To think late-term abortion rules may need tightening up?

[FestiveNut]

Should people be able to abort healthy fetuses in a low risk pregnancy past 20 weeks gestation?

I read a very sad story concerning this earlier. I considered myself pro-choice in all circumstances but this thread has caused me to question that.

Should the threshold be lowered?

Maldives you did right by your baby.

I'm sorry to anyone senseless remarks on this thread might or hurt.

I agreed to DS's (24 weeker) life support being turned off on day 2. He was in pain and would have had zero quality of life even if he did survive. It took me years to come to terms and make peace with that.

'maldives2006 I started it in response to something I read which caused me to rethink my previous stance'

I get why you posted Op I read that thread same way you did.

@mrsJonSno

I really cannot believe other women, Mothers! Support abortion to term. It’s made me feel quite sick just thinking about it!

I can't believe it either. In fact I don't.

If it were possible, I don't believe there is a woman on this thread who would abort past 26-28 weeks, let alone full term (39-40.) Most women would not abort past 24 weeks unless there was a very serious reason to do so.

Thank GOD we have a maximum of 24 weeks. Needs reducing to 20 though. The vast majority of women find out they're pregnant within a couple of months. The stopping of periods is the most obvious bloody sign, which would happen to almost every woman.

Although I am sure someone will pop along in a minute with a nice, long straw man list of how it's possible to not know you're pregnant til you are 6 months in. 🙄

Of COURSE women should be allowed to choose, and I am not wanting to take that away, as I think a pregnancy being terminated is better than an unwanted child being brought into the world, but to suggest abortion at virtually full-term is actually quite revolting, and sickening. As I said though, I don't believe for a second that anyone would genuinely do it.

I am hiding this thread now, as it's actually making me quite angry, and it's upsetting to read that women would (supposedly) abort their baby at full term. Especially because I know a couple of people who have recently been through hell when their baby was stillborn, after it had been fine just a week before, and they were just about to welcome their lovely baby into the world. I hope to GOD they are not reading this.

I am hiding the thread, but I am also reporting it, as there is some nasty stuff on here. Suggesting termination at full term? Sick. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

That's a really shit reply to Maldives @FestiveNut
She has actually BEEN in this situation.
It's all very well having your 'views' but some people unfortunately have the 'reality'.
Your views do not trump her feelings

@maldives2006, sorry, I'm reading the thread and backwards from most recent, should've gone the other way.

I'm sorry for your loss. However, I don't think anyone on this thread has suggested that abortions due to medical reasons are something to be scorned or judged. The vast majority of posters have specified that and this thread is about abortion for non-medical reasons. Please don't feel guilty, there is nothing you could have done and it was the kindest thing you could have done for your baby as a mother, horrible and difficult as the decision may have been.

There are so many strident opinions here and it has made me very happy to read them. I support abortion to term, and I speak as somebody who has had late losses. Restricting a woman’s right to her bodily autonomy in arbitrary ways is never right in my book. Ever. It’s so nice to see others that agree with this (I have had numerous arguments with women about this and always felt decidedly alone).

Do the people who advocate abortion at any period of gestation and for any reason suppose that the state is responsible for finding a willing supply of people willing to perform such a procedure. Like I say I am fine with the current laws, but let's not pretend that later term abortion does not involve crushing skulls and cutting off the limbs of what as far as our senses tell us, is a dead baby.

Would you be willing to perform such a procedure ?

If many people refuse to carry out such a procedure are you being oppressed ?

You cannot at that stage just go into a hospital and "make it go away", someone else will see the gory reality of it and we should consider that very few people if any would be willing to perform the abortion at that stage for "any reason".

“Most women would not abort past 24 weeks unless there was a very serious reason to do so.”
Agreed. This is the pro choice argument in a nutshell. Trust women. Let women make their own decisions about their own bodies. Don’t impose your own morality on anyone else.

I look on abortion as an unpleasant necessity for some women in a world that doesn't value them and doesn't attach any value whatsoever to the risk to life involved in giving birth and the lifetime's work involved in looking after children. In an ideal world we wouldn't need it. But giving a woman a right to abortion is like giving front line soldiers proper guns and ammunition. You don't stop war by taking away your soldiers' weapons and you can't eliminate abortion by restricting access to it.

Yes, I would be willing to carry out a procedure on my patient, the woman. Your post is full of emotive language that really just makes you sound a bit of a dick.

Interesting that you are so disgusted over views on a scenario that people are discussing hypothetically decemberfrost (because it's not legal and will never happen), but haven't expressed any negativity over the views that rape victims should be denied access to legal, safe abortion- something that actually does happen and one poster celebrated.

I've said it before but I'm horrified that posters are advocating abortion to term of a healthy foetus (baby) for non medical reasons. It is truly abhorrent.
What is the difference between that and infanticide as soon as the baby is delivered?

December, we don't have a 24 week limit for abortion if the baby is disabled. In those cases there is no limit. However in practice the UK has very few late abortions anyway so it is not actually a very big issue so probably best to leave the legislation alone.

There will never be agreement on these issues. If you think life begins at conception is as much murder to kill that baby as it is to gun a 2 year old child down in the street and if you hold that view then it makes no difference if abortion is at 1 week or 39 weeks gestation.

If you think life begins at birth then abortion at any point is fine although of course never nice or fun for anyone.

If you think life beings at exactly 24 weeks or 20 or some other arbitrary level or you think there i life from the start but that's it is okay to terminate that life when the baby looks a particular way but not once it is bigger then you might support a certain number of weeks for abortions.

The difference is simply that the baby has been born - that's where the line is drawn.

@MrsHares17

I know, and I feel terrible about it. It has taught me not to read from the most recent comment backwards. I don't even know why I did- I usually start with my most recent comment and continue down.

DarienGap read what people have written. Non medical reasons doesn't mean on a whim. Anyone aborting at a late stage will have compelling reasons for them.

I seriously doubt any woman would have a late abortion just because. But I advocate for it because restrictions are a slippery slope to denying abortions at all and treating women as nothing more than incubators.

And let's not pretend this is anything like the exercise of control over ones own body, its something done to a woman by a team of people. It's a privilege not a right. Late term abortion again, I stress.

Yes, I would be willing to carry out a procedure on my patient, the woman

And why do you think about people who are not able to dismember what their senses tell the is a baby ? Dicks ? Would the procedure upset you ?

Of COURSE women should be allowed to choose, and I am not wanting to take that away

That is exactly what you are doing by restricting access to abortion.

Not to mention the minor detail that women who discover pregnancy late are often the particularly vulnerable and at risk women. But who cares about them eh? Or the families forced to keep a severely disabled child in a society that loses all interest in that child the moment its born.

Women should make the decision for themselves, not have their bodies controlled and managed by someone outside their immediate situation.

Most women would not abort past 24 weeks unless there was a very serious reason to do so.
Exactly Just think about what hideous, serious reasons you would have to need a late abortion!
How can you realise this and then still want to restrict women's access? Acknowledge that yes this is a really awful, serious situation but you still can't have a safe, legal abortion.
Those women can just live in pain and misery or throw themselves off bridges instead eh?

The UK limit of 24 weeks is extremely high by international standards, the norm around Europe is 12-14 weeks. There is good reason for that.

Ultimately it's a balance of rights. I am pro-choice and believe a woman should have the option to terminate in a reasonable time period, but to me it is utterly appalling to abort a healthy pregnancy in the later stages. That to me is the killing of a baby. After about 16-18 weeks it is capable of feeling pain, so personally I'm not at all comfortable with that. Abortion can be easily accessed well before it gets to that stage.

I do believe abortion should be an option and I campaigned strongly for a yes vote in the Irish referendum this year, but there do need to be some restrictions placed on it in recognition of the fact that a foetus does develop into a baby as the pregnancy progresses.

I think the limit should be reduced to around 22 weeks as babies do survive from that gestation. For abortions earlier than 22 weeks it should be made easier to have access to this procedure.

Late terminations are incredibly distressing for the medical staff carrying out the procedure. I personally can't support terminations up to full term.

utterly appalling to abort a healthy pregnancy in the later stages

Is it not appalling to force a woman to risk death and disability?

I think people have the right to choose not to have an abortion.

I think people have the right not to perform abortions

Both of these should be personal choices

Fission Chips

I was talking about non medical reasons!