wow.. where did you hear the story?

I'm sorry, i havent been here in a while. IS this a reason for abortion, i just cant tell and wanted a little clarity.

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"Your old road is Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
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"There's a battle outside
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It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

-Bob Dylan, greatest singer/songwriter ever to live.

It doesn't really matter whether that is a true story or not. That is life, the cycle of life. Unfair things happen in life. Bad things happen in life. Making a decision to abort a foetus should be based on a number of factors.

We did not have any of the screening tests for Downs in my first trimester because we thought we would abort if the baby had it, we had them so that we could try to adequately prepare ourselves for what we were in for after our baby was born if she DID have it. We had the ultrasound and the blood tests, which were fortunately all clear. If they weren't, it would have been suggested to us that we have an amniocentesis to be 100% positive. We would have refused. The risk of miscarriage is far too high with amnios.

BUT that does not mean that I would judge someone who did decide to abort if their baby was Downs. I wouldn't agree with it, but you can't judge anybody's situation until you have walked in their shoes for a bit.

We would love and nurture our child just as much if she were disabled - I guess we don't know yet, she still could be, in other ways. The possibility of a risk of disability and any of the myriad consequences of that that cannot be foreseen is not a good enough reason to abort. Unseen future events are not always bad, we don't know - that's the point. Why take the risk?

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We've got rules and maps and guns in our backs, but we still can't just behave ourselves. Even if to save our own lives, we are a brutal kind. The Shins

Law & Order SVU (a rerun), the episode was on last week.

But anyway, that is a problem. And this may sound morbid, but it is not intended to be. In nature, natural selection would have taken care of that, but we have almost completely removed natural selection from humanity in the developed world.

Note: This is not an argument for or against abortion.

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Someone hijacked my sig again.

True, but then as I suggested you are taking the conservative approach and not at all considering the welfare of the mother. Can the mother emotionally and physically endure the hardship that is motherhood? Is she obliged to? And if so, why by you?

A secondary figure often overlooked in this argument is the father. Does he feel emotionally ready for fatherhood? Can he provide the attention he wishes to at this point in time?

There are two other people we must always think of when ascertaining whether abortion should be legalized. To do otherwise is simply seeing the story in black and white ink.

I think it was the Guardian newspaper in the late 80s.

The female downs teen was made a ward of court because of the way she became pregnant, her relative wanted her to be aborted, she then had a guardian ad litem appointed to look after her best interests ( she was 19yrs with a very low mental age).

The judge ruled for the relatives, he gave a number of reasons, among others, that neither the mother to be, our the father to be, had any ability to comprehend what was happening, had no capability to look after the child, that she would be further damaged by the pregnancy and birth, that she or the father could not make a qualified decision as to giving consent to adoption ect
this article is very interesting from the point of view of southern Irelands abortion laws and Human Rights http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/20...health.comment

if the sex was consensual then the two involved should take responsibility for the consequence of their action. if its not,its unfortunate but you still shouldnt take a chance with a life.

This is the view of an outsider. And in a perfect world, yes this would be the case. However, when faced with a situation like this you'd really wish there was legislation in place that would support you. It's a life changing experience and all for an organism that probably can't tell you what it thinks or feels.

As I said, it is the lesser of the two evils.

And then you have the option to adopt out.

Not only am I adopted, but I was, at one point that young kid who got a girl pregnant at a young age. It was tough, but she is a beautiful young woman now.

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Someone hijacked my sig again.

I don't understand the rape exception. The child is innocent of the irresponsibility of the parents. Likewise, the child is innocent of the rape. Why kill the baby for someone else’s crimes? I'm sure its a horrible experience for the mother, but you are comparing a horrible experience for the mother to the right to life of the child. Perhaps it wouldn't be so horrible if the mother understood that child had nothing to do with her being raped and understands that this child is as much a victim as she is.

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True knowledge exists in being aware of what you don't know.