Why is abortion such a personal issue for most women?
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Anonymous
+1. I would be fine with anything happening to or involving me me that I don't know about and don't have to deal with, so I can't think of a scenario in which it makes logical sense to say I would not be okay with it. Of course, I've also been pretty significantly depressed for about the past decade and would want to not be alive except for the fact that I have a family depending on me, so I suppose my thoughts could be a bit skewed. |
Anonymous
We killed our first child, if that is how you want to term it. It was not a decision taken lightly. We had to do multiple IVFs to get pregnant. The baby had heart defects, spine defects, organ issues, and brain defects. She may not have made it full term, if she did she Li kely would have died in one of the cascading surgeries that would have had to commence immediately. If she somehow made it through the surgeries she would never walk, likely would not have had any cognitive abilities or quality of life. It is a brutal, depressing, expressive (not covered) process, but we were so fortunate to have the choice. There is still a huge stigma associated with it and this ignorant "any abortion is murder" attitude makes sure the stigma lingers on. |
Anonymous
I have no issue with the death penalty. |
Anonymous
I believe it's a missed abortion or a partial abortion. Mine was the latter. I cringed when a be OB looked at my records and asked me about my "abortion". The term is so emotionally loaded and even though I miscarried and was devastated I felt shame from that word. |
Anonymous
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To answer the thread topic completely off the top of my head without having read previous posts, since the title specifically asked why it's a personal issue for individuals:
(1) I think that I personally would be highly unlikely to choose to have an abortion, but the idea of the government telling anyone what medical procedures they can or cannot have, or telling anyone what they must do with their own body, is chilling to me. I do not believe that a fetus growing inside of someone is "a human life" until the fetus reaches the point in its development at which it would be viable with medical assistance. Until that point, it is a growth inside of a human body (parasite has too negative & loaded a connotation for me to generally use it here, but by definition it seems accurate). This is the same reason I am in favor of legalizing the consumption of any/all drugs by adults -- something shouldn't be a crime unless harm is done to someone else the rights of another entity, and I want the government away from people's bodies. (2) This country doesn't have enough of a social safety net for me to believe that "pro life" people who are against abortion are truly "pro life" for the babies that will be brought into this world by a parent who didn't want them for whatever reason and might or might not be capable of taking care of them. Until we fix the adoption process, reform foster care, drastically reduce the number of children living in poverty, support parents who need to balance working to earn an income and caring for their child by making *quality* daycare affordable and universally available, and have much more effective preventions against child abuse and domestic abuse, I don't think anyone has any right to be forcing someone to bring a kid into this world if the kid won't be loved & cared for. Too many kids who are already born know what that's like all too well, and the last thing I think anyone needs is more people brought into such an existence. (3) I can easily imagine myself, personally, being a victim of a certain crime and the result being an unwanted pregnancy I did not consent to that is a constant reminder of a traumatic experience and that continually puts my health at risk. If abortions are made illegal except for "cases of r*pe or inc*st", as I have heard proposed -- first, that would probably require the victim to report & prove the crime (not a standard I consider acceptable), and second, I don't have much confidence such an exception would last long. |
Anonymous
Yes. Society shames women who get pregnant and are not married. Not so much as they did 20+ years ago. I was the child of an unwed mother and I felt shame because other people made me feel that way. Now I don't care and just see men who abandon women as losers. When I was in college many women had abortions because that was the more socially acceptable thing to do. At my private college you would rarely see a pregnant woman. That is because women are shamed and brainwashed to believe they are just getting rid of body tissue and not a baby. Sad that being pregnant is embarrassing for women. |
Anonymous
Hilarious! Just like reps against cheering to ban abortion and at the same time de-funding CHIP for those less fortunate babies they care about. And taking birth control coverage (cheap abort prevention, you know) out of ACA. Hypocrits 
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Anonymous
So what? Is is my choice. I'll pay for my sins when it's time. If you don't like it - adopt that baby or STFU |
Anonymous
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Accidents happen. And if you already have all the children you can (for financial, mental health, quality of life reasons) then it's your body and your life and you should get to choose.
Personally, I became pregnant when I had an IUD (used one since I was 18), a 7 yo, 4 yo, and 6 month old baby. We had our family and had agonized over whether to go for 3, never mind 4. I was a 37 year old professional woman who had been married for 10 years and had a stable income and relationship. No extreme circumstances. We did not feel we could manage another child. I had an abortion. I am thankful I had that choice about my body, my family, my life. I do not regret it 3 years later and never have done. I 100% wish I never got pregnant. Of course. But I did. |
Anonymous
+1 And it's the anti-choice politicians' obsession with birth control that gives away the lie that abortion has anything to do with "babies." |
Anonymous
You are so classy. You're the reason the women's march was so well respected.
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Anonymous
When did I even pretend to be classy? |
Anonymous
Do you have any data on the prevalence of "frivolous abortions" according to your definition? You sound incredibly ignorant. OP, do you realize that 30%+ of women have an abortion and 60% of them are already mothers? Why do you lack imagination on the numerous scenarios in which a woman may need an abortion? Why do you think it's your business what other women do? As PP said, "pro-lifers" stop caring about life once it's born. They are against giving mothers and their children support of any kind once that child is born. If you want to force a teen to have a baby, where is the free daycare so she can finish school? Where is employment support? The housing and other support so they can leave abuse spouses or care for a severely disabled child? Where??? They don't even want mothers to have affordable maternity care. It's such a conflict with their generally christian culture that it's shocking. |
Anonymous
+1million. It's about controlling women. And women who buy into it are the WORST. |
Anonymous
From my perspective, the women who are "short-sighted" are the women who have babies when they have absolutely no idea how to or the means to take care of them. I've seen it happen in my own family and it's horrible. |