"wantto > Funny isn't it, despite me placing myself squarely in the pro-choice camp, I feel like I could have written your last post.
There needs to be better support in place, that support could cut down the number of regretted abortions, and therefore the total number of abortions, without denying them to those who need them."
First ray of hope on this thread, imo, Kaloki I think the debate would be more productive if each side could acknowledge that the other cares deeply in its own way about women and babies, and if both sides joined forces to greatly improve circumstances of life for women and families who knows how much abortion rates could be reduced? There are real issues behind abortion that seem to go unchallenged and unchanged why is mental health funding so woeful and why are services so hard to come by for women who are overwhelmed? Why is there such a long wait for NHS vasectomies? Little details reveal much about the priorities of the health system, but the NHS is an entity that can be affected by prevailing political winds, surely?
In the case of Ireland the cruel maths involved means that as long as older people can and do vote, the pensions and other benefits they enjoy will probably not be reduced, whereas in a family of five, with three children whose allowance is reduced by 10%, there are usually only two voters. Five people have been affected by this reduction, three of whom are voiceless. Ladies, we can vote for better conditions. We can make noise about this.
It will take time, but it is up to us to make women and young families a priority of politicians, and make them stop the lip-service about the importance of the family, women, blah, blah, blah. Pay us 100% of what men make. Give us (and our partners) quality child care. Give us what we need and deserve through the health services (after all, men benefit from having happy, healthy women in their lives too). Protect us from violence by imposing harsh sentences for rape and domestic violence.