Hi guys, this is Frida speaking about abortion. Should it or should it not be legalized? Is womens right to control their bodies more important than to protect all human life? At which point can the fetus be said to be alive, is it at the moment of impregnation or at the moment of delivery? Abortion is a sensitive issue. In Sweden abortion is legal until week 18 in the pregnancy, after that abortions can be made only if the mothers life is at risk. Many people claims that week 18 is a far to generous line, given that we today can safe early borns from week 22. In countries where abortion is not allowed, the number of illegal abortions are big. These illegal operations are often carried out under bad circumstances and could cause permanent damage to the woman. The opinions against abortion often have morally or religious backgrounds. All life I sacred and in some peoples eyes abortion is the same as murder. Many women going through with an abortion also feel very bad emotionally afterwards, sometimes for years. The voices raised for legal abortion often speaks in favor of womens rights. For many women a pregnancy could mean forced marriage and loss of her freedom. In places in the world where women are still considered second class citizens without mush say when it comes to their body and sexuality, legalized abortion could prevent further dependence upon dangerous men.
Is abortion legalized in Italy and do you think it should be? I'm looking forward to hear your opinions!
In response to Frida Hi Frida! “Abortion” is a big problem! Sincerely, I couldn’t answer to all questions about all the numerous factors involved and that you have well developed: ethical, religious and also scientific. However, it is a part of the life, so I think that it requires some regularization. In Italy, abortion has always been a subject of the law, but in different ways: in fact, until 1978 it was been considered even a crime. Finally, on 1978 our parliament approved the law “n. 194”which allows abortion within the first 90 days (12 weeks) of gestation, if its continuation creats a serious risk to mental and physical health of woman. The sense of the law was to encourage procreation and help conscious motherhood and to protect human life since its beginning. Recently Pope Benedict XVI attacked the law "n. 194" by saying: “Abortion is a serious fault. It leaves deep and indelible signs in women. Since in Italy abortion was legalized, a less respect for the human person has been recorded...”. Cardinal Ruini appealed to the scientific progress in the survival of premature children, so he said that it becomes unacceptable to proceed to an abortion at an age of the foetus in which he could live alone. Of course, this is a point of view of the Catholic Church in a seucular state, but several Italian people follow it. A few months ago a political movement proposed a moratorium of abortions, after the result obtained regarding the death penalty. However, an improving of our law is required because of the ignored of lot of the expected purposes. According to statistics by the Italian Ministry of Health, women who use abortion are married, with a good level of education, in good economical conditions to accommodate an other child. The Ministry of Health also estimated a high number of illegal and clandestine abortions. I agree with a comment that today I have read somewhere: all this cannot be explained by exceptional situations and with objectively and insurmountable difficult. Therefore, it needs a study on the causes of the faulty of the law. I think that everywhere, not only in Italy, a good regularization of such complicated issue, like this one, requires that all points of view must be considered. Only by a deep and serious examination of all the aspects can finally assures the right equilibrium between protection and safety of the woman’s life and protection and safety of the unborn child’s life.
Hi everyone, my name is Lovisa and for my essay I have chosen the topic "abortion" since I think it is interesting and people seem to have a lot of opinions about it and if it should be allowed or not. In Sweden abortion is free, and can be done up until the 18th week of pregnancy. Anyone who wants it can have it done, but that does not make it an easy issue or something that everyone agrees about.
A woman should have the right to decide over her own body and what should be done with it, but on the other hand; does the unborn baby not have any rights, and who are we to decide over this life? Abortion and removing a life could maybe be insulting to someone who cannot have a baby of her own and is suffering from this, but when the baby is an "accident" and the woman carrying it does not want it, it is then really fair to give birth to a baby that is unwanted? I have also heard some argue that there are allready so many orphans in the world and that bringing another child, maybe not wanted, is not fair to that child nor to the orphans allready living in the world. Maybe there are also religious as well as society bound reasons to why people see abortion as wrong, and I plan to find this out while working on my essay, as well as answering the qestions I have asked in this presentation.
Hi, I’m Anna Almström And I’m writing about abortions.
Introduction All the women in Sweden have the right to do an abortion until the week 18 in the pregnancy and if there is something wrong with the baby or a medical risk for the mothers health its even possible to do an abortion until week 22. It has been a worldwide discussion about whether abortion should be legal or not. One aspect of this discussion has been about the child’s right to live and some people calls it murder. And some people say that the women have the right to decide over her own body. This essay is about whether or not abortion is a necessity or not in this society. I do believe that abortion should be legal and I’m sure that it’s a decision that the women herself has to take.
Disposition Some of the aspects I will discuss is: ∙ God creates all life ∙ the baby has a right to live ∙ who can tell when a unborn child has feelings ∙ is it possible for all women to raise a child in this society ∙ is abortion important in an equal society or is it a signal that this is not an equal society
It would be really helpful for me to know a bit about how the laws about abortion in Italy works and of course some of the society’s opinions in generally.
in response of Lovisa Hi ! this is Federica from Italy.You have shown some aspects of this issue but I think that you have to consider either the baby either the mother.I really don't think that a woman that does abortion is happy probably she's solving a problem but she creates a wound that will never get healthy.All over her life she will think about this baby :how he/she would have been ;what would have liked; what would have been his/her favourite colour.About this issue we have to consider as victims both the person who are involved
Hi, My name is Marie and I will write my essay about abortions. This matter is frequently discussed around the world and the laws vary a lot. There are countries that allow abortions up until week 18, Sweden being one of them, and others that allows them up until week 12, Italy for instance. But there are also countries that don’t allow abortions at all. I can only imagine the consequences that these women pay. In order to live your life to its fullest you need to be in control of your own life. But when this right is taken from you, how will you manage? Women who aren’t allowed by law to abort their unwanted pregnancies are in worst case scenarios forced to disobey and they sometimes pay horrible consequences as a result of it. The number of illegal abortions expectancy in the world are alarmingly high as well as the number of women that die because of them.
Abortion has been legal in Sweden since 1975 and can be done either medically or surgically depending on how far along the pregnancy is. In a worldly perspective, Sweden is looked upon as very liberal and obviously in favour of free abortions. The government even instated a new law in November 2007, that allows women from other countries to perform abortions in Sweden at their own expenses. This is something that has been highly discussed within, as well as outside the country and the criticism has been pulling in both directions. The discussion is always ongoing and an agreement will probably never be reached.
I agree, abortions should not be generally accepted, after all safety measurements can be found i.e condoms and birth control pills. Conversely; in many countries where abortion is illegal, preventives are more or less too. ( maybe not illegal but break social or religious codes)
The key issue around this topic is sex, and how people view it; either as a reproductive or personal "enjoyment". Once this has been established, the concern about the effects of sex can be discussed; unwanted pregnancy, in this case.
Abortion is,today, a necessary engagement, as sex is more common, equally accepted being exercised by both sexes, and made easier with e.g condoms and sexual awaress. (also due to influence from media, introducing a liberal lifestyle...
oohh...off to work...sorry I hadn't the time to finsih what I started. Hope I could be of any help...
I chose to do an essay about abortion because it seems like it is a subject that many people has something to say about. In Sweden, abortion is legal but is it right? A lot of people see abortion as murder, but when what is being "murdered" is not even a human, can it really be called murder? And how far does a woman's right to decide over her own body go? Another important issue is the number of illegal abortions that is being performed and the consequences of them.
Abortion is legal in several countries and an estimated 50 million abortions are done every year. Out of those are 20 million performed illegally. In some countries, were there's a lack of contraceptives, abortions are very common and used as a contraceptive in itself.*
Abortion brings up a lot of questions. If it would be allowed in every country, would that decrease the number of abortion-related deaths? In those countries were abortion is not allowed, what happens to all the unwanted babies? These are some of the questions that is would like to find an answer to.
Hi! I’m Gerardo from Pisa. You wrote: “I do believe that abortion should be legal and I’m sure that it’s a decision that the woman herself has to take”. I think that when a mother decides on renouncing her child, she designates herself as a judge and states who is worth living or not. But this isn’t our task! Who are we to do this? We can’t decide about something we don’t know at all, such as “Life”. In fact we aren’t able to understand the differences between a mix of ordered chemical elements and a living body but everyone can recognize them (I advise you to watch the anime “Full Metal Alchemist”). I think that we should be only amazed at the “life miracle” that happens and grows in a woman’s womb (I used the word “miracle” to mean a scientifically inexplicable event, without any religious sense). We can’t artificially create life and we shouldn’t arbitrarily destroy it with homicide, suicide, abortion and euthanasia . It’s also true that often women are rapped and children are the result of violence but could this justify their homicide? It isn’t important if it’s the first, the eighteenth or the twenty-second day: in the woman there is something new and we should respect it even if it doesn’t seem human. It is alive!!! We don’t call it child but fetus such as we don’t call a fruit a flower, but is the flower lifeless? I think not! I think that abortion shouldn’t be legal, the laws shouldn’t guarantee medical assisted abortion as long as someone believes in the value of life and its inviolability.
It’s true: there are a lot of safety measurements to avoid a pregnancy but I think that this can be said about those cases in which abortion is a consequence of a superficial and irresponsible approach to sexuality (and not only to it), that involves non only women and that is partly connected with an outlook of life that is the one offered by this society, which persuades us to be allowed to live in a sort of “endless youth”, having full liberty and without taking the responsibility upon ourselves; in this context a pregnancy is considered as the obstacle per excellence, the end of freedom, a cul-de-sac, something that is forever and that forces us to cancel some options from the list of our opportunities. But abortion is not always the consequence of a superficial lifestyle, I give some examples: a baby who will born with serious malformations, risks for mother’s health , a pregnancy as a consequence of violence against a woman. These women need not only a legislation about abortion, but also to be assisted from a medical and psychological point of view. This is a controversial theme and we discuss a lot about the right that women have to decide but not about the one of the foetus to live. I think, at the bottom of my heart and without religious implications, that a child is a child from the moment in which it is conceived, but at the same time I don’t take the liberty to give a judgement because the terrible decision not to receive a baby can have lots of reasons that are not for us to judge but also if abortion wouldn’t be legal, it would exist in any way: rich people could go abroad to have it without risks, poor people would practise it illegally, exposing themselves. In Italy lots of common people and politicians are strongly under Catholic Church’s influence: about this subject I think that often the fundamental right to express an opinion becomes a strong interference with home politics and also with inmost life of each person. Giving a judgement on a so private choice is a lack of respect also because of its dramaticism. It is important to help a woman if he decides to accept her pregnancy, if she decides to have an abortion or if she decides not to bring up her baby after its birth.
Hi everyone, my name is Sara and I have chosen the topic abortion for my essay. Is it right for us women to decide over our own body? The laws about abortions vary a lot around the world. Here in Sweden we think that abortion is an obvious thing. Of course you should decide over your own body, keep the baby or do abortion. But in other countries abortion aren’t allowed. In other words, there you can’t decide over your own body. Is that right? Should some women have the right to decide over their own body and some don’t?
In Sweden all women has the right to abortion until week 18 in the pregnancy. After that it’s only legal when the mothers life is in danger. But to make an abortion isn’t an easy decision. There can be complications on the way. Since 2007 women from other countries are allowed to make an abortion in Sweden as long as they pay for themselves. Sweden has a high number of abortion every year, between 30 000 and 38 000. But the numbers were high even before it become legal.
The opinions for legal abortion is that it’s the women’s right. A woman can be pregnant after a rape or she can be forced to marry someone just because she’s pregnant. Maybe the woman don’t have the possibility in the society to raise a child. The opinions against legal abortion have often religions behind it. In many eyes abortion is the same as murder, despite what act who’s behind the pregnancy. In countries where abortions isn’t allowed, the numbers of illegal operations is big. In case like this, the operations could cause permanent damage to a women just because you do it under bad conditions.
Should abortion be legal or not? Should you force a woman who don’t have money and possibility to raise a child? Should you set a child to the world without love?
In response to Sara Hi Sara! I think that the final 3 questios you wrote are really important and they should be a starting point in a discussion about abortion. I'm Catholic but I don't think that I can force someone else to agree with my idea: according to me, God gave us life and only God can take your life; life is sacred and should be protected but who am I to force someone to share my opinion about God and life? I think that it's very difficult for a woman to have an abortion: she thinks about her life and her baby's life and I don't think that it's an easy decision to make. There are also social and economic reasons behind this choice: if a woman or a couple don't have enough money, a work, a house, how they can set a child to the world? sometimes women have been raped or they were forced to be married and that baby would remind them all their life of the violence they were subject to. every woman has the right to make her own decision, free of prejudices. Sincerely I can't understand how men speak about abortion with such an ease: how they can understand, or only imagine, what a woman feels in that moment? last but not least: I think that it's very important not to consider abortion as a contraceptive (for contraception there are a lot of other choices but abortion is a difficult decision to make and we can't consider it as a preventive measure).
Am I way off here, but many of you write that "in Sweden all women hav the right to an abortion until the 18th week..". Perhaps it has changed but earlier it was until the 12th week than anyone could have an abortion without question. If there is a medical problem or other special situations (like rape) you can, after several meetings with doctors and psychologists, have an abortion until the 18th week. but as I said, this was a few years ago. just wanted to know when this changed.
Gerardo: I am a garderner and sometimes you do have to remove cuttings from the mother plant for it to live, that does not make one a murderer. Besides, that is silly to compare with humans.
Hi Claudia, thank you for your comments! I realize the Catholic church has a rather strong influence in Italy, if the pope comment on abortion as murder of course it affects people.
Personally I think abortion should be legalized. It's a question of womens rights, which I think is most important. In underdeveloped countries women are far from equal to men and has no say in how their bodies are used. Even in European countries rapes happen at daily basis, sometimes with a pregnancy as result. These women must have the right to abortion.
Also, I think it's highly irresponsible to give birth to a child without being able to take care of it. Single women with no income and no relatives to help her might have very difficult giving her child a safe upbringing. To give the child up for abortion also seem like a far fetched alternative, the child will always live with the fact that it was unwanted from the beginning.
Of course, I also agree that abortion should be avoided as much as possible. We wouldn't have this problem if people didn't get pregnant unintentionally, women and men has equal responsibility for using protection. In Sweden for example, most abortions are made by teenagers that had unprotected sex. I think this is very irresponsible because in Sweden we learn early in schools about the importance of protection, you get condoms for free and you hear very little religious voices raised against condoms or birth control pills. Still, Sweden have one of the highest abort rates in Europe.
I absolutely think abortion should be an alternative, but maybe it has gone a bit to far... I agree that all sides of this issue should be considered before legalizing abortion. Also I think it's most important that protection is available as well as accepted, otherwise this problem will just get bigger and bigger.
Hi everyone! This is Therese and for my essay I have chosen to write about abortion. It is a very well-discussed topic all over the world. The opinions are ending up in two major camps, those who think abortion is murder and those who think it is every woman’s right. In Sweden it is the woman’s right to control her own body, but there are people with an opposite opinion. What I aim to do with this essay is to look at some different organisations within Sweden, both for and against abortion.
There are two aspects of this, the mother’s and the baby’s. I believe both can be seen as victims, the baby that never will be born and the mother who probably will think of this baby all of her life.
Abortion is a very big topic and there is a lot to read and write about, so I chose to write about Sweden. Even that is a big area to cover, so therefore I chose to write about organisations only and no political opinions or the opinions of the people. My goal is to answer these questions: (Maybe there will be more during the process.) -Organisations for/against -The main reasons to why they are for/against -Are all organisations against abortion religious -When does life start -A woman’s right or murder
What I meant with the comparison between flowers and fetus or fruits and children is that each of them is alive. Even if they have a different name, both a flower and a fruit are alive just like both a fetus and a child. I don’t want to compare a pruning with a murder!!!! I only think that Life, especially human one, should be respected in each its form!!!
In response to Paulina
If you don’t want a child, use precautions or don’t have sex! If a woman is raped, I think that she could be on the morning-after pill to prevent a pregnancy. But this is my opinion as a man: maybe I can't understand how a woman could feel in such a situation.
Hi all, my name is Monica and the topic I decided to write about is the one concerning abortion. I will try to show you some different aspects of the matter. With such a controversial subject most people already have an opinion, and my future essay will only scratch on the surface of this difficult dilemma some people have to face.
I will start by telling you that in Sweden women has the legal right to decide if they want to have an abortion, at least until week 18 of the pregnancy. She has this right to have an abortion without revealing any particular reason. Further along in the pregnancy she has to get permission from the Social department of the Swedish government. The right to free abortion has existed since 1974.
The positive issues surrounding free abortion would be that every woman has a choice whether she want to start a family or not, or increase the already existing one. There could be lots of reasons behind such a decision; lack of money or time, illness or being to young to be able to take care of a child. The woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy when the foetus shows severe injuries.
The negative issues would be that the father has no say in the matter, he is totally left out. Abortion could be used as a contraceptive by some. The decision to have an abortion, if the decision is not taken under serious consideration, could end up in regret and feelings of guilt and even lead to depression. When the abortion is done by non-authorised personal illegally, there is a severe health risk to the mother; one consequence could be sterility.
What does the law in Italy say is abortion legal in your country? In Sweden our religion is Protestantism and many Swedish people don’t go to church regularly, and maybe this makes it easier to accept the abortion law. The different religious beliefs in the world make the topic even more difficult to discuss. However discussing abortion leaves no one totally unmoved, or am I wrong?
In response to Frida I agree with you, Frida, when you say that abortion should be legalized. I also think that it should be limited to extreme and exceptional situations. I mean, anybody should not interfere with (because unable to share and understand) the drama that a woman could suffer especially in particular circumstances. I think to a pregnancy that could determinate a serious risk for the safety of the woman’s life and/or the safety of the unborn child’s life. I also think to drama of a woman who was victim of a rape. In these situations, the woman must have the right to make the decision on going on or not with her pregnancy. Further than these extreme situations, I think that we should proceed with high prudence on about allowing the abortion. I believe that the society should provide behavioural patterns that are in accordance with a higher sense of the human life’s value, also by starting from a good education since the childhood. As you said, the statistics show the insufficiency of the sex education in the school. I don’t know why, but I think that, while it assures the right knowledge on the matter, it determines a lowering of the feeling for the importance of some values of the life. In my opinion this could be one of the reasons (but just only one) of the growth of abortions,…but this is also the subject of another forum of our blog!
I have to say that I really don't agree with you. What if you're using contraceptives but you get pregnant anyway, and don't want to have a child? Is it really fair to anyone to give birth to an unwanted baby? I don't think that you being a man should make this any harder for you to understand. True, a man doesn't ever have to do an abortion but, in a way, this makes you in more control over your own body. I think everyone should have the right to decide over ones body, and if you get pregnant and don't want to have a child, you should have the right to end the pregnancy. And I don't think that people are willing to not have sex just because you might get pregnant, especially if you're using contraceptives.
However, I do agree with you that women who got pregnant as a result of a rape should not have to give birth to that baby.
Hey everybody! I'm Susanne and I suppose I've taken a bit of a different road on this subject. But I think in the end I pretty much have the same arguments anyway. Besides this is an introduction that will most likely be rewritten a few times before I'm satisfied. Here is a somewhat close (to how I would like to start off) draft of an introduction to my essay about abortion...:
We live in a male dominated world. A lot of changes have been made since the breakthrough of the Feminists and the Suffragettes, but there is still a lot of work to be done. What alarms me is that most higher posts within organizations against abortion is occupied by men, whom on account of biological reasons will never know what it is like to carry a child for nine months and then having to give birth to it. It will always be easy to have an opinion, when one has not in fact been forced to experience something, but I ask myself if it’s fair. There are no restrictions and no rules concerning men and their check-ups for the prostate, which is in fact a common place for cancer to grow. There are, however, restrictions, caution and rules concerning female check-ups. Even for sterilization. Woman have to be a certain age in order to be allowed to go through with one, as if she is not competent enough to be able to make decisions by herself. And I ask myself, where does it end? If there is a sudden decline in childbirths leaving Sweden with a higher percentage of older and non-working people, compared to the younger generation that have to keep working to support the older population – would a woman be denied a serilization in hope of producing another baby? I certainly hope not because that would mean that we have managed to erase everything our fellow sisters worked and offered their lives for.
My points of argument:
*Unwanted pregnancy v.s. Biblical aspect. Child is a blessing and a gift
*Abortion of a fetus v.s. Murder of a child
*Special circumstances (rape, mothers life at danger, serious medical defects with the child.) vs. Everybody has a right to live no matter under which circumstance one came about or which handicap or whatever you have.
It’s right both a man and a woman should be able to control their own body. But when a woman decides on having an abortion, she doesn’t control only her body: she has a higher responsibility. The fetus that is growing in her womb, is alive in every respect. I don’t want to believe that this woman could take her child’s life only for selfishness (“I don’t want a child” is egoistic, “He’ll grow in very bad conditions” is an alibi). Is it possible that a woman can’t understand the importance that she has in giving birth to a new human creature? Is it possible that a woman wants to break off the miracle of life that only in her womb can “rise”? Is it possible that a woman can’t understand the gift of motherhood and its value? If our mothers had had an abortion, we, whether they wanted us or not, wouldn’t have been here and so we should only thank them. In the future also you (women) will be happy to have taken this decision and you’ll have experience of this thankfulness by your children rather than the remorse and the grudge by never born ones.
Hi, My name is Eva and I am planning to write about Abortion in my essay.
On one hand, one could argue that every woman has the right to decide over her own body and that the decision to do an abortion or not is a choice only she should make. Moreover, abortion can be see as a help in need if the reason for the abortion is that the child is severely disabled or that the mother was raped when she got pregnant. Also if the woman is very young or if the pregnancy is unwanted. Furthermore, to authorise abortions automatically stops the back- street abortions (illegal), which have a higher risk of causing infertility and death to the woman.
On the other hand, one can see the difficulty in defining when ‘life’ actually starts. If one think of the just fertilized egg as a human, one can better understand the radical phrase ‘abortion is murder’ used by anti- abortion groups. The society has responsibility for all individuals, even when it comes to life and death and certainly for those who can not speak for themselves.
In addition to those arguments against abortion there is also the fact that even if a child is born into very poor or other unfavorable conditions it does not automatically mean that the child will not grow up to a respectable and happy citizen.
It has been legal to perform abortions in Sweden since 1975. Any woman can do it up till week 18 of the pregnancy, after that she require permission from the Social Department.
Most Swedish people see abortion as every woman’s right and there is very little, or no, chance that abortion would be decided illegal again. Still abortion is always a topic for … discussions and the fact that it is not legal everywhere, not even in all the EU- countries, makes the debate interesting and important.
Hello My name is Lisa and I have decided to write about Abortion. Abortion is a topic where almost everyone has an opinion. Should it be legalized or not? Radical thoughts about abortion are that it is unetic and that it can be compared with murder of an innocent life. This is a quite common opinion in highly religious parts of the world. Other arguments against abortion are that it’s wrong to use abortion as a contraceptive. Abortion shouldn’t be a to easy thing to do. Another problem is that better test under the pregnancy, like test of the amniotic fluid, has made it possible to abort children’s with disabilities, so called selective abortion. Should it be okay to abort a child who isn’t “perfect” in some people’s eyes even if the child could have a happy life?
On the other hand, every woman has the right to decide over her own body. You can’t force a woman to give birth to a child if she isn’t ready to be a parent and no child should be forced to be born unwanted. There are cases when an abortion must be done due to the mothers’ health. This is called Therapeutic abortion. Should the childes life go before the mothers? It’s also a fact that approximately 68 000 women dies due to abortions in countries where abortion is still illegal. Isn’t it better to legalize abortions so it can be done safely under controlled forms?
In Sweden, abortion under certain circumstances has been legalized since 1938. In 1975 a new law gave all women the right to decide in every situation if she wants to stop the pregnancy until the 18th week. Abortions after the 18th week need an approval from The National Board of Health and Welfare. It would be hard to find people in Sweden that want to illegalize abortion but interesting discussions about selective abortion has recently been brought up to the surface because of the discover of a new way to find out if a child has Downs Syndrome. How are the opinions about abortion in Italy?
It was interesting that you wrote about that you’re Catholic. I agree with you that you can’t force someone to agree with your ideas about life and God. The same for me, I can’t force someone to think the same like me about abortion. I also think that it’s very difficult to try to understand something you never have experienced. Even though I’m a woman, I can’t imagine what I would do if I got pregnant.
I agree with you that an abortion couldn’t be an easy decision to make for a woman. But I really think that an abortion is something a woman should do if she wants to do it. I think that abortion should be legal in every country around the world. But I also think if there is a couple which are going to have a child I think that the man also should have something to say about the abortion.
in responce to Frida: hi Frida, i think that opinion of our country is very similar, and even the low. But in Italy, the influence of the Pope is too big, more than the influence of the Government and more than people thinking. Only a precentuage of people practize Catholicism, in spite of this, Government tryes to follow Church moral, expecially the center-right Government. My opinion is that abortion should be the last choice of a couple, because every life, and potencial life is precious, and for this, we should think how avoid this "opportunity", through the use of contrapcectives.
In respons to Federica "lizzibennet". Thank you for your thoughts, they made me think about different aspects of the topic. Of course abortion is never an easy thing for a mother to consider, I totally agree with you on that. But I think the perspective of both baby and mother could be relevant in this discussion, because when I hear people discussing the pros and cons of abortion, both the rights of the mother and the baby are spoken about. I think an essay discussing only the rights or responsibilities of the mother would not show the whole picture, and since it is going to be a discursive essay, as many arguments from both “sides” as possible are good. Your comment made me think that the father´s perspective also could be considered in the essay, because he is responsible as well.
I understand what you're saying but I still think that every woman should have the right to choose if she wants to give birth to a baby or not. The reason for why our parents wanted us in the first place may be that the felt that they could take care of us and bring us up under good conditions. If you feel that you can't have a baby in your life, for different reasons, you shouldn't have to have one. It should be up to every woman to decide if she wants to have an abortion, society shouldn't have anything to do with that.
In response to Gerardo Hi, I understand your theory about the miracle of life and in a perfect world all children that are born are loved and cared for but sadly this is not possible or a fact. I also believe that we should respect life but the question is whose life? The fact is that its still believed that the woman should be the main caretaker of the child. It is also she who is going to carry and give birth to this child providing it with a healthy nutrition when its in her body she should also rest and not carry anything heavy neither should she be depressed when she is pregnant cause resent studies show that depressed mothers damage their babies health and she is also the one who is supposed to have the money to bye maternity clothes and have clothes diapers bed and everything else ready the day the baby is born. All this because society says so. In a perfect world we should have our children somewhere around 19 and 24 because waiting any longer increases the risk have a baby with different kind of syndromes and handicaps it also increases the risk to have a miscarriage or to risk brain damages to the baby caused by a difficult birth. And in a perfect world we should all meet our soul mates at the age of nineteen and love them without fighting for the rest of our life because that is also good for the child. But I think that this isn’t possible. Its sometimes very easy to blame the mother who has an abortion and say that she doesn’t respect the miracle of life? Maybe it’s her love for the unborn baby that gives her the strength to go through with it. It is, today in Sweden anyway, totally accepted for a man to leave his woman when she gets pregnant and to leave her alone with it. It is also difficult for a single mother to be able to get a job today because the companies believe that she is going to be home with sick children a lot. I don’t know your opinion about contraception’s but I know that some of them makes the uterus to an unfriendly place and reject the fertilized egg. It actually means that you might do an early abortion every month. I just want to say that I’m a mother of three and expecting my fourth and two of my children where premature so I do respect and love the miracle of life but I also respect the women who decides to respect the miracle of their own life and their wish to wait until they have the opportunity to give birth to a baby when they can provide for and give it the love and care every child deserves to have.
Hey! I realised that I had missunderstood the assigment a bit. I have always believed discursive and argumentative to be the same thing. But I've written a new introduction, and here it is:
A SHED OF LIGHT? As human beings, the phenomenon of defining things has always been of great importance. We strive to find some sense of what is commonly accepted, when all we ever wish to receive is an acknowledgement of individuality. We prefer the reference of individual rather than person. But is there, in fact, such a definition for a fusion taking place in a woman’s womb? I wonder. Is it a child, or is it a fetus? Is it murder, or is it simply a procedure called abortion?
My points of argument:
*Unwanted pregnancy vs. Biblical aspect. Child is a blessing and a gift
*Abortion of a fetus vs. Murder of a child/living thing
*Special circumstances (rape, mothers life at danger, serious medical defects with the child.) vs. Everybody has a right to live no matter under which circumstance one came about or which handicap or whatever you have.
I must start off by saying that I totally agree with Anna and Paulina. Depression is very common among pregnant women. And this, even among women who actually planned to get pregnant. It is a huge adjustment - not just for body and soul but the psyche as well. Now, personally, I was lucky. I only went into a deep depression and I had my mother there to help me since my sons dad doesn't live with us. But it could have been worse too. I could have went into a fullblown psychosis, which is obviously deeper and harder to get out of. I do see all of your points, and they are very legitimate, but as Phil Collins once say: you must hear both sides of the story. I think that men sometimes feel a bit left out, just because of the fact that it is the woman who carries the baby for 9 months, but what they don't seem to realise is that it does so much more to a woman that just a big belly and retaining water. Being pregnant, can't ever be explained in words. I hated it, but yet I have a good relationship with my son now - cause I CHOSE to have it, not because I was forced due to legislations. So no matter what way one turnes an arubic cube, the colours aren't ever really gonna fit. Just because of the fact that there is always going to be two sides to every story. The question is, will they be willing to listen to each other... some day? I think it was interesting to get you view of things though :-)
In response to Geraldo I have to say that I don’t agree with you, not one bit. I think that as a woman I have the right to decide if and when I am going to have a child. As a woman I should not have to stay away from sex just because of the fact that I am the one who can be pregnant; that it is in my body another life can grow, and not inside the man, although we both are “guilty” having sex.
There are many examples of cultures where the men can behave as they please, without thinking about what the consequences of their action can be, and the women are the ones who get the blame if an accident occurs. In Sweden we have tried to prevent such behaviour by giving the woman alone the right to decide if she wants to go ahead with a pregnancy or not. The man has nothing to say in this situation. And even if he’s not willing to take part in the parenthood and share the responsibility, he will share the economic responsibility until the child is 18 years old. So hopefully men are aware that having unprotected sex can get really serious consequences for them as well.
Of course I don’t see abortion as something simple. But I see it as a given right to be used when needed.
Finally, don’t you think that the day after pill is a sort of abortion?
In response to Louisa! Hi, very good work with your presentation and you have chosen an intresting topic. It is hard to take stand pro or con, but it is allways the woman who have the final decison.I agree what you wrote here in your blogg " Who are we to decide over their lifes" // Malin
This is, to me, one of the most difficult subjects on the blog (and in life). I feel so ambivalent towards the subject and there are so many reasons discussed here that I agree with both for and against. I don’t really like the argument that a woman should have the right to control her own body because abortion is actually controlling somebody else’s body and deciding that that person doesn’t get to live. I absolutely believe woman should have the right to terminate a pregnancy if she wants to and I think it’s great to live in a country where that’s possible for everyone but at the same time I think it’s a bit scary that abortions can be carried out so late in the pregnancy. Doctors are now able to save children that are prematurely born in nearly the same week as Sweden allows women to terminate their pregnancies. As you can see, I can’t really take a stand on this subject. I believe every woman should have the right to abortion but at the same time value the precious gift that life is…
In response to Frida... I think it is important to take a stand in this issue! Whether you are for or against, it could make a huge difference! When talking of the right for a woman to decide over her body, it's not true to say it's the foetuses life as well, since "life" is what we start after birth. I am, as you might sence, for abortions, but only since I think you should be able to decide over your own life. If a woman is forced to keep a child that is not wanted, can it be guaranteed that the child will get a good life? I think horrible consequences can come from keeping an unwanted baby. Don't you? The number of illegal abortions are high around the world. So, it's quite obvious they will be performed, even if there are laws against them. Isn't it better to legalise them in order to save the womens lives? Well, this discussion can go on and on forever. But as I said before, make sure you decide what side you're supporting, in order to make a difference!
Sorry for the delay of my answers but I was busy in Germany!!!
In response to Paulina
“If you feel that you can't have a baby in your life, for different reasons, you shouldn't have to have one”. For this reason you should pay more attention when you have sex….It’s too easy to have fun, to have sex without taking your own responsibility in the case of a “pregnancy-accident”. Some years ago, in Basilicata (the Italian region where I grew up before coming in Pisa and where my parents nowadays live), when a young girl was pregnant, she whould prefer to get married, even if reluctantly, rather than to have an abortion. And this is not because she was able to bring up children (maybe you don’t know the worst situation of the south Italy at that time) or because there weren’t means to have abortion (parsley teas have been known since Middle Age) or because women had no rights, but because there were more values than today…first of all the value of Life!!! Let’s be clear: nowadays the only dominant value is selfishness…we want everything, we want our cake and eat it too, without any cares!!! This isn’t the world where my parents wanted me to live and where I want to live!
In response to Anna
You’re right when you talk about a perfect world where children should always be loved. I also think that you do everything you can to make your children aware of this ideal love world. But why do we legalize abortion that makes our already imperfect world, more imperfect? Why don’t we fight in order to get nearer the perfect world of love, unselfishness and respect? Why do we accept this moral impoverishment? I don’t want it! Let’s remember that we are the society where we live and everyone can contribute with his own individual choises to make it better. You also talk about depression and runaway men. I agree with everyone who wants to “evirate” this kind of man…now we’re opening another topic that however is related with our discussion. We’re always talking about respect…respect for a child’s life, respect for a woman’s dignity and I can’t call a man someone who leaves his girlfriend or wife when she’s pregnant or when she’s depressed after childbirth.
In response to Susanne
“Being pregnant, can't ever be explained in words”. I envy you! Only you can experience the beauty of a growing life in you womb!! But it seems that this is only a weight for you…It’s true that there are consequences like depression but the women of all times were able to get over it and there weren’t all the comforts that you have. Are you sure that depression isn’t only an alibi? I’m happy for you and your children but do you think that it’s good for them and their future to know that their mother would have killed, if she simply hadn’t wanted them? Do you really want to bring up your children in such a world? I think not.
In response to Emilia
Maybe it’s useless that I repeat things I already said.I think that previous answers can be useful also in response to your post…if it isn’t so you can underline neglected points and I’ll answer… About the last question I advice you to read this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_contraception I write the start Emergency contraception (EC), or emergency postcoital contraception, refers to contraceptive measures that, if taken after sex, may prevent pregnancy. Forms of EC include: --Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs)—sometimes simply referred to as emergency contraceptives (ECs) or the "morning-after pill"—are drugs that act both to prevent ovulation or fertilization and possibly post-fertilization implantation of a blastocyst (embryo). ECPs are DISTINCT from medical abortion methods that act after implantation. --Intrauterine devices (IUDs)—usually used as a primary contraception method, but sometimes used as emergency contraception.
A couple of years ago I heard of a story of a teenage mother (Irish) who jumped off The Cliffs of Moher and threw herself down towards the raging waves of the ocean. She was holding her 3-year-old son while doing so. My Grandmother told me a story of a mother going out on traintracks, holding her little baby. Standing there wainting for the train to run them over. Actress Brooke Shields book "Down came the rain" is a very good explaination of what it can feel like. I think women like this would have/would have had a higher quality of life if they hadn't had that child. If you've ever experienced depression, you wouldn't ask if it could be an alibi? One can't fake depression. Brooke Shields even had to take anti-depressants. So you tell me, if she was faking. If my son ever asks, I tell him the truth. I owe him that much. It is true, if I would have aborted him, he wouldn't be here. But that's the whole point isn't it? I changed my mind, because it was MINE to change. Not the state, not his father, not anybody else around me. It was mine, and mine only. And as for depression, that can take it's gound in many different issues. The actual giving birth part, the lonely part, the changing of a life style part, the feeling of not being ready, the feeling of getting old, you name it, I have it. One kind of feels like a beached whale, and that might have something to do with it too. Being pregnant is weight, and that's a fact. No one can ever run away from that. Just the placenta is about 1kg. And then you have all the water. It not only makes it hard to get around, it hurts like hell. So, you tell me if depression is not a good enough ground. Me, Im just saying everything is never black or white. There's a grey area too.
If you have a look at this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6235557.stm#uk you can get the idea of the abortion laws in European countries. In the most countries – such as Italy – the abortion is available on request with a gestational limit of 12 weeks and with a parental authorisation required if the woman is under 18. In other countries the there are just a bit restrictive laws which allowed the abortion to avoid serious risk to physical or mental health of the woman. Actually this is only a formality and now in Spain the Government planning to liberalise the country's abortion laws. The exception to this scenario are Ireland and North Ireland; in these countries the abortion is illegal except where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother. (see an Irish Government website: www.citizensinformation.ie) In UK, FPA - Family Planning Association - is battling to secure the right to choose in Northern Ireland (In its website there are some videos about stories of real women). The CEO of FPA wrote to Human Rights Committee: “ The reality for Northern Ireland women is that those who choose to terminate a pregnancy have to travel to England or overseas with some 1,343 women travelling to England in 2007. Women from Northern Ireland usually have to find up to £2,000 to access an abortion in England, with having to pay for travel, accommodation and the abortion procedure itself privately.” But travelling to another country is the best decision that a woman who lives in a country where access to safe abortion is restricted can take. Unfortunately many women, for economic or social reasons, resort to illegal or unsafe abortions or contact online medical abortion service. (Have a look at www.womenonweb.org; this website refers you to licensed doctor, who can provide you with a medical abortion after a consultation. A medical abortion requires two medicines that will be delivered to you!) Also the Human Rights Committee sent this concluding observations to Ireland: “The State party should bring its abortion laws into line with the Covenant. It should take measures to help women avoid unwanted pregnancies so that they do not have to resort to illegal or unsafe abortions that could put their lives at risk or to abortions abroad.” (Geneva, 7 – 25 July 2008)
Terminating a pregnancy isn't an easy decision for anyone but it isn’t Government’s decision! I think that if a woman is considering abortion the Government should provide all the support and help she needs. The doctor’s psychological support is very important to be sure she's choosing what's best for her and a safe hospital is necessary to protect her health.
39 comments:
Hi guys, this is Frida speaking about abortion.
Should it or should it not be legalized? Is womens right to control their bodies more important than to protect all human life? At which point can the fetus be said to be alive, is it at the moment of impregnation or at the moment of delivery?
Abortion is a sensitive issue. In Sweden abortion is legal until week 18 in the pregnancy, after that abortions can be made only if the mothers life is at risk. Many people claims that week 18 is a far to generous line, given that we today can safe early borns from week 22.
In countries where abortion is not allowed, the number of illegal abortions are big. These illegal operations are often carried out under bad circumstances and could cause permanent damage to the woman.
The opinions against abortion often have morally or religious backgrounds. All life I sacred and in some peoples eyes abortion is the same as murder. Many women going through with an abortion also feel very bad emotionally afterwards, sometimes for years.
The voices raised for legal abortion often speaks in favor of womens rights. For many women a pregnancy could mean forced marriage and loss of her freedom. In places in the world where women are still considered second class citizens without mush say when it comes to their body and sexuality, legalized abortion could prevent further dependence upon dangerous men.
Is abortion legalized in Italy and do you think it should be? I'm looking forward to hear your opinions!
In response to Frida
Hi Frida!
“Abortion” is a big problem! Sincerely, I couldn’t answer to all questions about all the numerous factors involved and that you have well developed: ethical, religious and also scientific.
However, it is a part of the life, so I think that it requires some regularization.
In Italy, abortion has always been a subject of the law, but in different ways: in fact, until 1978 it was been considered even a crime. Finally, on 1978 our parliament approved the law “n. 194”which allows abortion within the first 90 days (12 weeks) of gestation, if its continuation creats a serious risk to mental and physical health of woman. The sense of the law was to encourage procreation and help conscious motherhood and to protect human life since its beginning.
Recently Pope Benedict XVI attacked the law "n. 194" by saying: “Abortion is a serious fault. It leaves deep and indelible signs in women. Since in Italy abortion was legalized, a less respect for the human person has been recorded...”. Cardinal Ruini appealed to the scientific progress in the survival of premature children, so he said that it becomes unacceptable to proceed to an abortion at an age of the foetus in which he could live alone.
Of course, this is a point of view of the Catholic Church in a seucular state, but several Italian people follow it. A few months ago a political movement proposed a moratorium of abortions, after the result obtained regarding the death penalty.
However, an improving of our law is required because of the ignored of lot of the expected purposes. According to statistics by the Italian Ministry of Health, women who use abortion are married, with a good level of education, in good economical conditions to accommodate an other child. The Ministry of Health also estimated a high number of illegal and clandestine abortions.
I agree with a comment that today I have read somewhere: all this cannot be explained by exceptional situations and with objectively and insurmountable difficult. Therefore, it needs a study on the causes of the faulty of the law.
I think that everywhere, not only in Italy, a good regularization of such complicated issue, like this one, requires that all points of view must be considered. Only by a deep and serious examination of all the aspects can finally assures the right equilibrium between protection and safety of the woman’s life and protection and safety of the unborn child’s life.
Hi everyone, my name is Lovisa and for my essay I have chosen the topic "abortion" since I think it is interesting and people seem to have a lot of opinions about it and if it should be allowed or not. In Sweden abortion is free, and can be done up until the 18th week of pregnancy. Anyone who wants it can have it done, but that does not make it an easy issue or something that everyone agrees about.
A woman should have the right to decide over her own body and what should be done with it, but on the other hand; does the unborn baby not have any rights, and who are we to decide over this life? Abortion and removing a life could maybe be insulting to someone who cannot have a baby of her own and is suffering from this, but when the baby is an "accident" and the woman carrying it does not want it, it is then really fair to give birth to a baby that is unwanted?
I have also heard some argue that there are allready so many orphans in the world and that bringing another child, maybe not wanted, is not fair to that child nor to the orphans allready living in the world.
Maybe there are also religious as well as society bound reasons to why people see abortion as wrong, and I plan to find this out while working on my essay, as well as answering the qestions I have asked in this presentation.
Hi, I’m Anna Almström And I’m writing about abortions.
Introduction
All the women in Sweden have the right to do an abortion until the week 18 in the pregnancy and if there is something wrong with the baby or a medical risk for the mothers health its even possible to do an abortion until week 22. It has been a worldwide discussion about whether abortion should be legal or not. One aspect of this discussion has been about the child’s right to live and some people calls it murder. And some people say that the women have the right to decide over her own body. This essay is about whether or not abortion is a necessity or not in this society. I do believe that abortion should be legal and I’m sure that it’s a decision that the women herself has to take.
Disposition
Some of the aspects I will discuss is:
∙ God creates all life
∙ the baby has a right to live
∙ who can tell when a unborn child has feelings
∙ is it possible for all women to raise a child in this society
∙ is abortion important in an equal society or is it a signal that this is not an equal society
It would be really helpful for me to know a bit about how the laws about abortion in Italy works and of course some of the society’s opinions in generally.
in response of Lovisa
Hi ! this is Federica from Italy.You have shown some aspects of this issue but I think that you have to consider either the baby either the mother.I really don't think that a woman that does abortion is happy probably she's solving a problem but she creates a wound that will never get healthy.All over her life she will think about this baby :how he/she would have been ;what would have liked; what would have been his/her favourite colour.About this issue we have to consider as victims both the person who are involved
Hi,
My name is Marie and I will write my essay about abortions. This matter is frequently discussed around the world and the laws vary a lot. There are countries that allow abortions up until week 18, Sweden being one of them, and others that allows them up until week 12, Italy for instance. But there are also countries that don’t allow abortions at all. I can only imagine the consequences that these women pay. In order to live your life to its fullest you need to be in control of your own life. But when this right is taken from you, how will you manage? Women who aren’t allowed by law to abort their unwanted pregnancies are in worst case scenarios forced to disobey and they sometimes pay horrible consequences as a result of it. The number of illegal abortions expectancy in the world are alarmingly high as well as the number of women that die because of them.
Abortion has been legal in Sweden since 1975 and can be done either medically or surgically depending on how far along the pregnancy is. In a worldly perspective, Sweden is looked upon as very liberal and obviously in favour of free abortions. The government even instated a new law in November
2007, that allows women from other countries to perform abortions in Sweden at their own expenses. This is something that has been highly discussed within, as well as outside the country and the criticism has been pulling in both directions. The discussion is always ongoing and an agreement will probably never be reached.
I agree, abortions should not be generally accepted, after all safety measurements can be found i.e condoms and birth control pills. Conversely; in many countries where abortion is illegal, preventives are more or less too. ( maybe not illegal but break social or religious codes)
The key issue around this topic is sex, and how people view it; either as a reproductive or personal "enjoyment". Once this has been established, the concern about the effects of sex can be discussed; unwanted pregnancy, in this case.
Abortion is,today, a necessary engagement, as sex is more common, equally accepted being exercised by both sexes, and made easier with e.g condoms and sexual awaress. (also due to influence from media, introducing a liberal lifestyle...
oohh...off to work...sorry I hadn't the time to finsih what I started. Hope I could be of any help...
Cheers
Hi everyone,
I chose to do an essay about abortion because it seems like it is a subject that many people has something to say about. In Sweden, abortion is legal but is it right? A lot of people see abortion as murder, but when what is being "murdered" is not even a human, can it really be called murder? And how far does a woman's right to decide over her own body go? Another important issue is the number of illegal abortions that is being performed and the consequences of them.
Abortion is legal in several countries and an estimated 50 million abortions are done every year. Out of those are 20 million performed illegally. In some countries, were there's a lack of contraceptives, abortions are very common and used as a contraceptive in itself.*
Abortion brings up a lot of questions. If it would be allowed in every country, would that decrease the number of abortion-related deaths? In those countries were abortion is not allowed, what happens to all the unwanted babies? These are some of the questions that is would like to find an answer to.
*http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abort
In response to Anna
Hi! I’m Gerardo from Pisa.
You wrote: “I do believe that abortion should be legal and I’m sure that it’s a decision that the woman herself has to take”.
I think that when a mother decides on renouncing her child, she designates herself as a judge and states who is worth living or not. But this isn’t our task! Who are we to do this? We can’t decide about something we don’t know at all, such as “Life”. In fact we aren’t able to understand the differences between a mix of ordered chemical elements and a living body but everyone can recognize them (I advise you to watch the anime “Full Metal Alchemist”). I think that we should be only amazed at the “life miracle” that happens and grows in a woman’s womb (I used the word “miracle” to mean a scientifically inexplicable event, without any religious sense). We can’t artificially create life and we shouldn’t arbitrarily destroy it with homicide, suicide, abortion and euthanasia .
It’s also true that often women are rapped and children are the result of violence but could this justify their homicide? It isn’t important if it’s the first, the eighteenth or the twenty-second day: in the woman there is something new and we should respect it even if it doesn’t seem human. It is alive!!! We don’t call it child but fetus such as we don’t call a fruit a flower, but is the flower lifeless? I think not!
I think that abortion shouldn’t be legal, the laws shouldn’t guarantee medical assisted abortion as long as someone believes in the value of life and its inviolability.
In response to Mika
Hi, I’m Marinella from Italy
It’s true: there are a lot of safety measurements to avoid a pregnancy but I think that this can be said about those cases in which abortion is a consequence of a superficial and irresponsible approach to sexuality (and not only to it), that involves non only women and that is partly connected with an outlook of life that is the one offered by this society, which persuades us to be allowed to live in a sort of “endless youth”, having full liberty and without taking the responsibility upon ourselves; in this context a pregnancy is considered as the obstacle per excellence, the end of freedom, a cul-de-sac, something that is forever and that forces us to cancel some options from the list of our opportunities. But abortion is not always the consequence of a superficial lifestyle, I give some examples: a baby who will born with serious malformations, risks for mother’s health , a pregnancy as a consequence of violence against a woman. These women need not only a legislation about abortion, but also to be assisted from a medical and psychological point of view.
This is a controversial theme and we discuss a lot about the right that women have to decide but not about the one of the foetus to live. I think, at the bottom of my heart and without religious implications, that a child is a child from the moment in which it is conceived, but at the same time I don’t take the liberty to give a judgement because the terrible decision not to receive a baby can have lots of reasons that are not for us to judge but also if abortion wouldn’t be legal, it would exist in any way: rich people could go abroad to have it without risks, poor people would practise it illegally, exposing themselves.
In Italy lots of common people and politicians are strongly under Catholic Church’s influence:
about this subject I think that often the fundamental right to express an opinion becomes a strong interference with home politics and also with inmost life of each person. Giving a judgement on a so private choice is a lack of respect also because of its dramaticism.
It is important to help a woman if he decides to accept her pregnancy, if she decides to have an abortion or if she decides not to bring up her baby after its birth.
Hi everyone, my name is Sara and I have chosen the topic abortion for my essay.
Is it right for us women to decide over our own body?
The laws about abortions vary a lot around the world. Here in Sweden we think that abortion is an obvious thing. Of course you should decide over your own body, keep the baby or do abortion. But in other countries abortion aren’t allowed. In other words, there you can’t decide over your own body. Is that right? Should some women have the right to decide over their own body and some don’t?
In Sweden all women has the right to abortion until week 18 in the pregnancy. After that it’s only legal when the mothers life is in danger. But to make an abortion isn’t an easy decision. There can be complications on the way. Since 2007 women from other countries are allowed to make an abortion in Sweden as long as they pay for themselves. Sweden has a high number of abortion every year, between 30 000 and 38 000. But the numbers were high even before it become legal.
The opinions for legal abortion is that it’s the women’s right. A woman can be pregnant after a rape or she can be forced to marry someone just because she’s pregnant. Maybe the woman don’t have the possibility in the society to raise a child.
The opinions against legal abortion have often religions behind it. In many eyes abortion is the same as murder, despite what act who’s behind the pregnancy. In countries where abortions isn’t allowed, the numbers of illegal operations is big. In case like this, the operations could cause permanent damage to a women just because you do it under bad conditions.
Should abortion be legal or not? Should you force a woman who don’t have money and possibility to raise a child? Should you set a child to the world without love?
In response to Sara
Hi Sara!
I think that the final 3 questios you wrote are really important and they should be a starting point in a discussion about abortion.
I'm Catholic but I don't think that I can force someone else to agree with my idea: according to me, God gave us life and only God can take your life; life is sacred and should be protected but who am I to force someone to share my opinion about God and life?
I think that it's very difficult for a woman to have an abortion: she thinks about her life and her baby's life and I don't think that it's an easy decision to make.
There are also social and economic reasons behind this choice: if a woman or a couple don't have enough money, a work, a house, how they can set a child to the world?
sometimes women have been raped or they were forced to be married and that baby would remind them all their life of the violence they were subject to.
every woman has the right to make her own decision, free of prejudices.
Sincerely I can't understand how men speak about abortion with such an ease: how they can understand, or only imagine, what a woman feels in that moment?
last but not least: I think that it's very important not to consider abortion as a contraceptive (for contraception there are a lot of other choices but abortion is a difficult decision to make and we can't consider it as a preventive measure).
Am I way off here, but many of you write that "in Sweden all women hav the right to an abortion until the 18th week..". Perhaps it has changed but earlier it was until the 12th week than anyone could have an abortion without question. If there is a medical problem or other special situations (like rape) you can, after several meetings with doctors and psychologists, have an abortion until the 18th week.
but as I said, this was a few years ago. just wanted to know when this changed.
Gerardo:
I am a garderner and sometimes you do have to remove cuttings from the mother plant for it to live, that does not make one a murderer. Besides, that is silly to compare with humans.
In response to Gerardo
Do you think it is fair to give birth to a child that isn't wanted?
In response to Claudia.
Hi Claudia, thank you for your comments!
I realize the Catholic church has a rather strong influence in Italy, if the pope comment on abortion as murder of course it affects people.
Personally I think abortion should be legalized. It's a question of womens rights, which I think is most important. In underdeveloped countries women are far from equal to men and has no say in how their bodies are used. Even in European countries rapes happen at daily basis, sometimes with a pregnancy as result. These women must have the right to abortion.
Also, I think it's highly irresponsible to give birth to a child without being able to take care of it. Single women with no income and no relatives to help her might have very difficult giving her child a safe upbringing. To give the child up for abortion also seem like a far fetched alternative, the child will always live with the fact that it was unwanted from the beginning.
Of course, I also agree that abortion should be avoided as much as possible. We wouldn't have this problem if people didn't get pregnant unintentionally, women and men has equal responsibility for using protection. In Sweden for example, most abortions are made by teenagers that had unprotected sex. I think this is very irresponsible because in Sweden we learn early in schools about the importance of protection, you get condoms for free and you hear very little religious voices raised against condoms or birth control pills. Still, Sweden have one of the highest abort rates in Europe.
I absolutely think abortion should be an alternative, but maybe it has gone a bit to far...
I agree that all sides of this issue should be considered before legalizing abortion. Also I think it's most important that protection is available as well as accepted, otherwise this problem will just get bigger and bigger.
Hi everyone! This is Therese and for my essay I have chosen to write about abortion. It is a very well-discussed topic all over the world. The opinions are ending up in two major camps, those who think abortion is murder and those who think it is every woman’s right. In Sweden it is the woman’s right to control her own body, but there are people with an opposite opinion. What I aim to do with this essay is to look at some different organisations within Sweden, both for and against abortion.
There are two aspects of this, the mother’s and the baby’s. I believe both can be seen as victims, the baby that never will be born and the mother who probably will think of this baby all of her life.
Abortion is a very big topic and there is a lot to read and write about, so I chose to write about Sweden. Even that is a big area to cover, so therefore I chose to write about organisations only and no political opinions or the opinions of the people. My goal is to answer these questions: (Maybe there will be more during the process.)
-Organisations for/against
-The main reasons to why they are for/against
-Are all organisations against abortion religious
-When does life start
-A woman’s right or murder
I am looking forward to hear your opinions!
In response to Melindah
What I meant with the comparison between flowers and fetus or fruits and children is that each of them is alive. Even if they have a different name, both a flower and a fruit are alive just like both a fetus and a child. I don’t want to compare a pruning with a murder!!!! I only think that Life, especially human one, should be respected in each its form!!!
In response to Paulina
If you don’t want a child, use precautions or don’t have sex! If a woman is raped, I think that she could be on the morning-after pill to prevent a pregnancy.
But this is my opinion as a man: maybe I can't understand how a woman could feel in such a situation.
Hi all, my name is Monica and the topic I decided to write about is the one concerning abortion. I will try to show you some different aspects of the matter. With such a controversial subject most people already have an opinion, and my future essay will only scratch on the surface of this difficult dilemma some people have to face.
I will start by telling you that in Sweden women has the legal right to decide if they want to have an abortion, at least until week 18 of the pregnancy. She has this right to have an abortion without revealing any particular reason. Further along in the pregnancy she has to get permission from the Social department of the Swedish government. The right to free abortion has existed since 1974.
The positive issues surrounding free abortion would be that every woman has a choice whether she want to start a family or not, or increase the already existing one. There could be lots of reasons behind such a decision; lack of money or time, illness or being to young to be able to take care of a child. The woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy when the foetus shows severe injuries.
The negative issues would be that the father has no say in the matter, he is totally left out. Abortion could be used as a contraceptive by some. The decision to have an abortion, if the decision is not taken under serious consideration, could end up in regret and feelings of guilt and even lead to depression. When the abortion is done by non-authorised personal illegally, there is a severe health risk to the mother; one consequence could be sterility.
What does the law in Italy say is abortion legal in your country? In Sweden our religion is Protestantism and many Swedish people don’t go to church regularly, and maybe this makes it easier to accept the abortion law. The different religious beliefs in the world make the topic even more difficult to discuss. However discussing abortion leaves no one totally unmoved, or am I wrong?
In response to Frida
I agree with you, Frida, when you say that abortion should be legalized. I also think that it should be limited to extreme and exceptional situations. I mean, anybody should not interfere with (because unable to share and understand) the drama that a woman could suffer especially in particular circumstances. I think to a pregnancy that could determinate a serious risk for the safety of the woman’s life and/or the safety of the unborn child’s life. I also think to drama of a woman who was victim of a rape. In these situations, the woman must have the right to make the decision on going on or not with her pregnancy.
Further than these extreme situations, I think that we should proceed with high prudence on about allowing the abortion. I believe that the society should provide behavioural patterns that are in accordance with a higher sense of the human life’s value, also by starting from a good education since the childhood. As you said, the statistics show the insufficiency of the sex education in the school. I don’t know why, but I think that, while it assures the right knowledge on the matter, it determines a lowering of the feeling for the importance of some values of the life. In my opinion this could be one of the reasons (but just only one) of the growth of abortions,…but this is also the subject of another forum of our blog!
In response to Geraldo
I have to say that I really don't agree with you. What if you're using contraceptives but you get pregnant anyway, and don't want to have a child? Is it really fair to anyone to give birth to an unwanted baby? I don't think that you being a man should make this any harder for you to understand. True, a man doesn't ever have to do an abortion but, in a way, this makes you in more control over your own body. I think everyone should have the right to decide over ones body, and if you get pregnant and don't want to have a child, you should have the right to end the pregnancy. And I don't think that people are willing to not have sex just because you might get pregnant, especially if you're using contraceptives.
However, I do agree with you that women who got pregnant as a result of a rape should not have to give birth to that baby.
Hey everybody!
I'm Susanne and I suppose I've taken a bit of a different road on this subject. But I think in the end I pretty much have the same arguments anyway. Besides this is an introduction that will most likely be rewritten a few times before I'm satisfied. Here is a somewhat close (to how I would like to start off) draft of an introduction to my essay about abortion...:
We live in a male dominated world. A lot of changes have been made since the breakthrough of the Feminists and the Suffragettes, but there is still a lot of work to be done. What alarms me is that most higher posts within organizations against abortion is occupied by men, whom on account of biological reasons will never know what it is like to carry a child for nine months and then having to give birth to it. It will always be easy to have an opinion, when one has not in fact been forced to experience something, but I ask myself if it’s fair. There are no restrictions and no rules concerning men and their check-ups for the prostate, which is in fact a common place for cancer to grow. There are, however, restrictions, caution and rules concerning female check-ups. Even for sterilization. Woman have to be a certain age in order to be allowed to go through with one, as if she is not competent enough to be able to make decisions by herself. And I ask myself, where does it end? If there is a sudden decline in childbirths leaving Sweden with a higher percentage of older and non-working people, compared to the younger generation that have to keep working to support the older population – would a woman be denied a serilization in hope of producing another baby? I certainly hope not because that would mean that we have managed to erase everything our fellow sisters worked and offered their lives for.
My points of argument:
*Unwanted pregnancy v.s. Biblical aspect. Child is a blessing and a gift
*Abortion of a fetus v.s. Murder of a child
*Special circumstances (rape, mothers life at danger, serious medical defects with the child.)
vs.
Everybody has a right to live no matter under which circumstance one came about or which handicap or whatever you have.
*Summary
Well, somthing along those lines anyway.
Love,
Susanne Borgström
Hi Paulina!
It’s right both a man and a woman should be able to control their own body. But when a woman decides on having an abortion, she doesn’t control only her body: she has a higher responsibility. The fetus that is growing in her womb, is alive in every respect. I don’t want to believe that this woman could take her child’s life only for selfishness (“I don’t want a child” is egoistic, “He’ll grow in very bad conditions” is an alibi). Is it possible that a woman can’t understand the importance that she has in giving birth to a new human creature? Is it possible that a woman wants to break off the miracle of life that only in her womb can “rise”? Is it possible that a woman can’t understand the gift of motherhood and its value? If our mothers had had an abortion, we, whether they wanted us or not, wouldn’t have been here and so we should only thank them. In the future also you (women) will be happy to have taken this decision and you’ll have experience of this thankfulness by your children rather than the remorse and the grudge by never born ones.
Hi,
My name is Eva and I am planning to write about Abortion in my essay.
On one hand, one could argue that every woman has the right to decide over her own body and that the decision to do an abortion or not is a choice only she should make. Moreover, abortion can be see as a help in need if the reason for the abortion is that the child is severely disabled or that the mother was raped when she got pregnant. Also if the woman is very young or if the pregnancy is unwanted. Furthermore, to authorise abortions automatically stops the back- street abortions (illegal), which have a higher risk of causing infertility and death to the woman.
On the other hand, one can see the difficulty in defining when ‘life’ actually starts. If one think of the just fertilized egg as a human, one can better understand the radical phrase ‘abortion is murder’ used by anti- abortion groups. The society has responsibility for all individuals, even when it comes to life and death and certainly for those who can not speak for themselves.
In addition to those arguments against abortion there is also the fact that even if a child is born into very poor or other unfavorable conditions it does not automatically mean that the child will not grow up to a respectable and happy citizen.
It has been legal to perform abortions in Sweden since 1975. Any woman can do it up till week 18 of the pregnancy, after that she require permission from the Social Department.
Most Swedish people see abortion as every woman’s right and there is very little, or no, chance that abortion would be decided illegal again. Still abortion is always a topic for … discussions and the fact that it is not legal everywhere, not even in all the EU- countries, makes the debate interesting and important.
Hello
My name is Lisa and I have decided to write about Abortion. Abortion is a topic where almost everyone has an opinion. Should it be legalized or not? Radical thoughts about abortion are that it is unetic and that it can be compared with murder of an innocent life. This is a quite common opinion in highly religious parts of the world.
Other arguments against abortion are that it’s wrong to use abortion as a contraceptive. Abortion shouldn’t be a to easy thing to do. Another problem is that better test under the pregnancy, like test of the amniotic fluid, has made it possible to abort children’s with disabilities, so called selective abortion. Should it be okay to abort a child who isn’t “perfect” in some people’s eyes even if the child could have a happy life?
On the other hand, every woman has the right to decide over her own body. You can’t force a woman to give birth to a child if she isn’t ready to be a parent and no child should be forced to be born unwanted.
There are cases when an abortion must be done due to the mothers’ health. This is called Therapeutic abortion. Should the childes life go before the mothers? It’s also a fact that approximately 68 000 women dies due to abortions in countries where abortion is still illegal. Isn’t it better to legalize abortions so it can be done safely under controlled forms?
In Sweden, abortion under certain circumstances has been legalized since 1938. In 1975 a new law gave all women the right to decide in every situation if she wants to stop the pregnancy until the 18th week. Abortions after the 18th week need an approval from The National Board of Health and Welfare. It would be hard to find people in Sweden that want to illegalize abortion but interesting discussions about selective abortion has recently been brought up to the surface because of the discover of a new way to find out if a child has Downs Syndrome. How are the opinions about abortion in Italy?
In response to Francesca
Hi Francesca!
It was interesting that you wrote about that you’re Catholic. I agree with you that you can’t force someone to agree with your ideas about life and God. The same for me, I can’t force someone to think the same like me about abortion. I also think that it’s very difficult to try to understand something you never have experienced. Even though I’m a woman, I can’t imagine what I would do if I got pregnant.
I agree with you that an abortion couldn’t be an easy decision to make for a woman. But I really think that an abortion is something a woman should do if she wants to do it. I think that abortion should be legal in every country around the world. But I also think if there is a couple which are going to have a child I think that the man also should have something to say about the abortion.
/Sara
in responce to Frida: hi Frida, i think that opinion of our country is very similar, and even the low.
But in Italy, the influence of the Pope is too big, more than the influence of the Government and more than people thinking. Only a precentuage of people practize Catholicism, in spite of this, Government tryes to follow Church moral, expecially the center-right Government. My opinion is that abortion should be the last choice of a couple, because every life, and potencial life is precious, and for this, we should think how avoid this "opportunity", through the use of contrapcectives.
In respons to Federica "lizzibennet".
Thank you for your thoughts, they made me think about different aspects of the topic. Of course abortion is never an easy thing for a mother to consider, I totally agree with you on that. But I think the perspective of both baby and mother could be relevant in this discussion, because when I hear people discussing the pros and cons of abortion, both the rights of the mother and the baby are spoken about. I think an essay discussing only the rights or responsibilities of the mother would not show the whole picture, and since it is going to be a discursive essay, as many arguments from both “sides” as possible are good. Your comment made me think that the father´s perspective also could be considered in the essay, because he is responsible as well.
In response to Gerardo:
I understand what you're saying but I still think that every woman should have the right to choose if she wants to give birth to a baby or not. The reason for why our parents wanted us in the first place may be that the felt that they could take care of us and bring us up under good conditions. If you feel that you can't have a baby in your life, for different reasons, you shouldn't have to have one. It should be up to every woman to decide if she wants to have an abortion, society shouldn't have anything to do with that.
In response to Gerardo
Hi, I understand your theory about the miracle of life and in a perfect world all children that are born are loved and cared for but sadly this is not possible or a fact. I also believe that we should respect life but the question is whose life? The fact is that its still believed that the woman should be the main caretaker of the child. It is also she who is going to carry and give birth to this child providing it with a healthy nutrition when its in her body she should also rest and not carry anything heavy neither should she be depressed when she is pregnant cause resent studies show that depressed mothers damage their babies health and she is also the one who is supposed to have the money to bye maternity clothes and have clothes diapers bed and everything else ready the day the baby is born. All this because society says so. In a perfect world we should have our children somewhere around 19 and 24 because waiting any longer increases the risk have a baby with different kind of syndromes and handicaps it also increases the risk to have a miscarriage or to risk brain damages to the baby caused by a difficult birth. And in a perfect world we should all meet our soul mates at the age of nineteen and love them without fighting for the rest of our life because that is also good for the child.
But I think that this isn’t possible. Its sometimes very easy to blame the mother who has an abortion and say that she doesn’t respect the miracle of life? Maybe it’s her love for the unborn baby that gives her the strength to go through with it. It is, today in Sweden anyway, totally accepted for a man to leave his woman when she gets pregnant and to leave her alone with it. It is also difficult for a single mother to be able to get a job today because the companies believe that she is going to be home with sick children a lot. I don’t know your opinion about contraception’s but I know that some of them makes the uterus to an unfriendly place and reject the fertilized egg. It actually means that you might do an early abortion every month.
I just want to say that I’m a mother of three and expecting my fourth and two of my children where premature so I do respect and love the miracle of life but I also respect the women who decides to respect the miracle of their own life and their wish to wait until they have the opportunity to give birth to a baby when they can provide for and give it the love and care every child deserves to have.
Hey!
I realised that I had missunderstood the assigment a bit. I have always believed discursive and argumentative to be the same thing. But I've written a new introduction, and here it is:
A SHED OF LIGHT?
As human beings, the phenomenon of defining things has always been of great importance. We strive to find some sense of what is commonly accepted, when all we ever wish to receive is an acknowledgement of individuality. We prefer the reference of individual rather than person. But is there, in fact, such a definition for a fusion taking place in a woman’s womb? I wonder. Is it a child, or is it a fetus? Is it murder, or is it simply a procedure called abortion?
My points of argument:
*Unwanted pregnancy vs. Biblical aspect. Child is a blessing and a gift
*Abortion of a fetus vs. Murder of a child/living thing
*Special circumstances (rape, mothers life at danger, serious medical defects with the child.)
vs.
Everybody has a right to live no matter under which circumstance one came about or which handicap or whatever you have.
*Summary
That was it. What do you think of the titel?
Love,
Susanne Borgström
In response to Gerardo:
I must start off by saying that I totally agree with Anna and Paulina. Depression is very common among pregnant women. And this, even among women who actually planned to get pregnant. It is a huge adjustment - not just for body and soul but the psyche as well. Now, personally, I was lucky. I only went into a deep depression and I had my mother there to help me since my sons dad doesn't live with us. But it could have been worse too. I could have went into a fullblown psychosis, which is obviously deeper and harder to get out of.
I do see all of your points, and they are very legitimate, but as Phil Collins once say: you must hear both sides of the story. I think that men sometimes feel a bit left out, just because of the fact that it is the woman who carries the baby for 9 months, but what they don't seem to realise is that it does so much more to a woman that just a big belly and retaining water. Being pregnant, can't ever be explained in words. I hated it, but yet I have a good relationship with my son now - cause I CHOSE to have it, not because I was forced due to legislations. So no matter what way one turnes an arubic cube, the colours aren't ever really gonna fit. Just because of the fact that there is always going to be two sides to every story. The question is, will they be willing to listen to each other... some day?
I think it was interesting to get you view of things though :-)
Love,
Susanne Borgström
In response to Geraldo
I have to say that I don’t agree with you, not one bit. I think that as a woman I have the right to decide if and when I am going to have a child. As a woman I should not have to stay away from sex just because of the fact that I am the one who can be pregnant; that it is in my body another life can grow, and not inside the man, although we both are “guilty” having sex.
There are many examples of cultures where the men can behave as they please, without thinking about what the consequences of their action can be, and the women are the ones who get the blame if an accident occurs. In Sweden we have tried to prevent such behaviour by giving the woman alone the right to decide if she wants to go ahead with a pregnancy or not. The man has nothing to say in this situation. And even if he’s not willing to take part in the parenthood and share the responsibility, he will share the economic responsibility until the child is 18 years old. So hopefully men are aware that having unprotected sex can get really serious consequences for them as well.
Of course I don’t see abortion as something simple. But I see it as a given right to be used when needed.
Finally, don’t you think that the day after pill is a sort of abortion?
In response to Louisa!
Hi, very good work with your presentation and you have chosen an intresting topic. It is hard to take stand pro or con, but it is allways the woman who have the final decison.I agree what you wrote here in your blogg " Who are we to decide over their lifes"
// Malin
This is, to me, one of the most difficult subjects on the blog (and in life). I feel so ambivalent towards the subject and there are so many reasons discussed here that I agree with both for and against. I don’t really like the argument that a woman should have the right to control her own body because abortion is actually controlling somebody else’s body and deciding that that person doesn’t get to live. I absolutely believe woman should have the right to terminate a pregnancy if she wants to and I think it’s great to live in a country where that’s possible for everyone but at the same time I think it’s a bit scary that abortions can be carried out so late in the pregnancy. Doctors are now able to save children that are prematurely born in nearly the same week as Sweden allows women to terminate their pregnancies. As you can see, I can’t really take a stand on this subject. I believe every woman should have the right to abortion but at the same time value the precious gift that life is…
In response to Frida...
I think it is important to take a stand in this issue! Whether you are for or against, it could make a huge difference! When talking of the right for a woman to decide over her body, it's not true to say it's the foetuses life as well, since "life" is what we start after birth. I am, as you might sence, for abortions, but only since I think you should be able to decide over your own life. If a woman is forced to keep a child that is not wanted, can it be guaranteed that the child will get a good life? I think horrible consequences can come from keeping an unwanted baby. Don't you? The number of illegal abortions are high around the world. So, it's quite obvious they will be performed, even if there are laws against them. Isn't it better to legalise them in order to save the womens lives? Well, this discussion can go on and on forever. But as I said before, make sure you decide what side you're supporting, in order to make a difference!
Sorry for the delay of my answers but I was busy in Germany!!!
In response to Paulina
“If you feel that you can't have a baby in your life, for different reasons, you shouldn't have to have one”. For this reason you should pay more attention when you have sex….It’s too easy to have fun, to have sex without taking your own responsibility in the case of a “pregnancy-accident”. Some years ago, in Basilicata (the Italian region where I grew up before coming in Pisa and where my parents nowadays live), when a young girl was pregnant, she whould prefer to get married, even if reluctantly, rather than to have an abortion. And this is not because she was able to bring up children (maybe you don’t know the worst situation of the south Italy at that time) or because there weren’t means to have abortion (parsley teas have been known since Middle Age) or because women had no rights, but because there were more values than today…first of all the value of Life!!! Let’s be clear: nowadays the only dominant value is selfishness…we want everything, we want our cake and eat it too, without any cares!!! This isn’t the world where my parents wanted me to live and where I want to live!
In response to Anna
You’re right when you talk about a perfect world where children should always be loved. I also think that you do everything you can to make your children aware of this ideal love world. But why do we legalize abortion that makes our already imperfect world, more imperfect? Why don’t we fight in order to get nearer the perfect world of love, unselfishness and respect? Why do we accept this moral impoverishment? I don’t want it! Let’s remember that we are the society where we live and everyone can contribute with his own individual choises to make it better. You also talk about depression and runaway men. I agree with everyone who wants to “evirate” this kind of man…now we’re opening another topic that however is related with our discussion. We’re always talking about respect…respect for a child’s life, respect for a woman’s dignity and I can’t call a man someone who leaves his girlfriend or wife when she’s pregnant or when she’s depressed after childbirth.
In response to Susanne
“Being pregnant, can't ever be explained in words”. I envy you! Only you can experience the beauty of a growing life in you womb!! But it seems that this is only a weight for you…It’s true that there are consequences like depression but the women of all times were able to get over it and there weren’t all the comforts that you have. Are you sure that depression isn’t only an alibi? I’m happy for you and your children but do you think that it’s good for them and their future to know that their mother would have killed, if she simply hadn’t wanted them? Do you really want to bring up your children in such a world? I think not.
In response to Emilia
Maybe it’s useless that I repeat things I already said.I think that previous answers can be useful also in response to your post…if it isn’t so you can underline neglected points and I’ll answer…
About the last question I advice you to read this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_contraception
I write the start
Emergency contraception (EC), or emergency postcoital contraception, refers to contraceptive measures that, if taken after sex, may prevent pregnancy.
Forms of EC include:
--Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs)—sometimes simply referred to as emergency contraceptives (ECs) or the "morning-after pill"—are drugs that act both to prevent ovulation or fertilization and possibly post-fertilization implantation of a blastocyst (embryo). ECPs are DISTINCT from medical abortion methods that act after implantation.
--Intrauterine devices (IUDs)—usually used as a primary contraception method, but sometimes used as emergency contraception.
In respons to Gerardo
A couple of years ago I heard of a story of a teenage mother (Irish) who jumped off The Cliffs of Moher and threw herself down towards the raging waves of the ocean. She was holding her 3-year-old son while doing so. My Grandmother told me a story of a mother going out on traintracks, holding her little baby. Standing there wainting for the train to run them over.
Actress Brooke Shields book "Down came the rain" is a very good explaination of what it can feel like. I think women like this would have/would have had a higher quality of life if they hadn't had that child. If you've ever experienced depression, you wouldn't ask if it could be an alibi? One can't fake depression. Brooke Shields even had to take anti-depressants. So you tell me, if she was faking. If my son ever asks, I tell him the truth. I owe him that much. It is true, if I would have aborted him, he wouldn't be here. But that's the whole point isn't it? I changed my mind, because it was MINE to change. Not the state, not his father, not anybody else around me. It was mine, and mine only.
And as for depression, that can take it's gound in many different issues. The actual giving birth part, the lonely part, the changing of a life style part, the feeling of not being ready, the feeling of getting old, you name it, I have it. One kind of feels like a beached whale, and that might have something to do with it too. Being pregnant is weight, and that's a fact. No one can ever run away from that. Just the placenta is about 1kg. And then you have all the water. It not only makes it hard to get around, it hurts like hell. So, you tell me if depression is not a good enough ground. Me, Im just saying everything is never black or white. There's a grey area too.
Love,
Susanne Borgström
Abortion: the right to choose
If you have a look at this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6235557.stm#uk you can get the idea of the abortion laws in European countries.
In the most countries – such as Italy – the abortion is available on request with a gestational limit of 12 weeks and with a parental authorisation required if the woman is under 18.
In other countries the there are just a bit restrictive laws which allowed the abortion to avoid serious risk to physical or mental health of the woman. Actually this is only a formality and now in Spain the Government planning to liberalise the country's abortion laws.
The exception to this scenario are Ireland and North Ireland; in these countries the abortion is illegal except where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother. (see an Irish Government website: www.citizensinformation.ie)
In UK, FPA - Family Planning Association - is battling to secure the right to choose in Northern Ireland (In its website there are some videos about stories of real women). The CEO of FPA wrote to Human Rights Committee:
“ The reality for Northern Ireland women is that those who choose to terminate a pregnancy have to travel to England or overseas with some 1,343 women travelling to England in 2007. Women from Northern Ireland usually have to find up to £2,000 to access an abortion in England, with having to pay for travel, accommodation and the abortion procedure itself privately.”
But travelling to another country is the best decision that a woman who lives in a country where access to safe abortion is restricted can take. Unfortunately many women, for economic or social reasons, resort to illegal or unsafe abortions or contact online medical abortion service. (Have a look at www.womenonweb.org; this website refers you to licensed doctor, who can provide you with a medical abortion after a consultation. A medical abortion requires two medicines that will be delivered to you!)
Also the Human Rights Committee sent this concluding observations to Ireland:
“The State party should bring its abortion laws into line with the Covenant. It should take measures to help women avoid unwanted pregnancies so that they do not have to resort to illegal or unsafe abortions that could put their lives at risk or to abortions abroad.” (Geneva, 7 – 25 July 2008)
Terminating a pregnancy isn't an easy decision for anyone but it isn’t Government’s decision!
I think that if a woman is considering abortion the Government should provide all the support and help she needs. The doctor’s psychological support is very important to be sure she's choosing what's best for her and a safe hospital is necessary to protect her health.
Elena
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