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First you ask "when is it a moral decision ?"..then you ask "when is it a moral option ?" Somewhat different connotations there.
In my opinion, it's ALWAYS a moral decision. When is it an 'option'? Not often, IMHO. Considerably less often than it's a option to 'pull the plug' on a cancer patient, or to euthanize a criminal, or to shoot a trespasser. Some people would advocate ANY of these...but I don't believe that means they're 'moral options'.
No one is more innocent, or less deserving to be 'terminated', than an unborn child. We don't 'terminate' career criminals, or gang members, or crooked politicians, and we shouldn't 'terminate' unborn children, either. Got a PROBLEM with the child? Fine....once he's born, we can work that out. "Terminating" the child is not an option.
I've known too many girls who had an abortion, and at a time like that I preferred to be supportive. I'm sure its much harder on them already, than any complaint of morality I could come up with.
Never been in their shoes, or anywhere close - so I don't pass judgment intentionally.
I will add, that all abortions i've known about from friends were immediately after finding out.
I'm not completely heartless - I might make a peep if a friend was showing before deciding; but with the understanding it is not my decision to make.
It seems someone voted to allow abortion under "any" reason with some 1's in curious spots... that wasn't me... I allowed for some reasons but not all... somehow responsibility for past decisions have to come into play... she can choose not to keep the baby but if the reasons are valid, she is obligated to suffer the penalties of her decision to not use birth control... maybe the OP can add another choice "When a mother develops a fear of babies", I am willing to bet the person who checked every box would check that too...
I've known too many girls who had an abortion, and at a time like that I preferred to be supportive. I'm sure its much harder on them already, than any complaint of morality I could come up with.
Never been in their shoes, or anywhere close - so I don't pass judgment intentionally.
I will add, that all abortions i've known about from friends were immediately after finding out.
I'm not completely heartless - I might make a peep if a friend was showing before deciding; but with the understanding it is not my decision to make.
Whether you'd refrain from "judging" a person.....and whether what they're doing is "moral"....are two different things. It's my belief that abortion is immoral 99% of the time. How far I'd go to PREVENT it, though, is another thing. If the person ASKED me, I'd say "no". If it was put to a vote, I'd vote "no". But that's probably all I'd do...beyond that, you get into other issues..
Lots of social issue are this way. I believe criminals should go to jail; I'd vote for funds in order to do this, and to provide facilities to 'lock 'em up'. But if THAT didn't happen, would I personally want to lock them up in my garage, and to be responsible for their custody? Probably not...at THAT point, other issues would come into play.
It seems someone voted to allow abortion under "any" reason with some 1's in curious spots... that wasn't me... I allowed for some reasons but not all... somehow responsibility for past decisions have to come into play... she can choose not to keep the baby but if the reasons are valid, she is obligated to suffer the penalties of her decision to not use birth control... maybe the OP can add another choice "When a mother develops a fear of babies", I am willing to bet the person who checked every box would check that too...
It's a public poll.
And I'm right here.
Since I saw this option:
Quote:
Abortion, as long as it is not performed very late in the pregnancy, is always a morally acceptable option
And checked it, I figured it was only right to check everything above it.
Hence the word "always", and the exception "as long as it is not performed very late".
for every day after conception that passes, the decision seems less & less like a woman asserting her rights over her own body and more & more like a baby killing.
Whether you'd refrain from "judging" a person.....and whether what they're doing is "moral"....are two different things. It's my belief that abortion is immoral 99% of the time. How far I'd go to PREVENT it, though, is another thing. If the person ASKED me, I'd say "no". If it was put to a vote, I'd vote "no". But that's probably all I'd do...beyond that, you get into other issues..
Well, I'm a little more heartless than you. But what if that life taken could be used to save another life? Would that make a difference, in your point of view?
But maybe I did misunderstand the poll, if that is your suggestion.
I'm having trouble separating calling abortion in different situations moral and immoral - but not judging someone who makes those decisions.
I voted its always acceptable morally.
If a situation closer to me arrives; I'll reserve the right to change my mind.
We should be mothers for one reason and one reason only: love. Whether it is deciding to have a baby or adopting a dog, it is love for that being or creature which should be at the foreground of the decision. Too many women have kids for the wrong reasons (like religious brainwashing or fear of what their friends/families will think) and in the end, they ruin their own happiness as well as bring another being into the world for them to resent and make as miserable as they are.
A woman has a right to make the choice for herself, it is her body which will be stretched to all oblivion and ravaged during birth, it is 9 months out of her life at the very least even if she decides to give the baby up for adoption, and her life that will drastically change forever if she decides to keep it. How many girls have gotten themselves pregnant on purpose against their partner's wishes in an effort to get a marriage proposal? Those children weren't conceived out of love, but as a scheme, a tool to get what someone wanted. Sometimes a girl is strong and filled with enough love and self-awareness to have a baby young and be a good mom, sometimes this scenario ends up being a wonderful thing, as some women are just born to nurture and are ready to do so at a young age...but it is definitely not the majority.
Let's say for a moment that a young girl is obsessively in love for the first time, her hormones are in a frenzy, and she decides to sabotage their method of birth control to trap her boyfriend into marrying her. The boy loves her, so he stands by her side. They marry, neither of them experiences the free-spirited nature of their youth because they are tied down at home with the baby while all their friends are out partying. They've had very few romantic encounters, (perhaps only each other), they never get to explore what else might be out there because they have been married their whole young adulthood. As they grow up, they realize they have very little in common and the love has faded to resentment, obligation, routine...they don't get along anymore, one or both ends up cheating, they fight more & more, and when the relationship fails (as they most often do when they start out too young) it is the poor kid who emerges most damaged. If daddy bailed early on, the kid grows up with a single mom who is perhaps resentful that she lost her man and now none of the good-looking single guys in her age group want to date her because of the kid. If you think that kid won't sense the resentment and feel like an unloved, worthless piece of junk, think again. I've known kids who have been there and feel this way long into adulthood. 3 people I know like this have killed themselves.
Are these scenarios more ethical than the one in which said girl gets dumped when the boyfriend sees through her scheme, she has the abortion, feels the sadness, and hopefully learns her lesson so the mistake is not repeated? Maybe, given time, that girl will wise up, meet her soulmate, have kids and be the greatest mom ever...but if she's forced into being a mom before she's ready, even though it was her mistake, the chance of that ever happening drops by quite a bit. Not impossible, but doubtful...
I guess my point is there is no definite right or wrong if one considers all the different branches of possibility which stem from the various options. The only wrong I see is when people try to impose their judgment on such personal matters...unless it is YOUR body and YOUR life, it is not your responsibility, your place, or your right to interfere. I wonder how many of the adamant pro-lifers on here are men...it has been my experience that most of the people I meet who get angry and judgmental about a woman's right to choose are people who don't have the proper equipment to grow a baby anyway. If they did, you can bet their opinions on this matter would change considerably!
Tip of the hat to <luvmycat> for seeing the situation as it actually is. Every woman has the exclusive right to decide for herself how to deal with an unwanted pregnancy. Nobody else knows what's going on. Nobody else has any right to butt in. It doesn't nearly so much matter which path a woman ultimately chooses to follow, as it does that the path she chooses be the one that's best suited for her in the long-run. Whichever way one goes in such a matter, the goal is to be able to walk away...looking back for the rest of your life on that decision while knowing that if you had it to do all over again, you would have decided the very same way. There aren't any "good" options when you're confronting an unwanted pregnancy. The best of them is still the one that most closely conforms to what your deepest and most basic personal beliefs and convictions are. Those who take the time to listen closely to themselves, who invest in talking to and considering the thoughts of their most intimate and trusted personal advisors, and who determine to make a serious decision in the most serious and considered manner that they possibly can, are the ones who are most likely to emerge from the situation successfully. You make the best decision you possibly can under the circumstances, and then move on, knowing forever that it was the best decision you could possibly have made at the time. The views and opinions of those who don't know the first thing about you, meanwhile -- from Pope to whackjob internet poster -- have no place in that process at all.
Last edited by saganista; 01-31-2009 at 06:14 AM..
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