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Your view on abortion. Atheist welcome.

rojse

RF Addict
I just think that pro-life people have no concept of the harsher reality some people in this situation face. They care about the baby, and not the suffering it could be faced with. Poverty is not restricted to Africa. Some parents are terrible and children would grow up to be poorly fed and disciplined.
I have to say motherhood education needs to be strengthened. In my area its not very strong and there were a lot of pregnant teenagers with no hope of supporting their children.

Add the Baby Bonus to that - think of all the idiot teenagers having children to get their five thousand dollars, never minding how much it costs to raise a child.

What sort of home environment will these children grow up in?
 

rojse

RF Addict
Interestingly, that was the theme of 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' remake, in theatres now. The conclusion was yes, it does take a crisis to make people change and (equally important) yes, we do have to wait for it.

Oh, that was a terrible movie, that. The original was far better, and is easily worth two hours of your time, compared to the updated rubbish recently released.
 

Circle_One

Well-Known Member
Why is adoption not a solution? Instead of sucking their brains out at 20 weeks, why don't they just let them deliver them whole instead? See if they can live?

Let me ask you a question. when med advances to the point that they don't need a womb anymore - someone does not want their body used for another life - fine, it's not a matter of "woman's right to her body" anymore - does she still have the right to kill her child after they can survive without her?

I guess some people respect life, and others don't.
Yes my dear, and YOU would be the one who didn't. Because if you did, you would respect ALL life and not just those you deem worthy to respect. Which means, you would also respect the life of the mother, and this respect her will. But of course, the will of others means nothing to closed-minded people like you, does it? All that matters is pushing your ideals down the throat of another.

Talk to me when you've got facts, not speculations and bleeding heart stories. Ask my 10 year old son, that I had at 17 and have raised ALONE for the last 10 years whether I respect his life or not, alright? Before you make judgemental, unfounded statements, take a moment to understand the person about whom you're making these statements, hmmm? That might work to your favor in the future.
 

Magic Man

Reaper of Conversation
Why is adoption not a solution? Instead of sucking their brains out at 20 weeks, why don't they just let them deliver them whole instead? See if they can live?

I doubt you'll find anyone who thinks that having an abortion at 20 weeks is acceptable unless the circumstances are extenuating.

Let me ask you a question. when med advances to the point that they don't need a womb anymore - someone does not want their body used for another life - fine, it's not a matter of "woman's right to her body" anymore - does she still have the right to kill her child after they can survive without her?

That's a little extreme, and no.

I guess some people respect life, and others don't.

Yes, that's the difference here. Pro-choicers just don't respect life. :rolleyes: Seriously, that's just plain ridiculous. Please come up with something that at least makes sense.
 

Circle_One

Well-Known Member
To everyone on this forum:
YES, I am 16 years old. YES, I am a teenager. I think we've established this fact already. "...You're 16 years old..." - yes, I know...

I get the generalizations. I get that most people my age don't care about anything other than MySpace, partying, drinking, and sex. Though it sickens me to somehow be related to them, I can't do anything about what they want to do with their life.

I, am not like most people my age. (I don't care if you don't believe me.) I will never drink, smoke, or do drugs. I do not gossip and I do not hang around anyone that causes drama. I get good grades, I care about my future, and I have a curiosity and a desire to learn. I'm not perfect; I have maturing to do, and I am aware of this.

I think that I am good person. I don't care if people don't agree with that. I am confident in who I am. I am here because I feel strongly about this issue. I am here to debate it and give my opinion. I am not here to start drama or fight with anyone. No, I don't think it's fun. I stand up for myself; I'm not wrong for that, but I don't feel I should have to. This thread has gotten to the point where it's not even about abortion anymore. If you feel you must judge me for my age, and you can't get that out of your mind without getting to know me and my views first, then so be it. But please don't expect me to answer back to you any longer. This thread is about abortion, and that is what is going to be about from now on - atleast on my part. Judge me as you wish. Also, I am sorry if I offended anyone. I let myself become offended at a couple of occasions and I treated the person in the same manner. Okay well I'm just blabbering now so that's all..


Ok, let me say a few things about this post, Leah, if I may.

I'm 27. I drink. I smoke. I don't do drugs anymore, though I used to. I do not gossip, nor do I hang around anyone who does. I got top grades and finished highschool and college at the top of my class. I have a desire to learn and always have. I care about my future.

I had a child when in highschool. I had him because at that time, I didn't believe in abortion for MYSELF. I'd had friends who had them and I never treated them differently because I respected their decisions, but I, myself, couldn't have done it. I've raised him alone since the moment he was born. I also continued to go to highschool and then put myself through college, while working full time just so my son would have someone to look up to. I've screwed up in my life and I am not perfect, but because of my drive and perserverence, I've been the best mother my son could hope for, while at the same time working and going to school so he could also have someone as a role model in his life.

While I was in college, I got pregnant again, through stupid and careless mistakes. I assessed my situation and the situation of the child I already had.

I could not afford to continue school and work and take care of another child with the salary I had. As it was, my time was limited with my son. If I had another to take care of, it would be even less so. Both children would end up with less, financially than my one son already have and both would end up with less of a mother. I made the decision to have an abortion. It was a hard decision, but one I felt I needed to make on the behalf of my child that was already here.

Today, my son is 10. I'm still taking care of him alone. I'm STILL going to school to make a better person out of myself and give him a better person to look up to. I work three jobs just to give him everything I think he should have.

I think I am a good person. I am confident in myself and who I am. My beautiful boy was born 9 weeks earlier at less than 4 lbs because my body was not ready to carry a child at that point. I'm am 27 now. My son is 10 and is just as smart, happy and energetic as any other child, though the doctors told me it could have gone either way, given his premature-ness. My life and that of my boy is what it should be and only got that way because of the hard decisions I've made over the last ten years.

You don't want anyone judging you, so now please tell me, now that you know my life story and that of my child's, Am I a horrible person? Am I a murderer? Am I someone who should be condemned and ridiculed and ostricized?
 

pray4me

Active Member
Never under any circumstances take the life of an innocent child. Before the child is born or after. A human life is a miracle and to treat any life that will grow into a human being like an unwanted disease is just cruel and horrid. Pro life all the way and proud to be.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
So being mobile makes it a human??
Maybe you could list off some supportable, defensible, measurable criteria to differentiate a person from a non-person.

People go to China, India, etc. to adopt kids, because there are not that many in the US...
If you want just one healthy baby, maybe... but you can go on just about any state Child and Family Services web site and see listing after listing for children up for adoption who don't meet that: they're older kids, not babies... or they have behavioural or medical problems... or they're part of a package deal with a set of siblings.

The problem with the law is that it fails to state what a human is
No, it does state what a human is. The legal line between "not a person" and "person" is quite clear. You just don't like where it is, apparently.

I doubt you'll find anyone who thinks that having an abortion at 20 weeks is acceptable unless the circumstances are extenuating.
The ironic thing is that the pro-life side shares quite a bit of the blame for the current situation in the US, where abortion is legal at any stage of pregnancy.

I think that things have devolved into an "armed camp" mentality: any concession is seen as a step toward a total prohibition of abortion, and therefore is fought tooth-and-nail. I think most pro-choice people would consider limits or even prohibitions on late-term abortions as a reasonable compromise, but don't want to have any part of the step-wise prohibition of abortion as a whole.
 

pray4me

Active Member
Ok, let me say a few things about this post, Leah, if I may.

I'm 27. I drink. I smoke. I don't do drugs anymore, though I used to. I do not gossip, nor do I hang around anyone who does. I got top grades and finished highschool and college at the top of my class. I have a desire to learn and always have. I care about my future.

I had a child when in highschool. I had him because at that time, I didn't believe in abortion for MYSELF. I'd had friends who had them and I never treated them differently because I respected their decisions, but I, myself, couldn't have done it. I've raised him alone since the moment he was born. I also continued to go to highschool and then put myself through college, while working full time just so my son would have someone to look up to. I've screwed up in my life and I am not perfect, but because of my drive and perserverence, I've been the best mother my son could hope for, while at the same time working and going to school so he could also have someone as a role model in his life.

While I was in college, I got pregnant again, through stupid and careless mistakes. I assessed my situation and the situation of the child I already had.

I could not afford to continue school and work and take care of another child with the salary I had. As it was, my time was limited with my son. If I had another to take care of, it would be even less so. Both children would end up with less, financially than my one son already have and both would end up with less of a mother. I made the decision to have an abortion. It was a hard decision, but one I felt I needed to make on the behalf of my child that was already here.

Today, my son is 10. I'm still taking care of him alone. I'm STILL going to school to make a better person out of myself and give him a better person to look up to. I work three jobs just to give him everything I think he should have.

I think I am a good person. I am confident in myself and who I am. My beautiful boy was born 9 weeks earlier at less than 4 lbs because my body was not ready to carry a child at that point. I'm am 27 now. My son is 10 and is just as smart, happy and energetic as any other child, though the doctors told me it could have gone either way, given his premature-ness. My life and that of my boy is what it should be and only got that way because of the hard decisions I've made over the last ten years.

You don't want anyone judging you, so now please tell me, now that you know my life story and that of my child's, Am I a horrible person? Am I a murderer? Am I someone who should be condemned and ridiculed and ostricized?

I don't think you're a bad person but I do think you did the wrong thing. Good people do bad things all the time. Just because that baby wasn't something you wanted doesn't mean it wouldn't have been possible for you to take care of both children. I think the fact that your 10 year old son is doing so well proves that anyone who might have suggested back in your teenage years that you get an abortion was wrong. Your baby turned out fine and even though you were a young girl when you had him, it didn't ruin your life. I don't think it would have ruined your life to have given your second baby a chance either.
 

Circle_One

Well-Known Member
I don't think you're a bad person but I do think you did the wrong thing. Good people do bad things all the time. Just because that baby wasn't something you wanted doesn't mean it wouldn't have been possible for you to take care of both children. I think the fact that your 10 year old son is doing so well proves that anyone who might have suggested back in your teenage years that you get an abortion was wrong. Your baby turned out fine and even though you were a young girl when you had him, it didn't ruin your life. I don't think it would have ruined your life to have given your second baby a chance either.

I never said that baby wasn't something I wanted. I didn't have it because I KNEW I COULDN'T take care of both children. It was a difficult decision for me to make, but one I knew I had to.

The point of my post was to explain to you prolifers that things change when you're in that situation. I was a pro-lifer until I was faced with a situation that I knew couldn't be resolved with "Oh, just have it, somehow it'll work out in the end." When you've already got someone to look after, and you're 18, working 3 jobs and going to school to take care of that one you already have, alone, you don't necessarily know what decision you'll make. You say you do now, but until you're actually faced with that decision, NO ONE can tell me they know what answer they'll come up with.
 

Magic Man

Reaper of Conversation
To everyone on this forum:
YES, I am 16 years old. YES, I am a teenager. I think we've established this fact already. "...You're 16 years old..." - yes, I know...

I get the generalizations. I get that most people my age don't care about anything other than MySpace, partying, drinking, and sex. Though it sickens me to somehow be related to them, I can't do anything about what they want to do with their life.

I, am not like most people my age. (I don't care if you don't believe me.) I will never drink, smoke, or do drugs. I do not gossip and I do not hang around anyone that causes drama. I get good grades, I care about my future, and I have a curiosity and a desire to learn. I'm not perfect; I have maturing to do, and I am aware of this.

There's nothing wrong with MySpace, partying, drinking or smoking, except, of course, you're not old enough for the last two. You're a kid. You should act like it sometimes. It's nothing to be ashamed of. We've all been there. We've all been the stupid kid only concerned with partying and other unimportant pursuits. That's what you're supposed to do as a kid. I'm glad you also have a desire to learn and you care about your future, but don't let that get in your way of being a kid. You have plenty of time later to get all serious.

You are well-spoken and intelligent. However, you have a lot to learn, and not because you're 16, but because you're human (meaning we all have a lot to learn). I think the most important thing to learn is that everything's a perspective.
 

pray4me

Active Member
There's nothing wrong with MySpace, partying, drinking or smoking, except, of course, you're not old enough for the last two. You're a kid. You should act like it sometimes. It's nothing to be ashamed of. We've all been there. We've all been the stupid kid only concerned with partying and other unimportant pursuits. That's what you're supposed to do as a kid. I'm glad you also have a desire to learn and you care about your future, but don't let that get in your way of being a kid. You have plenty of time later to get all serious.

You are well-spoken and intelligent. However, you have a lot to learn, and not because you're 16, but because you're human (meaning we all have a lot to learn). I think the most important thing to learn is that everything's a perspective.

There's nothing wrong with someone who doesn't do those things either. Of course everyone has been selfish at times but that doesn't mean they necessarily have to be stupid about it. It's all well and good to say that there's nothing wrong with smoking until you have to live with the consequences it brings. Smoking is dangerous to your health and it's because of people who encourage kids to try it that there's so many smokers in the world. But this really is a different topic for a different board so I'll just leave it at that.
 

McBell

Admiral Obvious
To everyone on this forum:
YES, I am 16 years old. YES, I am a teenager. I think we've established this fact already. "...You're 16 years old..." - yes, I know...

I get the generalizations. I get that most people my age don't care about anything other than MySpace, partying, drinking, and sex. Though it sickens me to somehow be related to them, I can't do anything about what they want to do with their life.
It is called stereotyping.
Something you claim sickens you, but you did not hesitate to stereotype those who have abortions...

(I don't care if you don't believe me.)
This very post I am replying to seems to indicate otherwise.

I will never drink, smoke, or do drugs. I do not gossip and I do not hang around anyone that causes drama. I get good grades, I care about my future, and I have a curiosity and a desire to learn. I'm not perfect; I have maturing to do, and I am aware of this.
I do not recall anyone saying you were stupid.

I think that I am good person. I don't care if people don't agree with that. I am confident in who I am. I am here because I feel strongly about this issue. I am here to debate it and give my opinion. I am not here to start drama or fight with anyone. No, I don't think it's fun. I stand up for myself; I'm not wrong for that, but I don't feel I should have to. This thread has gotten to the point where it's not even about abortion anymore.
Being confident is fine.
At least until it gets in the way of your learning.

If you feel you must judge me for my age, and you can't get that out of your mind without getting to know me and my views first, then so be it. But please don't expect me to answer back to you any longer.
I am not judging based on your age.
Your age is irrelevant other than it explains your lack of experience.
I do not fault people for their lack of experience.
Nor do I expect people to know things they were never taught.

I do, however fault people who refuse to present their sources when flat out asked.
I do fault people who refuse to learn in order to hold onto their preconceived faulty notions.
I do fault people who say one thing then do another.

This thread is about abortion, and that is what is going to be about from now on - atleast on my part. Judge me as you wish. Also, I am sorry if I offended anyone. I let myself become offended at a couple of occasions and I treated the person in the same manner. Okay well I'm just blabbering now so that's all..
You are only human.
 

Magic Man

Reaper of Conversation
There's nothing wrong with someone who doesn't do those things either. Of course everyone has been selfish at times but that doesn't mean they necessarily have to be stupid about it. It's all well and good to say that there's nothing wrong with smoking until you have to live with the consequences it brings. Smoking is dangerous to your health and it's because of people who encourage kids to try it that there's so many smokers in the world. But this really is a different topic for a different board so I'll just leave it at that.

Yes, obviously smoking can have very bad consequences. I know, considering I smoked for 14 years of my life. What I meant was that doing those stupid things that kids do is not necessarily a bad thing. Obviously, there's nothing wrong with someone who doesn't do them either. I just don't think Leah should specifically not do them because she doesn't want to be childish like everyone thinks 16-year-olds are. That's what youth is for, especially since she seems plenty intelligent enough to know when to stop.
 

Willamena

Just me
Premium Member
No, it does state what a human is. The legal line between "not a person" and "person" is quite clear. You just don't like where it is, apparently.
What is it?

I disagree. I think the law defines "who is a person", not what a person is.
Edit: and only for its purposes.
 
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leahrachelle

Active Member
Sometimes I dont think you are even real.And Im serioulsy not making fun of you.

I think you are referring to a "no ressucitation" order.

But there is a REASON families are allowed to decide in abscnece of the form.The reason is people use their brains and consider many things.

For instance how is a one year old who is brain dead ..only alive on life support to have ever signed that "paper thingy"?

Love

Dallas
You should know what my response is going to be to this
 

leahrachelle

Active Member
Well the growing zygote can do what it wants then with its own body.But when it AFFECTS me it has to folllow the rules.Yes it has its own body but it affects me.So no.I dont feel a zygote has the right to do what it wants.Because it is affecting me.It doesnt have the right to do what it wants with me.

Thats "pretty much" what the law says.

Love

Dallas
Honestly, thats what 9 people decided the law said.
 

leahrachelle

Active Member
Yes my dear, and YOU would be the one who didn't. Because if you did, you would respect ALL life and not just those you deem worthy to respect. Which means, you would also respect the life of the mother
Oh because 9 months of inconvenience is harsher than killing?
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Honestly, thats what 9 people decided the law said.
Is there any particular reason for this apparent contempt for the judicial process?

Roe v. Wade aside, what do you make of the fact that a fetus has never been considered a person for the purposes of the law in any regard? For example, at any time since the fourteenth amendment was passed, have fetuses been counted in "the whole number of persons in each State" referred to in it? How exactly did "9 people decide" to do things that way?
 
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