Hi all I'm new around here so I'll start by giving a quick summary of who I am. I am a 30 year old male registered Republican. Raised Roman Catholic but I'm not religious at all. If you ask me if there's an afterlife I'll tell you I don't know. If you ask me if Jesus was the son of God I'll say probably not. I only mention this to give people an idea of who they're talking to. Ive been reading different political forums on and off for years and have seen every twist and turn this debate takes. First of all, I do believe conception is the start of a new human being's life. True, they have not yet developed sentience, but that is not because they aren't human, but because they are at the beginning stages of their life. A zygote has already formed a unique set of DNA and has begun cell division. The organism's growth will be a continuum until it achieves adulthood and finally death. At no point in that development did the organism swap species, or whatever absurd comparison you wish to make. (Ive seen a human zygote compared to trees, finger nails, skin cells, cysts, and frankly I cant think of a more idiotic way to approach this topic.) I believe women should have the ability to choose, but that choice should be whether or not to have sex, which is the act of reproduction. Once you choose to engage in this risky behavior, you have to learn to live with the consequences. However, since my argument is based on choice, I must concede that in the instance of rape a woman was never given a choice in the matter. I can not conceive of a way to legislate an exception for rape victims. How do they prove they were raped? ect. I also would like an exception for cases in which the mother's health is in clear and present danger. Then you get into, who decides this and when, how, ect. It becomes clear to me that in the end abortion should be legal, however it should be frowned upon and viewed as a last resort. People should be better educated, have easy access to contraception, and parents should get more involved with their children's lives. The thing that bothers me most about this debate is how people try to dehumanize a zygote or fetus because it is young. A zygote has not been given a chance that you or I had to be able to get here and speak up for itself. That doesn't make it any less unique, and that doesn't change the fact that a unique pregnancy has been terminated, and that person that was lost will never get a chance to make anything of him or herself.
If a zygote cannot develop emotional attachments, feel pain, etc. until the third trimester, then killing it is immoral because . . . ?
Your opinion is unrealistic. If a woman never wants children, why should she bother getting married? She cannot, after all, consummate the marriage, and should never have a boyfriend to engage in sexual relations in. Do you know where you find the women you describe? In a nunnery.
It's a stage of development. What you're saying is so since it's very very young, it should not have any rights we give to all other humans. That is an arbitrary line you're drawing. It's the same human organism from zygote to fully grown adult, these qualities you search for does not change that. All you're doing is killing it before it's had the time it needs to develop those qualities, so you should assign it the same value that it would have after those qualities develop.
The problem with that is, you'd be assigning them to something that occupies the body of someone who already has those values. They can't both have them.
So you're saying if it's wrong to get an abortion, and a woman doesn't want children, she should never get married or have a boyfriend? That is a bit absurd. There are many other options... Double up or triple up on birth control, the pill and a condom combined when used properly are extremely effective. If you seriously never want children, that can be taken care of via surgery.
Why not? You realize evolution has placed young human life inside the mother to protect the organism right? This argument runs counter to the way nature has set up the reproductive process.
That's only of you believe that once a woman becomes pregnant, she should lose all her rights and just become a vessel.
This is an absurd argument. If my wife wants to get an abortion, it would be every bit my child as it would be hers in the line of fire. Also, saying that is like saying someone who is not a soldier can never have an opinion on the war. Total bull.
Wrong, I dont believe abortion should be illegal. I do however think it is wrong to willingly engage in the act of reproduction, create a new human life, then kill it due to inconvenience.
In which case, I would expect that you'd never have an abortion. That doesn't mean you can decide for other people.
The minute governments involved themselves in abortion, women, and the baby, became the property of the government.
Do you believe that a poor woman who does not have access to good prenatal care who miscarries in the 5th month should be charged with manslaughter? When you have the ability to become pregnant then I will support your right to choose. Til then I will support hers.
We do not give rights to all other humans. We give rights only to humans with mind, braindead but biologically alive humans are declared legally dead and dismantled for organs. And we also give some rights to animals with minds. The source of the rights of a person is not the "human" element, but the "mind" element. And fetus before 20 weeks has no mind. The line is no more arbitrary than your line, since what is the source of our rights is an opinion, not a fact. Why? Why should mere future potential be treated the same as actuality? I disagree.
Given enough time, "it" will eventually develop the quality of being dead, but we don't advocate treating any living being as we would treat a corpse simply because the being has the potential of becoming dead. Potential isn't the same as actual. Future possibility is not the same as what is here and now. Laws are not made on what might possibly happen in the future.
Im not trying to decide for other people, otherwise I'd want it to be illegal. I'm trying to help people decide.
Saying I'm not allowed to have an opinion on abortion because I am a man is absurd. Sorry you don't feel that way.
Really. The government grants you a time frame limit of when you can commit murder? Regarding abortion, they grant you the right to kill the unborn, up until a certain trimester. They are the decision makers, not you, for you and the baby. Regarding abortion, they tell you that after a certain trimester, they will not allow you to kill the baby you are carrying. They are the decision makers, not you. I'm just stating facts here.
