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Termination of pregnancies - too willing to terminate, maybe there are other choices?

628 replies

Ilovepastafortea · 05/07/2025 22:07

I have trouble with the issue of terminating pregnancies.

For context I had 5 miscarriages & 1 baby born 'sleeping' at 29 weeks.

Also 2 of my (3) husbands were adopted-well DH's mother was adopted in the 1920's. The point is if abortion was available in 1963 & 1926 neither of them would have existed. Their childless mothers wouldn't have had babies to love & care for.

If my first husband had been aborted my lovely son wouldn't exist. He killed himself at the age of 32 leaving me with a baby. But at least I had my baby which was part of him.

If my DH's mother had been aborted my 3 lovely step children & 7 gorgeous grandchildren wouldn't be here. Both of my step sons served in the Royal Navy - one in special forces & got his Green (Marine) beret. My Step daughter is a nurse & worked in A&E for many years, is now a Matron. She has saved many lives & made a difference to many other people's lives including taking unpaid leave to be there when her grandmother was dying.

But then I understand why some people do it.

I can particularly understand it if the woman has been abused or raped - who would want to bring their abuser's or rapist's child into the world. I get that.

I just wish that they would think about having their unwanted baby adopted so that someone who can't have a baby can love & care for it.

My heart goes out to those with an unwanted pregnancy & facing this.

I don't know what I'd do to be honest.

I have no doubt that most women terminate a pregnancy after much heart searching & grief. However, I also hear about women who are terminating their 3rd or more pregnancies & using it as a method of birth control.

So brings me around to AIBU to ask if people terminate a pregnancy number 3 or 4 are being unreasonable?

Or not.

Just canvassing opinions.

OP posts:
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MuckFusk · 06/07/2025 04:30

BeachPossum · 05/07/2025 22:22

Adoption is not an alternative to abortion. In a large number of cases adoption is highly traumatic, and it still requires the pregnant woman to go through the danger and difficulty of pregnancy, which she may not wish to.

If a woman doesn't want to terminate and instead seeks to give birth to a baby and place it up for adoption, that's her right to do so. The fact that some women choose this doesn't mean there should be any pressure of any kind on any other woman to do the same.

It is rare for a woman to have three or four abortions as you suggest (particularly in quick succession). If she does, she should be approached with compassion and support, because it's highly likely there is an underlying issue resulting in a large number of unwanted pregnancies and she may need help.

💯%

MuckFusk · 06/07/2025 04:29

knitnerd90 · 05/07/2025 22:15

Not your monkeys.

However it's well worth noting that people rarely choose between adoption and abortion. They choose between abortion and raising the child nowadays. And a big reason for abortion is the cost of raising a child. We don't seem prepared to do very much about that.

The problem with adoption is you still have to go through a pregnancy, which can disrupt your career, your relationship with your partner, and even threaten your health. It's just too much of a sacrifice.

MuckFusk · 06/07/2025 04:26

Sometimeswinning · 05/07/2025 22:22

I hear what you’re saying. I’m not pro choice. Pro choice is right up to the end and no I don’t believe in abortion at 38 weeks. I believe in a woman’s choice up to 20 weeks. Even that’s tough but I get things progress and show up at this point.

I also understand there are
certain circumstances. Children. Learning disabilities. But the majority of women who can take responsibility for themselves should do. Men obviously should but it’s none of their business if a woman wants an abortion or
not.

You can be pro-choice and still believe in reasonable term limits. An abortion becomes less and less safe the longer you wait. So the answer is to increase access so it can be done ASAP.
There is no such thing as abortion at 38 weeks. That's going to be a live birth or a natural stillbirth, not an abortion. Don't believe the "partial birth abortion" myth the forced birthers have been spreading. It's bullshit.

MuckFusk · 06/07/2025 04:20

Anotherparkingthread · 06/07/2025 00:06

Because generally most people are emotionally intelligent enough to understand that the loss of a much wanted baby isn't just about the death. It's about the parents emotional investment, love, hopes and dreams being shattered and the loss of life they had planned for their child. They are grieving somebody they never met, but envisioned becoming the centre of their entire world.

Exactly. It's baffling that some people can't seem to understand that.

MuckFusk · 06/07/2025 04:16

Why should it matter how many abortions a woman has had? Either you think it's an acceptable choice or you don't and if you thought it was acceptable you probably wouldn't care about how many. It's like saying; "Is it unreasonable to have more than three stalks of celery?" If you think eating celery is benign then the number of stalks doesn't matter. So it sounds like you actually don't consider abortion benign and acceptable. So I suggest you be upfront about how you really feel about abortion if you're going to start a thread like this.

Summerhillsquare · 06/07/2025 04:13

Oh good, another goady anti choice woman blaming thread. At least this one's not on the feminism board. YABU, and practically incoherent.

StrongbutTired00 · 06/07/2025 03:49

A woman who has one or more abortions cannot be held accountable for the thousands of women who can’t conceive. That’s unfair and not how it works

Sugarnspicenallthingsnaice · 06/07/2025 03:36

thismummyslife · 05/07/2025 23:08

Im pro-life, you can’t say anything on here about it because you have a load of others jumping down your throat, being pro-life now is a dirty word, but I see where you’re coming from OP.

So you're OK with OP's husband being so damaged he took his own life, and you want more unwanted babies born to the same fate?

DesperateforSunshine · 06/07/2025 03:30

I'm M48 and my last long term partner is 44. She had 4 children, I had 2, everyone was happy. I've had a vasectomy and enjoyed that freedom. Right from the beginning we had the conversation that if there was a pregnancy then it would end in an abortion. We were too old, our lives were sorted, everything was in order. It wouldn't have been down to us not using contraception - we'd done what we could. It never became an issue over 6years thankfully but having another child wouldn't have worked for any of us.

thefamous5 · 06/07/2025 03:21

I'm a mum of four

I've had three miscarriages.

I've also had two abortions.

I adore my four children. I was devastated about my miscarriages. I feel absolutely zero trauma or upset or grief over my abortions.

If I hadn't had my abortions, two of my very much wanted children wouldn't be here today, so works both ways.

If I fell pregnant again accidentally I'd absolutely have another abortion.

Whynotjustengageyourbrain · 06/07/2025 03:10

I'd rather people terminate more than bring children into the world that they can't or won't take care of. Sadly for some, it is best that they never existed. Anyone who can't see this or choose to acknowledge this, doesn't put children first.

ChaToilLeam · 06/07/2025 03:09

BreakingBroken · 06/07/2025 02:31

society just isn't set up to help women carry all babies to term.
men are not even having to be financially responsibility for the children they father. too many loopholes to stop them paying a reasonable portion.
financial support to help women who can't work months before and after the pregnancy is not enough.
all that is assuming the child is born healthy, there are no long term residential facilities for children born with life limiting conditions.
then there are women who's partners are violent, should a child be put at risk if the man is insanely obsessed.
there are solid reason's for abortion to be available until such time as society has a solid safety net in place to help women during the most vulnerable period in their lives.

Even then, if all things were ideal, you would still have unwanted pregnancies. It's not all
down to economics.

Neetra30 · 06/07/2025 03:08

@Ilovepastafortea the mother's life is always more important than the embryo/foetus. It's her body, her rights.
The way you think of things assume that the baby should have the same rights as the mother. Which is dangerous.
Did you even think about pregnancy health related risks? If I didnt have my termination, I would have been disabled (as my body cannot handle another pregnancy) and unable to provide for my 3 living children
Keeping the baby, in a situation like mine would have been absolutely irresponsible and selfish

Willyoujustbequiet · 06/07/2025 02:33

KateMiskin · 05/07/2025 22:11

A very long and rambling post to say you don't believe in a woman's right to bodily autonomy.
If you don't want an abortion, don't have one. It's really simple.

Nailed it.

BreakingBroken · 06/07/2025 02:31

society just isn't set up to help women carry all babies to term.
men are not even having to be financially responsibility for the children they father. too many loopholes to stop them paying a reasonable portion.
financial support to help women who can't work months before and after the pregnancy is not enough.
all that is assuming the child is born healthy, there are no long term residential facilities for children born with life limiting conditions.
then there are women who's partners are violent, should a child be put at risk if the man is insanely obsessed.
there are solid reason's for abortion to be available until such time as society has a solid safety net in place to help women during the most vulnerable period in their lives.

notatinydancer · 06/07/2025 02:26

Ilovepastafortea · 05/07/2025 22:15

But what about the baby?

It’s not a baby.

LovePoppy · 06/07/2025 02:16

As someone who was adopted - I’m firmly pro women’s health care.

Don’t use adoptees to support your anti healthcare stance.

hehehesorry · 06/07/2025 02:14

I don't want to risk pooing through my vagina to give a child to somebody else, I'd only risk that if I wanted to enjoy raising it thankyou

namestevalian · 06/07/2025 02:05

Seek therapy .

Not your body, not your business

Purplerubberducky · 06/07/2025 02:01

What about every egg you don’t fertilise ? Do you mourn the loss of what could have been every time you have a period?

CarterBeatsTheDevil · 06/07/2025 02:00

It's never unreasonable for a woman to terminate a pregnancy she doesn't want or to continue with a pregnancy she does want.

Nataliaa · 06/07/2025 01:53

I didn’t need to read past the ‘for context bit.’ You have issues terminating pregnancies. That’s ok. You don’t have to terminate a pregnancy.
what other women do is nothing to do with you.

Zone2NorthLondon · 06/07/2025 01:45

Women must have autonomy & choice in health and that includes making decisions others don’t agree with. By all means have your POV but don’t impose or prevent another woman from making decisions

Nat6999 · 06/07/2025 01:40

Where are all these babies going to go? There are already thousands of children in foster care who nobody wants to adopt, the advent of IVF helped so many women have babies for themselves instead of adopting. My aunty & uncle adopted in the 1960's their dd was a child of a schoolgirl mum who got pregnant at 14, they then adopted a ds 3 years later. Adoption then was very different to now, there weren't so many hoops to jump through, you registered with an agency who checked out your references & if you passed were matched with a baby. My aunty told me they saw a photo of both their dc & then met them for the first time on the day they picked them up. Too many children now who are placed to be adopted have baggage, my friend adopted 2 boys after having her own children in her first marriage & having to have a hysterectomy before her marriage broke down & she met someone who had never had children. Both boys were found after adoption to have severe autism & ADHD, the youngest has global developmental delay, he is 14 now but is developmentally about age 8, he didn't start sleeping through until he was 10. Her second marriage broke down & she was left in her late 40's with 2 severely disabled young children to bring up on her own, her birth children were grown up & as she said, it should have been her time now but instead she has dealt with fighting for school places in special schools, one child being out of education for over a year as no school wanted to take him.

Bookery · 06/07/2025 01:37

thismummyslife · 05/07/2025 23:08

Im pro-life, you can’t say anything on here about it because you have a load of others jumping down your throat, being pro-life now is a dirty word, but I see where you’re coming from OP.

If you have had people call you a slur, like the B-word, I recommend that you report them.

Otherwise, depending on what you define as "pro-life", it should not come as a surprise that your view invites strong pushback unless your definition of "pro-life" actually does not impinge on other women's right to terminate.