Abortion limit should stay at 24 weeks - do you feel different about abortion after having a baby?

[TheDullWitch]

It is the 40th anniversary of the abortion act and I do feel that there is a generation of 20-somethings who take this right for granted and are doing nothing whilst others seek to chip it away.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7059169.stm

i am a pro choicer but i do feel the limit should be dropped for "social" reasons.

i woild personaly like it to be dropped to 14 weeks but i know this would be unpopular.

i really do think that the method used for late terminations is cruel and really does make a good argument for the pro lifers.

I had one abortion before having kids.
It was probably the right thing to do.
I have quite contradictory views about it though.
I think women should be able to have them ( but 24 weeks is too late) but I think that they are awful things.
I still hold the view that I killed my own baby.

But later abortions are almost always for really desperate reasons. And you don t get your final scan for genetic problems until 20 weeks.

I have never had an abortion. My parents tried to persuade me to have one when I fell pg at 14, but ds will be 11 on friday and am so glad I didn't listen.FWIW I think they are too!
It's something I could not consider doing myself, but equally I think that the choice should be there and that no one should be made to feel bad for making that choice. Better an abortion than an unwanted baby, but I do think that abortions should be done a.s.a.p as I know most are. Late abortions should only be for medical reasons.
24 weeks is too late IMO but not sure where the line should be drawn!
So in answer to the question, no I don't think I feel differently after having a baby ( well 5 actually, ), I have always thought this.

I was very pro-choice in my teens, but I'd already swung completely the other way by the time I got married and had babies. My personal belief is that it should be made illegal, But I'm aware that I'm in a minority in that belief.

But there is no time limit at all for termination on the grounds of abnormality so this has no bearing on lowering the time-limit for abortions for 'social' reasons.

Definitely a lower limit for "social" reasons but alongside a smoother, quicker route to getting one.

I feel much differently having had BabyDragon having considered a termination. I look at her now and feel ill at the thought. However, I remain fiercely pro choice, it's just not for me.

the problem with it being made illegal is that it drives it underground which causes more problems.

MOst of other post-20 week abortions are apparently women who didn't realise they were pregnant until then. ie they either had irregular periods, menopausal or teenagers so didn t recognise symptoms or were in denial they were pregnant. Or others had wanted the pregancy initially but changed their minds eg because a partner had abandoned them.

Should these women be forced to take their babies to term? When they don t want them, but are too late for some people's taste.

i'm with SueB. they become human beings. i don't agree with it and would never do it.

im with kittywitch on this - i could have written that post

24 weeks is too late apart from the most exceptinal of circumstances IMO.

My view of abortion has actually done a huge U turn in recent months. I was very anti abortion but actually booked a termination for my current pregnancy but ended up in hospital and missed my appointment by the time I was out I was nearly 12 weeks and that was to far gone IMO to go ahead. For a while I wished I'd gone ahead with it but now I'm much better and am glad to be having another.

However if I ever fell pregnant again I would terminate in the very early weeks without doubt now (never EVER thought I'd say that) That said I'm hoping for an elective c/section and will ask to be sterilised and will also get DH "done" to be on the safe side.

In my case it's my responsibility to make sure I don't get pregnant again as I know I could not go through with it.

My change in attitude is something I'm struggling to deal with at the mo I just never thought I'd be anything other than anti abortion (except for medical reasons) I guess it's ok to have really strong opinions when it's not a choice you've had to face

But really I d like to know, should a 15-yr-old 20 weeks pregnant be forced to go with a pregnancy she doesn t want?

I'm still pro-choice. I personally wouldn't have an abortion, but I'm happily married to a supportive partner and financially able to cope with an unexpected pregnancy. Not all girls / women are in this position. The reality of having and caring for a child has actually strengthened my pro-choice views.
Also support the 24 week limit. It is pretty much exclusively reserved for severe abnormalities detected during the 20 week scan or if the pregnancy becomes life-threatening for the mother. I can't imagine for one minute that 2 doctors would agree to this procedure at such a late stage if the situation were not desperate and have nothing but sympathy for the women that must go through this.

I'm presuming the questions about taking a pregnancy to term are addressed to me, as I've stated my pro-life position?

As you're asking, my opinion would be yes, with proper support, counselling and measures in place for adoption or single motherhood.

i don't think it should be lowered much more. say to about 20 weeks.

I think the limit should be much lower for social reasons. I think having had children has made me find the whole concept vastly more upsetting than when I was young.

FioFio >What does abortion up to term mean? That say a 38 week foetus which could survive unaided is killed then induced? Why would they do that rather than just induce the birth and deal with the baby's problems? I don t know that this ever happens.

"I don t know that this ever happens." It does. Wasn't there a high profile case involving cleft lip/palate?