My mother fit none of the above cases. She may not have been planning on children at the time, but she did eventually want to be a mother. And she was financially capable of the responsibility and we were not a threat on her physical life. It all worked out and that's wonderful. But there are many cases where it's just not possible. Pretending they can all end up like that is hiding the issue.

And I don't think you can make a sweeping generality that "most could have prevented" needing abortions. I personally have two close friends that have had them and every precaution was taken beforehand to prevent pregnancy and neither could handle one or more of the issues I listed above with going through the pregnancy. And I would really be careful calling abortions a "convenience" because many of the women here who had to go through that at some point in their lives could really be hurt by those words. They'll all tell you that "convenienced" is not what they were feeling at all.

No matter how many imaginary women you think there are irresponsibly using abortion as a form of birth control, there will always be some needing it for a real, tangible reason. That should be enough for us. less

I couldn't agree with your response more!

Abortions aren't convenient, and I'm sure most women who get them definitely don't want to, but have little choice in the matter. I think it's a lot more responsible to terminate a pregnancy than to bring a child into the world that can't be given the life s/he deserves, but that's just my opinion. less

1. No form of birth control is 100% guaranteed. Both my brother and I were conceived on birth control. It happens - a lot.

2. Older women who are pregnant are actually more likely to have embryos and fetuses with major malformations and genetic conditions that either are a detriment to the baby's health or their own. Abortions could be necessary to save her life or to keep from birthing a stillborn anyway 9 months later.

3.. Even responsible adult women who tried to prevent it may have to have abortions because they simply can't go through the entire pregnancy to give it up for adoption. It's costly to get OB/GYN check-ups, not to mention the hospital cost for delivery, the new clothes you need to fit into, the extra food you'll be eating, the pre-natal vitamins or medications that may be necessary, the time you'll end up not working because you physically can't do it, the lack of money you'll be making and possibly lose your job, etc. For a lot of women, adoption simply isn't a viable "plan-B". less

I could never and would never. It's morally against everything inside of me personally. I went through fertility treatments, I've miscarried and I've lost babies I thought I would hold forever. No, this is not an answer I would ever make. I've always said if your old enough to spread your legs you better be old enough to deal with the consequences. Just what I believe in. God gives life why do we have the right to kill it? I also believe life begins at conception not 4, not 8 not 12 weeks later.

That being said, I'm not an idiot and I would fight for a woman's right to choose because I know there is a place and time for abortions. Like some have already said their lives at the time couldn't handle it and what's worse bringing a child into our personal hell or aborting him/her. Though I think adoption would be a better plan I also know that's not always a viable option. What I don't agree with is women who use abortion as birth control. I think people like that are sick and horrible individuals. I personally know a woman who has had five abortions just cuz she wasn't gonna be bothered with a kid and it's free so why not. She didn't take any precautions to prevent them. She just didn't care and that's the real crime not women who make a life choice for themselves but the ones who abuse it.

So no, I don't believe in it for myself but I would never judge another because they chose the path that they needed to take. If people use abortion as birth control I have issues with it but mostly I believe we need better education and a better health care system *sighs*

We are all different and have different needs, wants, home lives and complications are always present so I think any answer is personal and okay. less

Exactly. It's emotionally wounding to go through it, even when you know it's what needs to be done. It's not easy to make the right choice when the world is telling you you're wrong. But women are strong like that.

And there's roughly 120,000 children in the U.S. alone at any given moment that are unadopted. Many of them will never be. That's an issue I think requires more attention than abortions. less

I feel exactly the same about this. There are so many women who carry their children to term simply to give them up, and only because they were told it was wrong not to, or that they had to do so. Meanwhile, there are so many children out there already, some of them living in atrocious situations. The people who so DESPERATELY want children, are not nearly as eager to save these deserving children as they are to pay tens, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to have somebody else create and carry their child. WTF? Why bring a child you do not want or can not take care of into the world, when you have no guarantee that it wont end up in one of those situations. less

Precisely. And then there's the people who aren't given the opportunity to adopt because some judgmental a-hole out there in power decided he/she/they were unfit parents. Unmarried but co-habitating couples, single people, and GLBT parents should be able to adopt if they really want to give a child a home and love. How can people say it's better for these kids to be without a family than to have a family be "unconventional"? less

What, like a group home isn't unconventional? Like a foster home where your "family" is being paid to take care of you and can "get rid of you anytime that you piss them off?" isn't unconventional? I have heard SO many horror stories about foster and group homes, and known the people who have lived them. Obviously not every foster or group home is awful. They are NOT however, families that have made the commitment to love and cherish you no matter what. less

Tell me that again when you are broke, have no home, no partner, and are pregnant.

My mother also got pregnant three times on birth control. Once on the pill and once with a cervical cap, and once with an IUD. She already had 5 children and aborted the last. Birth control is certainly not foolproof. less

Where as I agree a child is a life I also believe there can't be a black and white answer. You have to see the consequences for what they are. Curious how you would handle a very real scenario in today's world...

An 11 year old girl has been placed in foster care because her mother is dead and her father has been charged for sexually molesting her. She's pregnant in her first trimester with a child from her father's rape. Should she have to suffer further with an unwanted and potentially dangerous pregnancy? What health risks does an inbred fetus and 11 yr old mother already have? The mother being nothing but a child who only has a distorted vision of love. Hasn't the girl suffered enough? Which child do you protect which child do you destroy? Would you be willing to take on the care of this child and her unwanted baby? If you demand life you must be accountable to it. To force this child to become a mother you would have to be willing to help them care for the infant. An infant that may have any number of disabilities or birth defects from the inbreeding alone not to mention what other ailments could arise with such a young child carrying a baby. Are you ready to support them financially, emotionally and physically these two outcasts? Will you raise them and teach them to love a world that demands black and white answers?

If you are not willing to step up and take on the outcome then how can you judge or say what shall be done to begin with? If you are willing to step up and take on the responsibilities of the world then I hope you have deep pockets cuz our world is fucked up. God gives us guidance but can not stop the evil that exists in a human beings free will.

In today's existence there can not be black and white. Until humans are educated and morally obligated to the well being of each other and the world we live in then black and white is not plausible. Even if a point came where our ignorance is lifted and wrongs aren't righted but simply non-existent, we were the loving, caring beings that God intended, who is to say what is black and what is white?

Without understanding, education and respect for all we won't ever see a better world. less

Where as I agree a child is a life I also believe there can't be a black and white answer. You have to see the consequences for what they are. Curious how you would handle a very real scenario in today's world...

An 11 year old girl has been placed in foster care because her mother is dead and her father has been charged for sexually molesting her. She's pregnant in her first trimester with a child from her father's rape. Should she have to suffer further with an unwanted and potentially dangerous pregnancy? What health risks does an inbred fetus and 11 yr old mother already have? The mother being nothing but a child who only has a distorted vision of love. Hasn't the girl suffered enough? Which child do you protect which child do you destroy? Would you be willing to take on the care of this child and her unwanted baby? If you demand life you must be accountable to it. To force this child to become a mother you would have to be willing to help them care for the infant. An infant that may have any number of disabilities or birth defects from the inbreeding alone not to mention what other ailments could arise with such a young child carrying a baby. Are you ready to support them financially, emotionally and physically these two outcasts? Will you raise them and teach them to love a world that demands black and white answers?

If you are not willing to step up and take on the outcome then how can you judge or say what shall be done to begin with? If you are willing to step up and take on the responsibilities of the world then I hope you have deep pockets cuz our world is fucked up. God gives us guidance but can not stop the evil that exists in a human beings free will.

In today's existence there can not be black and white. Until humans are educated and morally obligated to the well being of each other and the world we live in then black and white is not plausible. Even if a point came where our ignorance is lifted and wrongs aren't righted but simply non-existent, we were the loving, caring beings that God intended, who is to say what is black and what is white?

Without understanding, education and respect for all we won't ever see a better world. less

I would like to point out as well that if you believe that 2 cells are that important, 16, 32 etc, you need to stop eating meat, and most vegetables. You are killing them too and though the DNA is different, they are no less alive. Most animals live horrible existences and see, hear and smell the slaughter as it is approaching. They have enough brain function to actually understand and fight against death. Embryos do not. less

I would like to point out as well that if you believe that 2 cells are that important, 16, 32 etc, you need to stop eating meat, and most vegetables. You are killing them too and though the DNA is different, they are no less alive. Most animals live horrible existences and see, hear and smell the slaughter as it is approaching. They have enough brain function to actually understand and fight against death. Embryos do not. less

How many cells constitute a person? When women get an abortion the heart is already beating. In late term abortions they dismember a child. These are still legal in the US but not in Germany and many other western nations.

Some of these babies are old enough to be saved in neonatal intensive care facilities. The real problem for abortionists is deciding when a baby is a baby. The obvious answer is at conception. But as one famous politician once said 'that's an inconvenient truth'

Stopping late term dismemberment of babies would be a good place to compromise. less

How many cells constitute a person? When women get an abortion the heart is already beating. In late term abortions they dismember a child. These are still legal in the US but not in Germany and many other western nations.

Some of these babies are old enough to be saved in neonatal intensive care facilities. The real problem for abortionists is deciding when a baby is a baby. The obvious answer is at conception. But as one famous politician once said 'that's an inconvenient truth'

Stopping late term dismemberment of babies would be a good place to compromise. less

Some interesting facts:

A fetus's viability (it's ability to survive outside the womb) usually starts around 5.5 months, give or take depending on case-to-case circumstances like genetics and environment. That's pretty late. Most are viable after 27 weeks and almost zero are viable prior to 21 weeks so there is a lot of grey area in the middle.

According to a 2003 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only about 1% of all U.S. abortions happen at or after 21 weeks gestation.

If you start from the moment of conception (when the sperm fuses with the egg), about 80% of all fertilized eggs are spontaneously miscarried by the body, most without the woman ever knowing there was one to begin with.

Even after fertilization, a woman is not pregnant until the egg implants successfully into the uterine lining generally about 2 weeks after.

And though it's all a matter of opinion on when life starts for an unborn child, I'm with Girl With Fire on this one. I don't believe it starts at conception at all and it's in no way the "obvious" choice. It's a mass of blank stem cells that could actually just form a mass of tissue with no life whatsoever, calcify, and then become a threat to the mother's life. And that mass is definitely not the same as a baby.

Aaaand this is random and off topic but GWF mentioning animals made me think of it. I saw a show about how incredibly intelligent pigs are and that they're actually sentient beings. It definitely made me give up a LOT of pork. less

How many cells constitute a person? When women get an abortion the heart is already beating. In late term abortions they dismember a child. These are still legal in the US but not in Germany and many other western nations.

Some of these babies are old enough to be saved in neonatal intensive care facilities. The real problem for abortionists is deciding when a baby is a baby. The obvious answer is at conception. But as one famous politician once said 'that's an inconvenient truth'

Stopping late term dismemberment of babies would be a good place to compromise. less