Abortion rate highest ever - I'm sorry I just don't buy the reason suggested for this...

[CountessDracula]

"But pregnancy advice groups said the figures probably reflected poor access to contraceptive services"

What utter tosh

You can buy condoms in many loos in clubs and pubs. In any chemist or 24hour shop.

You have access to family planning clinics and doctors with free contraception

You can buy the morning after pill over the counter ffs

Shouldn't people take a bit more responsibility and get themselves to these places and get some bloody contraception?

It's as if an abortion is somehow 'cheating' because you don't get to suffer enough. Only a pregnancy,birth and a baby would be a big enough punishment for the 'crime' of getting accidentally pregnant.

I had an abortion. I was not 14. I was not on a drink and drugs binge. I was not feckless.

And i certainly dont think anyone would 'use' it as contraception. It was an incredibly traumatic experiance while seriously affected my life. It still affects my life.

To group 'people who have abortions' into some category of 'Jeremy Kyle' style, stupid, irresponsible, young idiots is totally unfair.

Everyone who has an abortion does so for their own reasons, and fall into any category - young, old, rich, poor, single, married..

I assume that the people with those opinion have never had an abortion. Anyone who has knows it is not a easy decision taken lightly.

Sally - The OP is about abortions increasing due to poor access to contraceptives. I don't agree that contraceptives are hard to get hold of - I just think women should take responsibility for, that's all. Like I said earlier, I don't pretend to be objective on this one, having desperately tried to conceive for years before falling pregnant.

I just think women should take responsibility for their actions, that should be.

I haven't read the thread and judging by the length of it it may well have got heated, but none the less I'll stick my oar in.

I feel people are offered abortions too easily. Bassmama, you say you're still affected by yours. Many, many women say the same. Did you really understand, before you had it, how it would upset you so far into the future?

I don't think women are told this. (Nor are men fwiw). Talk of 'it's just a ball of cells, not a real baby blah blah' is too flippant. It is too readily available and what's more, young women and teenagers in particular are railroaded into having abortions. It's well meaning, but I don't see why. I know so many people, and have people in my family, who accidentally had babies really young and it was all fine. Women have always had babies at all ages.

I hate the way society rounds on young women with all manner of scorn and disrespect when we should be supporting them and giving them real choices.

Contraception does fail, you know.

And never mind, people who have abortions aren't escaping their due punishment, because of course abortions scar women mentally and physically forever.

It's probably worth noting that abortion rates always go up a few months after a significant health scare about the pill. Lots of women obviously go off the pill and then either don't sort out other contraception, or have problems with their new method. (I'm sure condoms are more likely to fail if you're not used to them, for example.)

NotQuiteCockney - I for one would NEVER suggest that having the baby would be a punishment. And I did acknowledge that there are unusual circumstances, like contraception failing, for instance. Although I think if you dig deeper there are often forgotten pills in there.

I'm not going to argue the point because I know I'm not looking at it objectively. I still find it a very very sad subject.

i am surprised at this silly pigeon hole -ing of anti -abortion as an anti -children veiwpoint

those who have suffered lifelong torment and depression as a result of termination are notably absent from this thread

twinklemegan i agree - grown women should be able to manage their contaception

accidents happen - but not on this scale

Sorry NaO you are being disingenous in that characterisation. We are specifically referring to the idea of children as "consequences" of undesirable behaviour.

Well, they are "accidents" aren't they ?
Few women get preganant then abort on purpose.

People screw up, and given that the average person has sex around 5-10,000 times, errors are going to be made.

What you're saying is that they don't measure up to your standards of taking care. That's a bit judgemental, but a valid point.

Also there have been technical changes in both condoms and the pill over time. Originally the pill was given at a much higher dose than today, but for health reasons this has been shaved down a lot, so that normal random fluctuations can make it fail silently.
Condoms used to be not much short of hoses, but are now much thinner, albeit of better materials, but agian with less margin for error.

domini- so in effect you are saying that advances in science have bypassed contraception and infact these methods are now less effective ...hmmm

i am no angel but have managed sexusing a condom a couple of times a week for 15 years without an accident ..am i odd?

Spidermama - I was not told anything about any bad feelings afterwards, at any point. When i canme round from the GA i literally immediately burst into tears. Since that second I have been affected, in a very big way.

If people were a little more educated or informed on how it can affect you, it would certainly put more people off abortions. But is that really a good thing? I dont think it would particularly affect pregnancy rates.

NotAnOtter 'those who have suffered lifelong torment and depression as a result of termination are notably absent from this thread' HELLO

How lucky you are that you have been lucky and your contraception has never failed. God forbid you would ever have to have an abortion and be in a position to know how it feels.

Think yourself lucky.

a nurse at my local early pregnancy unit told me that there are a lot of women who have multiple abortions who are professional and well educated. She said how hard she finds it to believe that women do not take into account the damage abortion can do to a woman's potential fertility.
I don't understand how a woman gets pregnant more than once by mistake. You'd think an abortion would focus the mind. Apparently not though.

I'm always amazed by the self-congratulatory note on some of these things. I've managed to avoid getting pregnant at the wrong time and having the terrible dilemma of whether to have an abortion or not, but I don't think that's because I'm especially competent and responsible, just lucky. Or maybe I just haven't had enough sex.

But you can put me in the virtuous woman camp if you want.

i have been in that position - and considred all options but chose to have the child

i am not anti- abortion

I honestly cant believe that there are people making judgements and forming opinions on women who have abortions.

Abortions are a right women have and women fought for a long time to have that right available.

People making those sort of comments will push abortion back under the carpet and make it an even harder decision to take.

To say that people who have abortions are irresponsible or stupid is outrageous.

Everyone has their reasons for doing it and i dont think anyone should be judging when they have no idea what the reasons are.

Has anyone cared to think that rape rates are also higher than they have ever been (thankfully this is probably due to more women reporting their rape). Surely this will be affecting the abortion rate also.

sally - at 23 i stupidly got pregnant because i was irresponsible and immature with regard to contraception

I would not make those mistakes again

NotAnOtter

'I am no angel but have managed sexusing a condom a couple of times a week for 15 years without an accident ..am i odd'

followed by on next post -

'i have been in that position - and considred all options but chose to have the child'

Contradictory?

yes - had I been younger i may have terminated . My situation was far far from ideal but i decided to keep the baby