she could obtain one safely through other medical students they both knew even though had she not had those connections it would have been impossible for a teenaged girl to get one in Edinburgh at that time. They didn't want one however and got my sister instead.

[Lindsey]

16. I have mixed emotions about it....

I'm basically pro-choice but I wish other options would more often be used so that it's not practiced as a form of "birth control." I know what I'm talking about because when I was a young, hell-raisin' hetro (I've since discovered that I'm a lesbian)I ended up getting two abortions. I wish I would have taken birth control more seriously. Also, I think it's just absolutely CRAZY that the religious right is basically against birth control AND against abortion. My observation is that their attitude is, "whatever the Lord decides is what will happen." In other words, if we get pregnant, it's "the Lord's will." (I've seen this happen to a childhood friend who is a religions FANATIC - she has a genetic disorder that is passed from mother to son that can cause extreme disfunction in the male offspring. Unfortunately this happened to two of her three sons, plus they have a daughter). That's four kids in all due to "the Lord's will." Then there's the belief that abstinance is a realistic option.There are so many things about this whole issue that just disgusts me....

[WindRavenX]

17. Totally pro-choice BUT

Even though I believe 100% the choice should ultimately be the woman's, I hope that reproductive issues are always discussed openly and without shame between partner's (married, dating, etc) should such a situation come up...
If I got pregnant from my boyfriend, the choice should ultimately be mine (and it would), but I wouldn't keep it a secret. It must be discussed.

[Solar]

18. combination answer

I believe in a combination of answers 2 and 3.

[Seabiscuit]

19. Unless you voted for #1,

You're totally fucked-up.

Read Roe vs. Wade and wake up.

[tritsofme]

23. I've read Roe v Wade

and it doesn't call for late term abortions.

Isn't that fucked up?

[ArmchairActivist]

20. Many see this issue as complicated...

...but I no longer do.

On demand, without apology. Period.

No shame.
No stigma.
No need to make excuses.
And certainly, no more goddam coat hangers.

Manage your own uterus, and leave everyone else's alone.

Simple, no?

[neverborn]

21. About the coat hangers....

I was talking to my grandmother the other week about abortion. She is a very very strong Catholic. She goes to church every day, etc.

She said she is 100% against abortion. She would NEVER have one, she would never want ANYONE to have one. She told my mother when she was pregnant at 17 that she would not have an abortion and live in her house.

However, she is 100% for legal abortion. She says when she was young, there was a "doctor" that lived in town -- you knew he was who you went to for an abortion. She said though she despises the practice, she would never, ever want young girls to have to resort to that again. She says no one should have to die at the hand of that sort of butcher ever again.

She's totally right.

[DaveSZ]

24. Here's the thing:

Most of the anti-choice people (let's not give them the honor of calling them "pro-life" as most of them support scrapping environmental laws and invading countries that didn't attack us) offer their arguments against legal abortion based on religious grounds.

We have separation of church/state in this country, and this is not a Fundamentalist country.

That argument simply doesn't fly.

[nightperson]

25. I'm somewhere way past 100% pro-choice.

Always have been. I see a lot of the world's problems, from pollution to poverty, as symptoms of the lack of "reproductive health and family planning" (what used to be just called "population control"). Over 6 billion people running around the globe at this minute! :scared: :wow: :scared: Think there might be some problems :freak: ?

[Zynx]

26. Personally against it.

But wouldn't push for its overturning.

[bklyncowgirl]

27. Abortion morally wrong but must be legal and easily available

I believe that abortion in many cases is morally wrong but legislating against it would create even greater moral evils with back alley abortions and children born to desperate parents who are unable or unwilling to care for them properly.

I guess that makes me pro-choice.

[Hubert Flottz]

28. Ever eat an egg for breakfast John Paul?

What party was it that ran on, "too much government involvement in people's lives"?

[TexasSissy]

29. Pro-choice for first trimester, maybe 2nd...but not after that.

That is the current law, I believe. Abortion is legal until the time the fetus can live outside the womb on its own, which is about 6 mos.

[TexasSissy]

30. "Total" pro-choice is currently against the law, isn't it?

The law is that abortion is legal up until the point at which "life begins," which is when the fetus can live outside the womb on its own, which is about six months. That used to be the law. Isn't it, still?

[Nobody]

31. I would also advocate effective birth control and education

Birth control should be cheap, easy to use, and as effective as possible. We all should be educated on the proper uses and how to combine methods to make it more effective.

Trouble is, there are so many people out there who think that ignorance is bliss and do everything in their power to keep knowledge of making birth control as effective as possible out of the hands of teenagers. Teens eventually grow up to become adults and the best way to make sure they're trustworthy is to trust them to make their own decisions and give them the tools to do that.