Should abortion be permitted?

Really? And exactly what punishment should we impose on young women who become pregnant without any means of caring for a child, without the life experience to be a good parent and who make a responsible choice to end their pregnancy?

"I believe that women who abort their babies, well, they should be put in jail. It is a human life, that you are killing." OK- so we're going to need a swat team of trained professionals to be the Uterus Police. Suppose a woman, who knows she is pregnant goes out a snowy day in shoes with a little wedge heel. She slips & fails and has a miscarriage. Should she be charged with manslaughter? It wouldn't be murder 1, not premeditated but really she should have known better than to wear heels, right??? "You are committing murder." No. You are having a medical procedure that's no one else's business. "They should go to jail just like all the murderers that are in this world." Because 14 year old women who make poor choices are a threat to the rest of society? "Well there are other choices besides killing a baby, adoption. There are alot of families that can't have children and want them and would love to adopt." There are already 100s of thousands of babies & children in foster homes & orphanages around the world. Why exactly aren't these families desperate to adopt running to claim these children without families? "That unborn baby has much right as the mother does." People who do not exist yet do not have equal rights to people who do. A collection of un-viable cells does not & should not have more "rights" than a woman has to her own body.

I believe that women who abort their babies, well, they should be put in jail. It is a human life, that you are killing. You are committing murder. They should go to jail just like all the murderers that are in this world. And just because they did not want the baby, no matter for what reason. Rape, they're scared that their parents will find out, or they aren't ready for a baby. Well there are other choices besides killing a baby, adoption. There are alot of families that can't have children and want them and would love to adopt. I'm sorry, I can't believe how people will totally be against people killing one another, but when a mother kills her unborn baby they think its ok. Seriously its not ok. That unborn baby has much right as the mother does.

I responded to this discussion mainly because as a Christian that's what we believe in and NOT persuade anybody here to believe the same as what we Christians believe. We do have our own opinion on the matter. And our opinion will show us what our background and belief is. Let's just respect each other's viewpoint since whatever we believe in, all people deserves to be respected.

Show me chapter and verse that states definitively that life begins at conception or that ending a pregnancy - specifically that - is considered a sin. Then I will accept that as a Christian I should take the same view as you do. Until then, I defend the right to choice.

Do you think that "stupidity" is a good characteristic for a mother to have?

I totally agree with you, on the if it is fatal to mother's life, that should be the only reason for abortion. Sorry your mistake, well should have made some better choices. Got raped, well,don't punish the child for being raped.

not everyone is suited to parenthood. I know some people who wish that they had never been born. Maybe in some situations it is less cruel to put an end to it quickly. For yourself you would choose to bear the child. I would too. But taking the choice away seems wrong.

that is a good description "not all parents are suited to parenthood" like it

It shouldn't matter if they are suited for parenthood or not. There are alot of women who are not choose to still have the baby and even give it up for adoption. There are always other ways of handling things instead of killing an unwanted baby besides it threatening the mother's life.

It doesn't even look like a person hardly when they allow an abortion, you know. This discussion seems quite one-sided and judgemental. It's not all black and white, people, and we need to understand that many people who make this choice agonize over it for ages before the make the final decision. They are ususally in situations that are tough to begin with and made more complicated by a pregnancy they do not desire. Would you force a victim of incest to bear a child who is his mother's sibling or cousin? It's disgusting.

It is not any thing like killing your brother or sister, it's an ending a pregnancy before viability- before 'life'.

Why would you trust a doctor over the mother? Is she any less invested in her own body and soul? I know lots of Christian people who only remember it on Sunday. I'm not saying you are one, but saying that someone believes in Christ and saying that someone lives by his teachings and entirely different things. It's a personal choice within one's own life. Maybe abortion should be like that too -- a personal choice. Can you quote chapter and verse that refers specifically to abortion? I know the "thou shalt not kill" but in the bible is there a verse that says that conception is the beginning of life? Where does it say that?

I totally agree with you on this.

the latest a child may be aborted is 12 weeks. It is not even as big as a peanut at that time, and looks very much the same as a chick inside a chickens egg or as a fetal pig. There are reasons that 12 weeks was chosen as the cut-off date. Nevertheless, a child born at less than 28 weeks of gestation, even if put into an incubator, will most likely not survive outside the mother. At 12 weeks it doesn't have a functioning brain, only cells that may turn into the brain if allowed to develop normally. Normal development goes wrong all the time, but the way. Check the statistics on miscarriages and you will see what I mean. Before 12 weeks it is not a baby, it is a fetus. It is a jumble of cells. There is no suffering. The only suffering is the mother who doesn't want to have it inside her. People are so judgemental in this discussion....

I am not asleep, I do not need to wake up. A termination is not murder. A pregnancy is not a life. All people should have the right to decide what happens to & within their bodies.

I said that they are irresponcible when they DONT use protection....I know accidents happen....

a big sin? as opposed to a small sin? like what? stealing. coveting your neighbours wife or belongings? Adultery, then. Do you always honour your father and mother? If you don't, is that any bigger a sin than any of the others? It is not a baby, pink and wriggling, cooing and gazing up at you with big baby eyes. It is a fetus when it is aborted. Not a baby. It's horrible to presume that you can make decisions for another person's life which you are not living. The bible says, "do not judge, lest ye be judged" The bible is a gift from God as well. Remember that one.

Abortion is only permitted during the first trimester. Beyond that there has to be a medical reason. The second trimester there has to be a threat to the mother's health. The third trimester there has to be a threat to the mother's life. So there are restrictions, perhaps not as many as you want, but there are some. I believe that rape can count as a threat to the mother's health.

"The baby has a right to live. The child should not be punished, because of mistakes that were made or being raped." An early pregnancy is not a child or baby. If a pregnancy hasn't reached a point of viability than it's no more a 'baby' than sprouted seed is a flower.

The baby has a right to live. The child should not be punished, because of mistakes that were made or being raped.

Hear Hear!