Adoption rates in the US are low only when you consider children rather than babies. The waitlist for adopting a baby is so long that hopeful couples are turning to international adoption. It's really sad, because they ignore the children in the foster care system. However, a baby put up for adoption in the US almost always has a forever home awaiting him or her before his or her name ever gets on the adoption list.
I'm sorry about your experience. I wonder if you believe it would have been better for you to have your life ended at a young age? I'm encouraged that you seem to recognize, at least on some level, the humanity of the child you lost.
I have to disagree with you on the point of whether abortion can be a good choice for the child involved, though. I personally would prefer not to have another, even my own mom, decide that my life was sad and that I would be better off dead. Should I decide that my life is, in fact, so miserable that I would rather end it, I would rather have the opportunity to make that choice and act on
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Some thoughts on your questions...
anonymous
March 2 2010, 01:53:43 UTC
I am a supporter of legalized abortion. That said, I do not take the process lightly and I believe that those who do either do not understand how it works or have not given it much thought. I can think of few worse burdens to carry than that of a pregnant woman considering an abortion
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Re: Some thoughts on your questions...luquillaMarch 2 2010, 08:40:17 UTC
I honestly try to stay out of the debate in general because I have conflicted feelings on it (and also it makes me feel really anxious), but I will say this:
What about the 30% of mothers who would still have an abortion if it was illegal? Or who would simply choose to kill themselves?
I think that it's sad that people use abortion as anything less than a last resort (and they do, and it's horrible), but I think the solution to that is to better educate people about contraception to help prevent situations where abortions are even an option. We've pushed ourselves into a black-or-white corner in some ways. But that is another debate, I think.
VVV Also, the slavery comparison is a bit of a strawman.
Re: Some thoughts on your questions...marset617March 2 2010, 23:11:05 UTC
Well, what about the percentage of men who continue to rape though it's illegal? Or to murder? They know the dangers to themselves, but they choose to engage in the activity, and they legally must accept the consequences. Also, I said over 70%... I am trying to find the exact number now, but it was high. I would find it sad if the rates of maternal death in abortion-related incidents went up, as it likely would, particularly initially. That doesn't make abortion right or okay though, and it doesn't make it okay for our government to sanction abortion
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See, that rationale just boggles my mind. To me, it's like saying, "I personally would NEVER own slaves, but I don't feel that I could impose my moral stance on others."
Abortion, in the harsh light of truth, is the intentional killing of a certain group of humans based on the criteria of wantedness. Why is that okay?
I also oppose the death penalty.
Let me put it this way: my fight is for the personhood rights of the individuals being aborted. Rather than to remove the right of the woman to not be pregnant, I want to protect the right of the unborn to not die... if the woman can end the pregnancy without ending the unborn human's life, then I feel that's her right. But there's only one right decision for the human growing inside of her. Any other decision is a violation of that human's rights, as I see it
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I think where I'm at as far as your reply is this: for me, it's hard to separate the entities of "mother" and "fetus." I don't think of a pregnant woman as two people
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A friend recently described her sonogram with her daughter to me. She described seeing her daughter's foot and realizing what a separate entity she really was. As she put it, "That was her foot. Her foot, not my foot."
I guess if you're raised with the distinct understanding that from the beginning, that is a unique and separate individual simply residing within the confines of the other woman's uterus, it's not so hard to see the separation... Once it sets in, it's hard to see any other way.
I guess I don't see how residence defines humanity... :-/
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I'm sorry about your experience. I wonder if you believe it would have been better for you to have your life ended at a young age? I'm encouraged that you seem to recognize, at least on some level, the humanity of the child you lost.
I have to disagree with you on the point of whether abortion can be a good choice for the child involved, though. I personally would prefer not to have another, even my own mom, decide that my life was sad and that I would be better off dead. Should I decide that my life is, in fact, so miserable that I would rather end it, I would rather have the opportunity to make that choice and act on ( ... )
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What about the 30% of mothers who would still have an abortion if it was illegal? Or who would simply choose to kill themselves?
I think that it's sad that people use abortion as anything less than a last resort (and they do, and it's horrible), but I think the solution to that is to better educate people about contraception to help prevent situations where abortions are even an option. We've pushed ourselves into a black-or-white corner in some ways. But that is another debate, I think.
VVV Also, the slavery comparison is a bit of a strawman.
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Abortion, in the harsh light of truth, is the intentional killing of a certain group of humans based on the criteria of wantedness. Why is that okay?
I also oppose the death penalty.
Let me put it this way: my fight is for the personhood rights of the individuals being aborted. Rather than to remove the right of the woman to not be pregnant, I want to protect the right of the unborn to not die... if the woman can end the pregnancy without ending the unborn human's life, then I feel that's her right. But there's only one right decision for the human growing inside of her. Any other decision is a violation of that human's rights, as I see it ( ... )
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I guess if you're raised with the distinct understanding that from the beginning, that is a unique and separate individual simply residing within the confines of the other woman's uterus, it's not so hard to see the separation... Once it sets in, it's hard to see any other way.
I guess I don't see how residence defines humanity... :-/
Oh, well.
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