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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

i heard on the radio today that the abortion deadline.....

157 replies

ShaysMummy · 29/01/2006 20:11

was to be brought down sooner than 24 weeks. is it just me, or does anyone else feel this is long overdue?
I dont want anyone to rip into me or anything mind.
just wondered what your thoughts were?

OP posts:
Original poster
ShaysMummy · 29/01/2006 21:14

so its just me then that thinks every abortion is not for a good reason?

OP posts:
Original poster
ShaysMummy · 29/01/2006 21:14

fio fio, thank you.

OP posts:
WideWebWitch · 29/01/2006 21:16

No-one said that shaysmummy but I for one am pro womens' right to abortion.

Original poster
ShaysMummy · 29/01/2006 21:16

if a woman decided she was not ready to have a baby yet but was quite far along and the baby was fine and she was perfectly fine, would she be denied an abortion then?

OP posts:
hercules · 29/01/2006 21:16

But shaysmummy, what if it was made illegal? Women would still have them and think of the consequences.

I am pro choice btw.

hercules · 29/01/2006 21:18

Sorry, my post was confusing, I mean for you to consider the consequences if women were denied the opportunity to have an abortion in a legal way.

WideWebWitch · 29/01/2006 21:18

shaysmummy, what exactly is your position? That if a woman is pregnant she should ALWAYS have the baby? Unless she's been raped/other situation you deem acceptable? is that it?

Original poster
ShaysMummy · 29/01/2006 21:20

i think its their choice too. i would definately want a choice if it was me. i think i am getting het up as my m/c anniversary is looming and i stumbled across a website the other day while looking for week by week baby development which said whilst being aborted, the baby feels pain.
it gave me nightmares!!

OP posts:
FioFio · 29/01/2006 21:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
ShaysMummy · 29/01/2006 21:22

yes!!!

OP posts:
hercules · 29/01/2006 21:22

Ahh, fair enough.

Original poster
ShaysMummy · 29/01/2006 21:23

if you didnt want a baby, you would do your damnedest not to get preg, if you thought you were, you would take that morning after pill thing wouldnt you? i have taken it.

OP posts:
spacedonkey · 29/01/2006 21:23

shaysmummy, believe me, a woman cannot go swanning into her GP surgery asking for an abortion at 24 weeks. They won't do it later than 12 weeks unless there exceptional medical reasons to do so afaik.

hercules · 29/01/2006 21:24

But life isnt like that, Shaysmummy and women will still seek abortions whether it is legal or not. Which is better?

Original poster
ShaysMummy · 29/01/2006 21:24

thats good. thanks for that info.

OP posts:
Original poster
ShaysMummy · 29/01/2006 21:26

ikwym hercules. i am not for making them illegal, that would be terrible as people would get themselves into all sorts of trouble.

OP posts:
WideWebWitch · 29/01/2006 21:27

shqaysmummy, also no contraception is 100% infallible, it just isn't. The only way to GUARANTEE not getting pregnant is to abstain from sex. Yes, ideally abortions should be carried out as early as possible, I don't disagree that the earlier the better.

Original poster
ShaysMummy · 29/01/2006 21:28

i was gonna say you would realise before 24 weeks surely as you would miss a monthly but not everyones are regular are they? mine werent.

OP posts:
Blandmum · 29/01/2006 21:35

i have a friend who didn't miss any periods at all in the first trimester at all. for her this was not an issues as the pg was very much wanted.

i have other friends that have had terminations and none had them lightly. it was very much a difficult decision to make.

saadia · 29/01/2006 21:41

While I do see the argument that continuing with an unwanted pregnancy might result in a miserable life for the baby, I cannot see why a 24 week old foetus (and earlier actually) is not regarded as a person. I know that medically/technically it is dependant for survival on the mother, but I do honestly see it as a person. I really don't want to upset anyone, but when I was pg both times in my mind, when I saw the scan I regarded the dss as individuals.

edam · 29/01/2006 22:54

But you were pregnant with wanted babies, Saadia. I thought of ds as a person too, when I was pregnant. But the mother's emotions about a much-wanted unborn child aren't a good basis for creating laws that would harm people in very different situations.

The book I was talking about is Policing Pregnancy: the law and ethics of obstetric conflict, by Sheena Meredith, Ashgate publishing. Came out in November. Can highly recommend it.

Original poster
ShaysMummy · 29/01/2006 23:21

thats why i got a bit upset saadia, i think what you think about the baby being a person, but can also understand what everyone else is saying.

OP posts:
Mercedes · 29/01/2006 23:23

When the issue of lowering the deadline is raised it always descends into an emotive issue about the status of the foetus. Very little thought is given to the emotions of the mum whose just discovered at her 20 week scan that her baby has severe disabilities. At the moment she's got a 4 week space to think about her options and if she does decide to terminate then she's got to get doctors to agree to the operation. If she's very unlucky she could have an unsympathetic doctor who won't agree to the termination. She's then got to go off and find doctors who'll agree. The other thing to consider is getting a date from the hospital for the termination.
It's not fair on the pregnant women to make them decide at once. What happens if they miss their 20 week scan and get one at 21 or 22 weeks?
So few women have a termination at this stage that they do not need even more pressure to be added to an already horrible situation.

Original poster
ShaysMummy · 29/01/2006 23:26

i do agree with that mercedes, if the baby is very poorly then obviously i think the mother should then decide what she wants to do. she will have to look after the baby if she goes ahead. i always thought that if i found my baby was poorly i would go ahead. since i had my son, and thank the lord he is fine, i have realised that i would actually have felt differently. he is hard work at the best of times.

OP posts:
chicagomum · 29/01/2006 23:28

I agree mercedes. My sister is currently 23 weeks and is looking at potentially having to have a termination due to possible kidney problems which would result in the baby dying once it leaves the womb. She only found out 2 days ago, and now has a small window of time to get the tests done etc and make that decision.