Yep...I know what goes on. I've even seen the tools. My old gynecologist in Texas did abortions for her current patients and I asked her to show me her instruments, which she did. I asked her to tell me exactly what happens, and she did. I know what happens, and I am fine with it.
You said you listened to the pro-choicers' ideas, and changed your mind. What, exactly, were their ideas?
Fair question. First, I agreed with them that no woman should be forced to bear a child she doesn't want. I don't think that any child that is unwanted should be born. One could make the argument that there are "lots" of families wanting to adopt children, but most of those families want babies only, and white babies at that...while many of the women having abortions are minorities...so their children, even if given up for adoption, would be just as likely to languish in homes or experiencing the disruption of constantly moving from one foster family to another as they are to be adopted by a "loving" family...and who says that family will be loving? Most parents who want to adopt are not open-minded enough to adopt a child of a different race. Would I rather a child spend his or her childhood feeling unwanted and unloved, or be terminated before ossification occurs? In that situation, I know what I'd want.
Also, a woman is a sentient being....a sentient being with rights. An embryo (which is usually what is aborted...it only becomes a fetus after the eighth week) is not a sentient being with rights. I believe that a woman's rights supercede those of the embryo.
In addition, women would seek abortions whether abortions were legal or not. Women would be forced to put their health at risk if abortion were criminalized...and it's hard to look at a young woman dying of sepsis on a gurney and think to yourself, "she deserved it." At least for me it is. Also, sometimes the embryo or fetus survives the attempted abortion and is born disfigured and deformed and lives the rest of its life in pain. I don't think anyone should have to go through that.
In the case of rape or health, I think no woman should have to bear the child of her rapist. I've heard theories about how pregnancies from rape are rare. They are, but pregnancies resulting from a single sexual episode are rare, whether a woman consented to it or not. Case in point...it takes most couples six months to a year of constant, regular intercourse to get pregnant. In the case of health, there are many congenital deformities and diseases that will kill a child in infancy, childhood, or adolescence. Anencephaly is a good example; it is the near-total absence of a brain and spinal cord. Proceeding with such a pregnancy unnecessarily puts the mother's life in danger, since the anencephalic child almost always dies days after being born...if it survives the pregnancy. Some couples may choose to abort a child with cystic fibrosis. You may think this is cruel, but as a child I had a babysitter with cystic fibrosis. She lived longer than her doctors thought she would...to the ripe old age of 23. Her life was a constant struggle with medications, hospital stays, infections, and watching her friends with C.F. die one after the other, knowing that she had the same disease and that it would kill her in the prime of life. I'd rather abort a baby than have it live that way. This girl was never happy.
I'll stop here. If you have more questions, bring them to me privately. I will refuse to answer further questions in public; I have spoken my peace and as I said before, I am not going to be dragged into yet another pointless argument about abortion.
Sorry, I didn't realize that someone forced you to read & reply to this thread against your will.
Would I rather a child spend his or her childhood feeling unwanted and unloved, or be terminated before ossification occurs? In that situation, I know what I'd want.
I find it rather presumtuous to make life-and-death decisions for another person based on our expectation of how good or bad their lives might be. And of course, ossification has nothing to do with it. If projected quality of life is a valid criterion for ending someone's like at the embryonic stage, it is just as valid when they are, say, three years old (aside from the sentience issue raised next). Putting a three year old to death could easily be done painlessly, at your local veterinary office.
Also, a woman is a sentient being....a sentient being with rights. An embryo (which is usually what is aborted...it only becomes a fetus after the eighth week) is not a sentient being with rights.
This presumes that sentience is a precondition for the possession of human rights, which is "begging the question" when it comes to abortion.
I believe that a woman's rights supercede those of the embryo.
So do I, just as any parent's rights supercede those of any minor child. However, those rights do not include killing with impunity.
In addition, women would seek abortions whether abortions were legal or not.
Men would commit rape whether it was legal or not. Irrelevant to public policy.
Also, sometimes the embryo or fetus survives the attempted abortion and is born disfigured and deformed and lives the rest of its life in pain. I don't think anyone should have to go through that.
My left arm has been paralyzed since birth. My wife was born with multiple congenital heart defects, including the virtual absence of a pulmonary artery, and several other problems, which still limit her abilities even after several surgeries. I suppose we should have been put out of our respective miseries back when we were too young to object. Sieg heil!
Anencephaly is a good example; it is the near-total absence of a brain and spinal cord. Proceeding with such a pregnancy unnecessarily puts the mother's life in danger, since the anencephalic child almost always dies days after being born...if it survives the pregnancy.
OK, but a child who is essentially brain-dead is quite different from CF:
Some couples may choose to abort a child with cystic fibrosis. You may think this is cruel, but as a child I had a babysitter with cystic fibrosis. She lived longer than her doctors thought she would...to the ripe old age of 23. Her life was a constant struggle with medications, hospital stays, infections, and watching her friends with C.F. die one after the other, knowing that she had the same disease and that it would kill her in the prime of life. I'd rather abort a baby than have it live that way. This girl was never happy.
Why didn't you kill her when you had the chance? Obviously one only has a right to live if they have a reasonable expection of being "happy." In the opinion of someone else, of course.
By the way, due to my wife's aforementioned health problems, we will be adopting rather than having children naturally. And we intend to accept children of any ethnicity.
2 million couples waiting to adopt, while only 22,000 babies are put up for adoption each year.
And that whole 'white babies' thing is simply empty rhetoric. Thousands have adopted non-white, non-infant children in this country - many with special medical needs. And there are many thousands more who travel to foreign countries to adopt.
Just another excuse from a supporter of baby killing to justify the horrendous act of abortion.