Why are you Pro-Choice?

[Sandpiper]

My primary reason for being pro-choice is the libertarian view.

I believe in the fundamental right to autonomy over one's own body, and reject any idea that a woman's uterus is public property the moment she becomes pregnant.

How 'bout you?

[Dookus]

1. Similar to yours

the government can't be able to compel women to give birth against their will. Any government that can do that, can do a lot of other things we'd all object to.

[coloradodem2005]

4. Pretty much what I have though.

n/t

[Bunny]

2. Well, that probably best defines my opinion about it as well.

If you don't have autonomy over your own body, what DO you really have?

[chickenscratching]

9. why? logic?

i have no idea what i would do personally if i was to become pregnant at this time. however, i take pleasure in knowing that i have a choice in my choosing. i don't think i agree with abortion at this time, but where is the logic in making it illegal? i really don't want people in back alley's with a rusty old coat hanger. i also think we should supply clean syringes to people, but unfortunately we live in a country where, if you don't see it, it doesn't exist. EGADS people...it's just like drugs, regardless of the limitations that the gov. presents, it WILL still happen. so the choice here isn't about abortion, or whathaveyou, it's either A. we make it illegal and pretend like we don't know what's really happening or B. we provide safe methods of undergoing abortion, or provide sterile needles, or education, the list goes on...why is it so unreasonable?

[Bluzmann57]

3. What you said

But if she is carrying my child inside of her, I think differently. This is one of the toughest issues around and DU in part, helped me to change my opinion on abortion. So thanks all.

[usregimechange]

5. I am actually pro-choice and Pro-life.

[Pepperbelly]

6. because her body belongs to no one BUT her.

Otherwise, since I don't get pregnant, it really isn't something that I can insist someone else do. Nor can George Bush. Or Fat Tony Scalia.

[vi5]

7. For the reasons you listed, but I'll admit also for the unpopular..

..other angle to this which is we don't need any more unwanted kids in this country or anywhere else for that matter. If someone is having even slight pangs of doubt as to whether they can and/or will be able to take care of or love a kid the way it needs to be loved then by all means don't bring it into the world. There are enough people suffering the scars of growing up unloved, unwanted, or uncared for and the last thing the world needs is more of them.

Yes, I know that there is adoption and I'm all for that if it works out. But I'm also not naive enough to not know that there are tons of issues with that process as well and that things don't always turn out hunky dory.

Ultimately I'm a realist.

[chickenscratching]

11. exactly...

i love the arguement that abortion causes tons of psychological problems. while this is true, maybe it's time to look up the definition to postpartum depression

[VermonterInExile]

50. Abortion causes psychological problems?

I've personally had two abortions. I regret that I wasn't more careful about birth control (trust me, abortion is not something most women aspire to), I also have to say I have absolutely no regrets about having ultimately made the choice that I did, and I don't have any psychological problems as a result. After my second abortion, I became a counselor to women at a womens health center where abortion was one of the provided services. In my experience, if a woman is already psychologically healthy and is counseled properly to ensure that abortion is truly the right choice for her, 'psychological problems' nearly never result from having an abortion. I did see, however, that many women with pre-existing psychological problems have a much harder time coming to terms with their decisions about their pregnancy (whether abortion, adoption, or motherhood), and one woman seemed to be using repeat abortion as self-inflicted punishment.

At the end of the day, I'm absolutely pro-choice. Government control over women's bodies is a gruesome thing (look at Romania, Nazi Europe, China), not to mention that where safe and legal abortion is not available, mortality among pregnant women is many times what it would be otherwise.

One last thing--I've heard right wingers argue that abortion is a self-correcting abberancy, because only Democrats do it. The clinic where I worked was in one of the reddest of the red states, and I can assure you that Republicans have abortions. Not to mention that teen pregnancy and abortion rates tend to be much higher in the poor states of the Bible belt than elsewhere in the US.

[REP]

66. "Abortion doesn't affect well-being, study says"

New York Times (as printed in the San Jose Mercury 2/12/97)

Abortion does not trigger lasting emotional trauma in young women who
are psychologically healthy before they become pregnant, an eight-year
study of nearly 5,300 women has shown. Women who are in poor shape
emotionally after an abortion are likely to have been feeling bad about
their lives before terminating their pregnancies, the researchers said.

The findings, the researchers say, challenge the validity of laws
that have been proposed in many states, and passed in several, mandating
that women seeking abortions be informed of mental health risks.

The researchers, Dr. Nancy Felipe Russo, a psychologist at Arizona
State University in Tempe, and Dr. Amy Dabul Marin, a psychologist at
Phoenix College, examined the effects of race and religion on the
well-being of 773 women who reported on sealed questionnaires that
they had undergone abortions, and they compared the results with the
emotional status of women who did not report abortions.

The women, initially 14 to 24 years old, completed questionnaires and
were interviewed each year for eight years, starting in 1979. In 1980
and in 1987, the interview also included a standardized test that
measures overall well-being, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.

"Given the persistent assertion that abortion is associated with
negative outcomes, the lack of any results in the context of such a
large sample is noteworthy," the researchers wrote. The study took
into account many factors that can influence a woman's emotional
well-being, including education, employment, income, the presence of
a spouse and the number of children.

Higher self-esteem was associated with being employed, having a
higher income, having more years of education and bearing fewer children,
but having had an abortion "did not make a difference," the researchers
reported. And the women's religious affiliations and degree of involvement
with religion did not have an independent effect on their long-term
reaction to abortion. Rather, the women's psychological well-being before
having abortions accounted for their mental state in the years after the
abortion, the researchers said..

In considering the influence of race, the researchers again found
that the women's level of self-esteem before having abortions was the
strongest predictor of their well-being after an abortion.

"Although highly religious Catholic women were slightly more likely
to exhibit post-abortion psychological distress than other women, this
fact is explained by lower pre-existing self-esteem," the researchers
wrote in the current issue of Professional Psychology: Research and
Practice, a journal of the American Psychological Association.

Overall, Catholic women who attended church one or more times a week,
even those who had not had abortions, had generally lower self-esteem
than other women, although within the normal range, so it was hardly
surprising that they also had lower self-esteem after abortions, the
researchers said in interviews.

Gail Quinn, executive director of anti-abortion activities for the
United States Catholic Conference, said the findings belied the
experience of post-abortion counselors. She said, "While many women
express `relief' following an abortion, the relief is transitory."
In the long term, the experience prompts "hurting people to seek the
help of post-abortion healing services," she said.

The president of the National Right to Life Committee, Dr. Wanda
Franz, who earned her doctorate in developmental psychology, challenged
the researchers' conclusions. She said their assessment of self-esteem
"does not measure if a woman is mentally healthy," adding, "This requires
a specialist who performs certain tests, not a self-assessment of how
the woman feels about herself."

[REP]

68. Most Women Do Not Feel Distress, Regret After Undergoing Abortion; Study

Most Women Do Not Feel Distress, Regret After Undergoing Abortion, Study Says

  The majority of women who choose to have legal abortions do not experience regret or long-term negative emotional effects from their decision to undergo the procedure, according to a study published in the June issue of the journal Social Science & Medicine, NewsRx.com/Mental Health Weekly Digest reports. Dr. A. Kero and colleagues in the Department of Clinical Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology at University Hospital in Umea, Sweden, interviewed 58 women at periods of four months and 12 months after the women's abortions. The women also answered a questionnaire prior to their abortions that asked about their living conditions, decision-making processes and general attitudes toward the pregnancy and the abortion. According to the study, most women "did not experience any emotional distress post-abortion"; however, 12 of the women said they experienced severe distress immediately after the procedure. Almost all of the women said they felt little distress at the one-year follow-up interview. The women who said they experienced no post-abortion distress had indicated prior to the procedure that they opted not to give birth because they "prioritized work, studies, and/or existing children," according to the study. According to the researchers, "almost all" of the women said the abortion was a "relief or a form of taking responsibility," and more than half of the women said they experienced positive emotional experiences after the abortion such as "mental growth and maturity of the abortion process" (NewsRx.com/Mental Health Weekly Digest, 7/12).

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=24751

[VermonterInExile]

70. Thanks for the posting

This obviously fits with my personal experience and that of most other women I know who have had abortions.

[K-W]

8. Without a societal consensus on the morality, there can be no legislation.

You cant legislate your morals on others. If, like murder etc, there was a national consensus that abortion was wrong, then and only then could you justly prohibit it.

As long as people differ on whether it is wrong, the government must respect thier rights.

[AnnInLa]

10. Because it's MY body, and it's my daughter's body, and

it's my granddaughter's body.

[MichiganVote]

Because patriarchs are always trying to live in the uterus of women

And we, women, are sick of it. There is no basis for governments to be involved in this part of the female anatomy other than for religious reasons.

Pro choice. Pro mind your own business.

[matcom]

12. because, I as a male, have no fucking OUNCE of right

to "tell" any woman what she can and/or cannot do with HER body. guarantee that if *I* could get pregnant i would have those rights.

[applegrove]

13. Because making a proceedure like abortion illegal simply means

that desperate poor women will die having abortions while the middle class and the rich will just fly somewhere and get one - if they are desperate. There are so many other ways of stopping unwanted pregnancies and those have to be flushed out and funded & researched (encouraging adoption means that you have to take the stigma off of teen pregnancy and put it on teen motherhood). Free reversible operations for boys, a pill for boys, morning after pill access for all teens (and knowledge about it), etc. That is the way to make abortion rare. And you cannot outlaw abortion unless you want the kids from incest to be born. The kids of incest & rape. And unless you want to see some women (mothers no less) die from medical complications to pregnancy.

So you cannot outlaw it. And you cannot make it a class thing. But there are ways to make it very, very, rare.

[ComerPerro]

34. I'm with you.

[cally]

46. My reasons are similar to yours

It's not about abortion but whether abortion is safe. Women will end unwanted pregnancies. I want it safe, legal and rare. I'm appalled that so many 'pro-lifers' are willing to kill women and make their pregnancy subject to federal rule. It's just plain amazing that some idiot legislator wants to tell us about the what our body is supposed to do. If bc fails then my entire life is supposed to be about raising a child?

It's simple. Leave the government out of it. Leave it to a woman, her medical support, and her beliefs.

[walldude]

14. My primary reason would be

that I don't think that I have any right at all to tell someone else what they can or can't do with their own body. I can't imagine the small mind that would think they can. "Pro-Lifers" have a right to their opinion, and can express it. But when it comes to making laws that force someone to adhere to their religious doctrination they can kiss my ass... So much for freedom and liberty. I don't see any fundies or neo-cons coming up with money to help me send my autistic child to private or special schools. They are all for unborns, once you are out of the womb it's a whole new ballgame.

[Moderate Dem]

15. I'm not pro-choice...

but I'm not pro-life either. The biggest problem with pro-lifers is when they say that abortion kills a human soul. As a (Mainstream, not Fundamentalist) Christian, I maintain that no one but God knows at what point a human acquires a soul. If this happens at conception, abortion is murder, in my opinion. If it happens at birth, abortion is NOT murder.

Simply put, no one on this earth knows whether abortion is murder or not. That being said, I simply do not allow myself to take sides.

How's that?

[Eloriel]

23. Well, actually, that's not quite true

depending on whether or not you accept the "evidence," and I personally do.

no one but God knows at what point a human acquires a soul.

There's a book by Raymond Moody, called Life Before Life. He also wrote a book called Life After Life I think it is-- fascinating stuff. For Life Before Life he used regression hypnotherapy on a number to get information about their lives before and just after birth. According to Moody's findings in these studies, the Soul isn't fully and totally attached to the body for some people until even some time (days, weeks) after birth!

As someone who believes in reincarnation and related things, all this makes perfect sense to me.

[elshiva]

60. No One But God Knows When Human acquires a Soul.

Amen. Orthodox Jews do not believe a human gets a soul until he or she takes his or her first breath outside the womb. This isn't science this is God's deal...

Anyway, God understands that women sometimes as young as 10 years old gets raped or incested and most of the time the best thing to do is to abort it. God's not a fascist, don't you know.

(Dr. Dean once advised a 10 year-old patient to get an abortion. He was sure that her father was the baby's daddy. At least Dr. Dean is honest about this and Dr. Frist is a hypocrite. Just sooo angry at Frist now!)

[K-W]

24. How are you not pro-choice?

You just gave a very pro-choice stance to us. You dont know if it is right or wrong, so you must not think the government should legislate it, right?

[Moderate Dem]

36. It does appear to be a pro-choice stand...

Because that's generally the way I vote.

I was speaking about whether or not abortion took a human life, the real crux of the matter, as opposed to whether or not we should legislate against it. Because of the reasons I gave, I don't feel that we have any business legislating against it, because we have no proof that it takes a life.

It still bothers me though.

[K-W]

38. You have it backwards.

Whether or not we should legislate against it is the ONLY issue in whether or not you are pro-choice.

It is a right wing distraction to see it any other way really. This isnt about whether abortion is wrong, it is about whether it should be prohibited. Once the debate becomes about whether it is wrong or not the right has already won half the fight.

[huskerlaw]

16. Because I don't want anyone telling me what to do with my body.

I doubt I could have an abortion myself, but it's not my place to say whether or not someone else should have one. I've had friends who were thinking about having abortions and would have supported them no matter what choice they made. But the bottom line is that every woman knows what's right for her (and that decision will be different based on circumstances). It's simply not a one-size-fits-all issue that can be legislated from afar. Nobody but the person going through it knows what the best choice is...certainly not some Republican Congressman or ancient Supreme Court justice.

[onehandle]

17. I like to make the baby Jesus cry.

He doesn't cry when we're carrying out the death penalty, or bombing brown civilians in his ancestral back yard.

It's clear in the Bible:

"And Jesus said, 'Kill for revenge and profit only the born.' And the people sent $75 to the 700 club and an equal amount to the Republican Party, and it was good"

[blogslut]

18. I am pro choice

Because every woman who carries a child risks her life. Every woman should be able to decide whether or not she wants to take that risk.

[Eloriel]

27. Good point, and applicable both literally and figuratively

Women DO still sometimes die in childbirth or from complications, and let's not forget that lifetime commitment that commences once the baby is born (well, actually beforehand with the responsibility of not smoking or drinking, watching other substances you ingest, etc.).

[seabeyond]

19. we cant dictate who can and who cannot get an abortion

who's emotional trauma is greater warranting an abortion. i hear people say only rape, incest and mother health. what about the 15 year old that would kill herself if she had no other option. is that a great enough reasson to allow one.

i just simply am disgusted that a bunch of people are saying it is murder, yet...........murder is ok under these circumstances

and

there will continue to be back alley abortions and girls/women will die

[rocktivity]

20. I see reproductive rights as fundamental

No one should be able to force you to have--or not have--a baby. Not even a parent. If you think it's a sin, don't engage in it and leave the rest of us alone!
:headbang:
rocknation

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

21. More or less the same as yours.....

the government has NO business in that part of anyones' life.

[Hippo_Tron]

22. I'm in favor of women having a REAL CHOICE

It's not just about women having the right to have an abortion, it's about women having the right NOT to have an abortion as well. By that I mean that it should be a woman's right to have that child no matter what her financial status is.

As Democrats I think we need to emphasize this point more. Women should be allowed to have a REAL CHOICE, not one that is based on their financial status. We need to emphasize that it's the Republicans and their social darwinist policies that are forcing women to have abortions.

That being said, if a woman does decide to have an abortion I think that as a man it is not my place to judge. Also, we've seen how well banning drugs works, I predict that banning abortion will turn out the same way. Women will just go have it done in underground clinics in unsanitary conditions, do it themselves VIA coathanger abortions, and we will be sending teenage girls to prison for longer sentances than rapists just like we do with non-violent drug offenders. As far as I'm concerned, attempts to ban abortion are a new motive to fuel the prison industrial complex. Also, the rich will obvioulsy be exempt from this cycle as they can just fly to another country to have it done.

[ultraist]

25. Right to privacy as Roe was precedented on.

This right doesn't belong only to men.

[Warpy]

26. A good friend died from an illegal abortion in 1968.

Watching somebody you know die from a combination of a ruptured uterus, hemorrhage, and massive infection because some STUPID FUCKING MAN didn't like legal abortion radicalized me forever.

One thing I like to point out is that any government that thinks it has any business restricting abortion will also think it has the right to compel it in the future. Let them set standards for safety. Then keep them the fuck out of it.

[xchrom]

28. i wouldn't call it libertarian. it's feminism.

the idea that a woman is -- in total -- her own being.
it's old idea -- but one that's still very radical.

[eallen]

29. 100% a matter of civil liberty. The battle is about more than abortion....

The same reasoning that the Supreme Court used in Roe v. Wade was earlier applied to strike down laws banning contraceptives, and was later applied to strike down laws banning sodomy. If the religious right prevails, it will not just be abortion that is banned. We will go back to a time when the pill and other contraceptives are unavailable, even to married couples, and when same sex couples had to fear criminal prosecution for their sexual activity.

[no_hypocrisy]

30. Because I want to decide for myself what I want and need.

No one else.

Not only should Roe be so fundamental that it's in the Federal Constitution, but if I want to have a baby without the encumbrance of a husband or a lover, my child should not be regarded as a bastard. Pro-choice means just that: my wishes are respected and I should not become a societal pariah because of how I use or not use my fertility.

[beyurslf]

31. Because the govt shouldn't be telling women what to do.

[pacalo]

32. It's not for the government or religious fanatics to decide

if a woman can/should have an abortion.

Pro-lifers are the same ones who are against welfare, medicaid, or any other government aid, yet they feign concern for "the unborn child" or "the fetus" while they do not approve of providing the benefits that would enhance its quality of life, sometimes being the difference between life and death.

Hypocrisy.

Pro-lifers are the same ones who approve of the Iraq invasion. Never mind that innocent Iraqis (as well as "the unborn" children) are being blown to pieces because they happen to be living on oil-rich soil in a country that was an easy target for a greedy son who wanted to one-up his dad. So why do they call themselves "pro-lifers"?

Hypocrisy!

[i miss america]

48. Agreed. And this reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw yesterday

[pacalo]

55. That's a good one!

[ComerPerro]

33. Because criminalizing abortion is idiotic and irresponsible

To be quite honest, my stance has nothing to do with "a woman's right to choose" or "autonomy over one's own body".

These are important issues, to be sure.

But the most compelling reason for me is that making abortion illegal in no way discourages someone from seeking an abortion.

All it really does is guarantee that abortions will become much less sanitary and much more dangerous.

[DaDeacon]

35. As father of three with only two living...

I'm not, HOWEVER I don't belive what i think for my life is true for everyone! An ex-girlfriend of mine had an abortion of our child without telling me until after it was done. I was hurt but years later i know that she and i would never have been happy together and the child , man what a screwed up little world we waould have made for him. I still would never agree to it but i imagine that not everyone has my life and should be allowed to make thire own choices. :)

[tjdee]

37. Because I've been unmarried, pregnant, and alone.

That's why.

I had my kid, but I'd never presume to tell someone else what to do in that situation. It's scary as hell, and no one's going "Whew! Abortion sure is great!"

[Pithlet]

39. Exactly as you say.

That is my primary reason, also. I view it as an equality issue, as well.

[Stop_the_War]

40. Because a woman should not be forced to have an unwanted pregnancy n/t

[Cleita]

41. Pretty much yours. A woman should be able to decide

what will happen to her body. Anything else is an assault and violation of her body. You don't see any laws forbidding men to get vasectomies or other procedures on regarding his sexuality and person requiring that the government and a court of law decides what's good for him.

[More Than A Feeling]

42. Because outlawing abortion won't solve anything

There are far better ways that connect with fundamental values that Democrats hold dear to reduce the number of abortions as well as accidental pregnancies in general.

[journalist3072]

43. I am pro-choice because.....

I don't think I have the right to tell another woman what to do with her body. As women, the reproductive choices we make are very personal decisions.

Secondly, I don't think that, when you get right down to it, any woman rejoices over having an abortion. That is a very painful decision to have to make. But it might sometimes be the right decision.

For example, if during a pregnancy, I found out that I had cancer, I want to have the right to be able to say "I want to terminate this pregnancy, start chemotherapy and get my health together, and then try again to have a child." A woman deserves to be able to make that choice.

[babydollhead]

44. sign my friend'd dad painted & hung road side...

ABORTION:
Let the Pregnant decide.

[Mz Pip]

45. I'm pro choice

because what someone else does regarding an unwanted pregnancy is none of my business, nor do I believe it's the government's business.

Life is complicated and I do not want the responsibility of imposing my values on another person.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[autorank]

47. Because it's not my body! That's it in a nutshell. Respect for women.

[Bettie]

49. Because it is a private choice a woman needs to make.

She can consult her partner, parents, friends, or whoever she feels can help her and comfort her in her situation or none of them if they would not be helpful.

She should consult her health care provider and know the real risks of both childbirth and termination.

But in the end, it is the decision of the pregnant woman, the pregnancy is part of her body, the physical ramifications of the choice fall upon her and her alone. No one else can or should make that decision for any woman.

I hear people of the so-called "pro-life" persuasion prattle endlessly about women who have multiple abortions for "convenience". Well, first off, if you don't believe in abortion, don't have one; but secondly and more importantly, even an early termination of a pregnancy is an unpleasant thing. Just on a basic physical level, it is not something women would choose to go through unless there were a compelling reason.

No one should be forced to bear a child. No one should be forced to terminate a pregnancy, no one should be forced to give their child up, or, for that matter, keep a child that they wish to give up.

Getting a bit long-winded here. I'll stop now! ;-)

[amjucsc]

51. Philosophical consistency

If society cannot come to a consensus on an issue–and in the case of abortion it clearly can't-then the public should air on the side of liberty. To be Lockean about it, we are all free beings, and unless we as a society choose to write opposition to abortion into our social contract, then taking that right away from us would be tyranny.

More to the point I don't find it to be indisputably immoral.
I actually respect the pro-life viewpoint. I can understand how people would chose to regard a fetus as a human being, and I think the conclusion that many people derive from that is reasonable. At the same time, while I do find abortion morally troublesome, I can't exactly proclaim that a couple of cells constitutes a human being in any reasonable sense.

Thus for the above two reasons I'm pro choice, more or less by default.

[bunkerbuster1]

52. A first-trimester fetus isn't a person.

It only became a "baby" when it was convenient for a RW faction to assert authority over women.

This one's a no-brainer for me.

[CalebHayes]

53. I'm not pro-choice I'm anti-clothes hanger.

[Blasphemer]

54. Same reason....

pretty much. I understand the arguments (religious, scientific) about the beginning of life but ultimately, every person has to come to their conclusions about that and no government has any business usurping a person's right to that decision. If I ever doubted my position, a disturbing conversation I overheard between two pro-lifers solidified my view forever. They were discussing the issue of adoption and one of them did bring up the fact that non-white babies had a harder time being adopted. The second responded, (paraphrasing) "Well, to be honest with you, I think abortion is okay for THOSE people". I don't think that the majority of pro-lifers feel this way but there is definitely a significant contigent of right wing pro-lifers who have a different agenda entirely and it has nothing to do with protecting life. These same types view the death penalty in the same way - justice doesn't have too much to do with it.

[LynnTheDem]

56. I'm pro-choice because I don't believe I have the right to order someone

else what they can & can't do with their own body.

I'm pro-choice because little girls who are raped should not be forced to endure pregnancy by their rapist.

I'm pro-choice because a woman should never be forced to die when giving birth will kill her.

I'm pro-choice because I believe cutting down on unwanted pregnancies through education on birth control is far better than forcing unwanted pregnancies.

I'm pro-choice because I'd rather a girl or woman have a safe abortion rather than a back-alley butcher's hanger, or suicide.

I'm pro-choice because before abortions were made safe, legal, and relatively easy to obtain, we had thousands of years of unwanted pregnancies terminated by back-alley butchers' hangers or suicide. Making abortion illegal/hard to get didn't help then, and it won't help now.

I'm pro-choice because if the anti-choicers had their way, NO abortions would be allowed for ANY REASON WHATSOEVER. And that would mean a lot of needless deaths.

[Kool Kitty]

63. Hear, hear! Well-said and I couldn't add

anything to your post. I agree with all your points.

[raccoon]

73. Also, if the anti-choicers had their way,

and NO abortions were allowed for ANY reason, then if a woman had a miscarriage, she could be arrested, possibly jailed, and have to PROVE that she had a miscarriage, not an abortion. Imagine some woman having to go through that after suffering the physical and emotional trauma of a miscarriage.

[LynnTheDem]

77. Go further down that slippery slope we're already on...had a drink of

alcohol during your pregnancy and later miscarried? You MURDERER!

Shovelled snow from the sidewalk and later miscarried? You MURDERER!

Slipped and fell on ice and later miscarried? You MURDERER!

Smoked? You MURDERER!

Didn't get enough sleep working 3 jobs? MURDERER!

Etc.

Why don't we just round up all breeding-age females into breeding farms. That's what rightwingnuts seem to want. Hope they realize they'll be included in the rounding-up.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

57. Because I should have no say over what a woman does with her body

It's none of my business; it's just the responsibility of the woman herself.

[NNN0LHI]

58. Its privacy issue to me

When a doctor and a patient decide on any medical procedure it is time for the government to butt out. Its none of anyone else's business. Simple as that.

Don

[Justitia]

59. My aunt nearly died 3 times from an illegal abortion.

A botched, illegal abortion which perforated her colon.

She was a single mother whose husband had just walked out on her and my cousin when she found out she was pregnant again.


She nearly died of the perforation immediately, had to live with a colostomy bag for DECADES, and ultimately suffered two more life threatening infections when her internal organs BEGAN TO FUSE TOGETHER.

She was administered last rites three times and almost left her daughter an orphan.

Abortion is a fact of life - always has been, always will be.
Will we let women like my aunt DIE from it?????

[Norwood]

61. I'm catholic and pro-choice...huh?

I personally detest the idea of abortion, it would be great to see less of them. However, I dont think religous beliefs should have any bearing on whether something is legal or not.

Abstinance only programs do absolutely nothing and will not curb pregnancies. Sex is such a taboo subject in our society anymore its ridiculous. Face the facts, people are more than likely to have sex. Might as well give them the information (safe sex, contraceptives, etc.) they need and perhaps not as many women would need to seek an abortion.

Naive? Perhaps, but could it be any worse than it is now?

Another reason, if abortions were to be outlawed, how many women do you think would die getting one illegally? The old coathanger method probobly isnt the safest way to go about it.

[Swamp Rat]

62. Because I am human, NOT an alien lizard!

[ekelly]

64. Reminds me of a bumpersticker

I saw recently:

"So, you're Pro-Life.....
How many adopted children do you have?"


And another on an unrelated note:

"If you don't pray in my school,
I won't think in your church."

[pauliedangerously]

65. Contraceptives don't always work.

I don't want to have children. I'm not giving up sex. One of my prerequisites before engaging in sexual activity with someone is that we agree on how to handle an unwanted pregnancy. Me personally, I wouldn't have any problem flying to another country where abortion is legal and safe if it were banned here. Some people don't have the means to do this.

Also, with abortion legal, one would expect an individual to feel wanted knowing that his/her parents had the option of terminating him/her in the womb but chose not to. What good is it to force a life into existence when it will be unwanted?

Pro-life is a policy of envy. I don't believe the "poor little fetus" argument for a second; this policy is about punishing people for engaging in sex for pleasure, and it doesn't do this overpopulated world a bit of good. It's a way for the people who have struck out sexually to feel good by getting back at the ones who have opportunities to engage in sexual intercourse.

All of the "baby-murder" rhetoric is a channel for peoples' sexual frustrations. Make 'em suffer if ya can't fuck 'em.

A woman's right to choose shouldn't even be questioned, and in my view, life begins at sentience, not conception. Abortion is certainly more humane than pre-civilization practices such as infanticide. Forcing people to have children when they don't want them is barbaric and has a negative impact on society.

I've had enough discussions with fundies on this issue and it always gets to who does what with his/her genitals. "I didn't put MY pee-pee where it didn't belong." That's because no-one was interested in your pee-pee. That's something that's always amused me about fundies: they have a hard time saying "penis" and "vagina." What's with that?

[raccoon]

74. For the vast majority of anti-choice people,

it's about punishing women for having consensual sex.

That's why before Roe vs. Wade, some states allowed abortions in the case of rape or incest. Because she didn't consent. (OK, in the case of incest, she might've, but most likely she didn't, especially if the perp was her uncle or her father.)

[cidliz2004]

67. Support the wars, Ban Abortion????

Is that what the right-wingers are chanting?? What kind of lunacy is that?

Women have the right to control what happens in their own bodies PERIOD

As long as wars are supported by the right-wingers, there should be NO DISCUSSION on pro-choice vs. pro-life

[Spider Jerusalem]

69. The idea of individual autonomy...

plus the fact that I happen to be male, and as such, it's not MY decision to make.

[ProfessorGAC]

71. Cuz It's None Of My Business

Yeah, i know the "slippery slope" argument, but those seldom make sense when applied to subrogations of rights.

The greater community is unharmed by leaving this decision open to those it affects directly. There is no compelling state interest in making it illegal.

And, it's not my business how other people have to manage their affairs.

So, i'm pro-choice, because there is no other option for me.
The Professor

[Vladimir]

76. What he said n/t

[ryan_cats]

72. Don't want to start a flame attack but,

I'm personally against abortion.

However,
1) I'm a guy and I hate it when men talk about abortion safe in the knowledge that they can just walk away.
2) I absolutely hate anti-abortion protesters. If they want to make a difference, they could offer to defray the woman's costs and help place the baby but NO. They just hold up a sign with an aborted babies' picture on it, damn hypocrits.
3) Don't like abortion? Don't have one.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

75. I think that is a reasonable position

One can not personally care for something but still support another's rights.

I personally don't care for many things people (like the KKK) say, but I support their first amendment right to do so.

[ryan_cats]

80. Exactly

Reasonable people can disagree. As a Christian, I literally cringe when violence happens outside a clinic or to a doctor. These people are so blinded by hate that they fail to see the irony of their 'pro life' position as they kill an inocent doctor.

I also really get mad when men get all hot and bothered over this, it's easy to be against abortions when you know there's a %100 chance you'll never need one.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

81. Not to mention, if you took the billions of dollars used to fuel

the anti-abortion movement, and put those dollars toward child care and poverty issues, you'd significantly lessen the occasion of abortion.

[ryan_cats]

83. I never thought of that

I never thought of that, which is proof that they don't want a solution. They just want an issue to divide us. Luckily most people see through the ruse.

[WLKjr]

78. My Simple Answer

"It's not my or anyone elses place to tell another human being what they can and can't do with thier own body."

[Padraig18]

79. Don't like abortion? Don't have one and don't get her pregnant.

I'm opposed to abortion on personal, religious grounds, but I don't believe I have the right to impose my freely-chosen religious beliefs on anyone else, nor do they enjoy the right to impose theirs on me.

[loudestchick]

82. Thank-you.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

84. Because I believe that women are not chattel or baby machines.

[ernstbass]

85. Because it is my body

I have always thought that abortion is a women's issue.

[kcwayne]

86. Because my mother almost died from an illegal abortion

when she was the sole supporter for our family with 6 kids. The poverty we faced did enough damage as it was. Had she died, we would have been put into orphanages and the courses of our lives would have been very, very much worse. That is too high a price for 6 children to pay for some one else's religious theory.