To think abortion law is a tough nut to crack?

[chandellina]

so the Telegraph has revealed doctors allowing abortion on sex-selection grounds. I see a couple threads on In the News expressing disgust over this, a view shared by many, I'm sure.

But as far as I understand you can have an abortion on demand for just about any reason - not feeling able to cope, not feeling financially secure, too young, too old.

So even if you were terminating for gender, couldn't you just give another reason? And if you believe in a woman's absolute right to choose - why require a stated reason at all?

My point is that the law seems very flimsy, and why be moral about sex selection and not other things - like terminating because a pregnancy interferes with a desired age gap between children, or it otherwise not being "the right time." I know there are cultural issues involved too with gender selection, but those probably are also in play for women coerced by family not to have a child out of wedlock, etc.

thoughts?

remains abortion til birth is legal in certain situations in the UK.

you're right, a kneejerk reaction of mine which I withdraw.

I think the beef should be with the law. If the law says its ok to abort if there is a risk to mental health then it should define it more. And there should be a psychologist involved in determining if there is a risk to psychological health, not just any doctor.

I would rather a woman thought about what she was doing at some point before going into labour and then demanding an abortion

I the horror of it is just beyond belief. What if it didn't work? Would you then be able to just shove a pillow over it's face as soon as it was born?!

I mean, really what's the difference? Half way down the birth canal=fine and dandy, outside your body but with the cord still attached=not ok.

It's not as simple as that Stranded, because just because the birth mother doesn't want the baby doesn't mean that no one will want it.

Is it ok for me to decide that I don't want my child anymore so I'll just get rid? No, of course it's not ok. It shouldn't be ok for unborn babies either. They already exist, we have a responsibility towards them.

Then it's with the application of the law, kitchenroll.

It seems clear there are many on this thread who want to restrict abortion in the UK though. That makes me very sad.

I don't have an answer but the law seems a bit toothless when you can mask your real reason. And some other accepted reasons are arguably just as bad, maybe worse. Don't know how you balance decency and choice though.

remains do you think so little of women that you imagine that there would be people suddenly deciding to have an abortion after they had gone into labour?

ilovebabytv abortion can not be used as a form of contraception. Abortion ends a pregnancy, contraception prevents it.

You don't, because why should your decency be balanced with my choice?
Thats one big problem, too may people who think their opinions are fact and should be able to draw some kind of moral line for everyone. The law is inherently flawed and always will be because it can't accomodate for such disparate ideas of right.

I think if it was truly up until birth then you could never ever discount that possibility. People who on the edge of the knife finally realise that a baby isn't what they want, and if they were suddenly offered the chance to make it go away, would take that chance.

It is not OK to force women to continue with pregnancies and give birth when they do not want to. Pregnancy and birth are not nothing, not like getting a tooth extracted or something. Forcing women to carry babies and birth them against their will is just horrifying.

Simple as that for me.

So yes, you really do think that little of women.

Mind-boggling.

The law on abortion wouldn't be a tough nut to crack at all if the government and the church leaders with influence in the political arena accepted the right of a woman to have autonomy over her own body.

Thought it might be helpful to the debate to link to the actual law so that those who haven't read it can read it.

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1967/87/section/1

Good post graham.

How can being forced to carry on with a pregnancy you don't want not be a risk to a woman's psychological health?

WRT to the sex of the foetus issue, I think they should just withhold the info unless there are sound medical reasons for sex selection.

Really?! I find it mind boggling thar woman abort babies that could live outside their body.

Yet it happens, hundreds and hundreds of times every single year.

It's not as simple as that Stranded, because just because the birth mother doesn't want the baby doesn't mean that no one will want it.

It's not as simple as this either. There's a whole pregnancy to got through with all that entails before there's a baby. Some may not want that.

It's awful to force a woman to have a pregnancy and give birth to a child she doesn't want. Awful for her, and awful for the child.

I find lots of things others do to be utterly mind boggling, however its not my business to control other peoples lives.

Before abortion was legal in the UK we had lots of illegal abortions nad women dying because of them. I'm not convinced we can stop women having abortions at all, all we could do is stop women having legal abortions.

If we didn't 'control' some elements of other peoples lives then what sort of society would we live in?

Elizabeth, what i meant was that there are some people who view contraceptives as a means not to have a baby instead of preventing pregnancy. And they view abortion in the same light. I know some one who has had 7 abortions because she she is an irresponsible arse refuses or is too lazy to use some form of contraception.

We should control the minimum elements that affect others, not what goes on inside other peoples bodies.