What should the punishment be for having an abortion?

I don't think there should be a punishment. a woman should always be able to make choices regarding her own body, and while a small minority use abortion instead of contraception, the majority of women who choose to have one, do so after a great deal of agonising. it's not a choice taken lightly.

I am pro choice as well. My opinion is that if it would be outlawed to perform abortions, punishment and fine should be on the doctor who illegally performs these operations. However, if it is being done for health reasons and can be proven, then I believe that no one should be punished.

there shouldnt be a punishment at all..Abortion is NOT illegal (well not where I'm from or currently live)...and even if it were, I'd still have had my abortion and shouldnt have been punished for it..Nobody has the right to force me, my husband or my children into a more devastating situation then what we were already in.... Once again, Abortion is NOT a black and white issue like so many Pro Lifers would like to believe....Abortions are NOT done just becuase of "rape" OR an "oops"...there are numerous reasons and valid ones at that, in between..why should there be a punishment ya know...

I think that sometimes having an abortion itself is enought punishment for a woman. She has to live with that decision for the rest of her life.

I am one individual who is against abortion, however, I do not see the point of making it illegal as there are literally legitimate issues that warrants an abortion. I felt that moderation would be the best word for this and I feel that no amount and degree of punishment will influence the wayward, weak hearted and moral failures of some individuals. So, I think they will have to answer to their own conscience and higher calling. I heard that in Japan if one aborts, the couple will need to give the foetus a proper burial. In a sense, I have mixed feelings here as there are some legitimate abortions like life threatening pregnancies and pregnancies resulting from rapes. So there again, I felt that the individual in question is already "punished" and / or traumatised to a great extent for the additional punishment from the legal penal code.

People should be rewarded for not wasting any more of the earths resources by overproducing children we can't support either financially or environmentally... Hooray for china and their one kid per woman policy.

When abortion becomes illegal, I think that it should be considered as high as murder. I do still believe that there are exceptions, of course. But for the women out there that decide use abortion as birth control, then it should be punishable. Doctors as well. Not sure if they should be equal in punishment.

I am pro choice, I feel that a woman should be capable to make this decision. But I do believe there need to be some stricter guidelines in place. The amount of time that a woman can get an abortion should be lowered. And if a woman is constantly have abortions than something defiently needs to be done.

Well, if some idiots did manage to make it illegal to prevent another being from using your body I would want a few things to happen. 1) EVERY adult MUST give blood every 4 months. 2) EVERY adult human MUST be put on the the organ and bone marrow donor list. They will have NO choice as to whether their body parts are used by someone else. Anyone that does not adhere to this, any doctor that does not force someone to go through this will receive the exact same punishment as a woman having an abortion or a doctor performing an abortion.

Abortion is killing a child and should be treated as such. All persons involved should be punished. Unfortunately, the worst punishment a woman may endure for having an abortion is psychological and moral rather than criminal.

That is a tough question. If the mothers life was at risk, there should not be punishment. If sonograms showed that the baby has a horrible, un-operable defect, and the parents choose to abort, there should not be punishment. If the mother was raped and can not bear to raise or give away the child, there should be no punishment. If the mother is CONSTANTLY getting pregnant AND getting abortions.. there should be punishment AND mental health evaluation. If it is a one time thing... the guilt should be punishment enough. The choice is between the woman and her god. I am pro-life/pro choice.. kind of a waffley road to walk.. but thats how I feel.

First of all, state should declare that abortion is illegal. Based on this rule, state should introduce a law that will make the practice of abortion could be punishable. In this regards, law-enforcement will be performed without discrimination. All those -- wife, husband, girlfriend and her lover and doctor, who get involved in abortion should get hard punishment This is the principle of equal-justice.

wow first off way brave for attempting this topic lol. Although I feel in certain cases abortion should be legal such as rape, incest ect. I think people use it too much as a form of birth control. However I think everyone should be equally responsible. I also noticed that you did not mention the father of the aborted child. I think if we are talking on punishment terms they should be blamed as well. If we were speaking on fair terms of course it is as much there fault as the womans. However I have no idea what the punishment should be.

In our country, abortion is not accepted or it is illegal since you are killing an innocent child so for me, if there will be a punishment for abortion then I think the greater punishment would go to a woman if she is the ONE who really decide to abort the baby. It could be years or so but also, the accomplice should deserve lesser years for participating on that action.

Honestly I do not believe there should ever be a punishment for having an abortion. First and foremost it is not an easy decision to make, your body suffers from physical and emotional turmoil. I am very pro-choice and if I sound like I'm yelling I apologize. I strongly feel that if a woman is going to bring a child into a horrible environment she shouldn't. I am having a hard time imagining a punishment but want to answer your question. IF it's on the doctor than they won't do it and we will be back to coat hangers. I have to say than that it should be on the woman in hopes of encouraging birth control use more reliably. I cannot think of a proper punishment though, maybe a week or two in jail. Just enough for them to realize that they "made a mistake" but not enough to destroy their life.

I don't think there are that many people who would like abortion to be totally illegal, relatively speaking. The majority of people think it should be legal, safe and rare, which is also my own opinion. In answer to your question, there should never be any punishment for having an abortion! If you're referring to late term abortion, that's a whole different topic. I'm against that with the exception of the life and/or HEALTH of the mother or if the baby would have no real quality of life, such as being in a permanent vegetative state. Annie

I think that any punishment should be left to the Creator i.e., God. The after effects emotionally for women who have had abortions is punishment enough. Although I am pro life, I think that making abortion illegal would force many to go back to using coat hangers in dark alleys. There certainly is no easy answer to the issue.

I think the abortion itself is punishment enough...People don't realize the emotional toll an abortion will take on a person. Most of the time women get abortions because they're usually cornered and feel that they have no other option. After the abortion, they have to deal with the fact knowing they killed their own child and they think about the what if's. If abortion is illegal then those women will just find more dangerous, unsafe ways to abort themselves because a doctor is unavailble. If anything, the doctor should be punished more because he should not have done the procedure in the first place, and direct her to other options like adoption.

The punishment should only be for the woman because, they're the one who decide or the one who made the choice to have an abortion and not the doctor. And the punishment should be.. uhm? she should die too? or go to jail.

Abortion is murder, period. I don't think we can ever try to go around the bush and say it's not. Let's call spade a spade and cut the crap. It is murder and it must be meted with the stiffest punishment ever. It's a kid in there. How can we be blind in saying it is not worthy of seeing the world. We are not the judge of the lives that are in store for them, are we? At least for countries who still chooses to judge correctly and stipulates that abortion is illegal, not to mention strictly immoral, those who may be found guilty of committing abortion should land in jail for the rest of their lives. And all accomplice my suffer in a lesser degree depending on their role. If in certain cases these mothers or fathers still have children to take care but has to land in jail for committing abortion, then the government must ensure that their children are well provided and are still taken good care of despite their parents serving their life sentence for committing murder. Murderers, frustrated killers and those who commit sorts of homicide suffer the same. Why can't abortionists.