I can only speak for myself, and abortion is not a choice I would make. I do support the fact that women should be able to make this choice for themselves.

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"Philosophy is a walk on a slippery rock
Religion is a smile on a dog."

Good for you, but tragically, not all of us are perfect, and mistakes sometimes get made.

That leaves all those "moralizers" to decide how to deal with the effects of those mistakes. Many of us would offer what help we could, depending on the circumstances. Some of us would then turn the choice of what help to accept, and what decisions to make, to the girl who has to live with the consequences.

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evangelicalhumanist: Greek "eu"=good and "angelos"=messenger. Spreading the good news of Humanism.

Abortion is probably a last resort when it occurs..either for medical reasons or social ones.. but ideally I think it is a matter of personal conscience and medical counsel and people shouldn't intrude on that.

The other area that is troubling is that mothers have been granted immunity from prosecution if they bear a child and deliver it say to a hospital relinguishing it to the care of others soon after birth..but even where this is accepted babies are still found in trash bins...

- Art

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"it benefits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God."
- Johannes Kepler

I am going to post as a person who actually has had an abortion. I was just barely 23, still in college, nearly done with my second degree; and had also just found out that my then boyfriend had fallen off the wagon and was using & drinking again. I also knew first hand that though he loved his daughter by another woman dearly, his treatment of all involved was immature at best.

So I did it. This isn't some decision that you wake up and say "Hey! I want to get pregnant so I can have an abortion! WOO HOO!" Not. I seriously did not want to be attached to that man for the rest of my life. Granted his family was wonderful, supported me through the termination and my subsequent breakup with him days later.

Deciding to get an abortion was embarrassing for me, to this day many friends and all my family do not know. I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb, it was pure humiliation sitting through the psych eval before my procedure. during the procedure the Dr was complaining that I wasn't as far along as I thought I was, making me feel more stupid. There was also some nurses assistant trying to make conversation with me about inane topics and I just wanted her to shut up and go away. It physically does hurt; worse than any cramps I've ever felt, for that is what they tell you it feels like. You can hear all the suction and see the fluids leaving your body much like on a tv program showing a liposuction procedure. Granted my experience is going to be as different from anyone else's just as my reasonings for it.

I am sure I could have kept my baby, she would have been 5 this past February, but all of my actions in the past have brought me to this point today and I wouldn't change a thing.

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- Wisdom comes when you stop looking for it. -
"If God were alive today, he'd be an atheist" - Kurt Vonnegut

Please visit my foster dog blog: The Colbert Report.

What relevance does that pose on the abortion debate?

I do believe the age of an embryo is a very important part when talking about abortion.

I believe abortions should be only allowed up to 12 weeks, after three months I would have a hard time seeing it as an abortion.

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May your awareness be perfection

Why?

Wendy.. Thanks for sharing your experience. This very much I think is the kind of situation that many face and have to make the hard choices ... none of which are easy. This is a reason I think that the decisions made after consultation and considered prayer and meditation are sacrosanct and should be respected.

- Art

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"it benefits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God."
- Johannes Kepler

I cannot imagine that this was an easy thing for you to have shared with us. I thank you for your courage and for explaining your choice very cogently.
Reading this, I could really empathize with what you endured and it impressed upon me what a difficult choice and procedure abortion is. It is not a "quick-fix" done on a whim. It is a wrenching, painful, humiliating ordeal.
What a horrible thing to go through! The whole situation seems awful and I pray I never have to make the decision you had to face.

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Greater love hath no man than to attend the Episcopal Church with his wife.
~Lyndon B. Johnson~

I am against abortion in all cases except those where it endangers the life of the mother, in which case I consider it the mother's choice. I understand that this may sound callous when cases of rape and incest are involved, and may seem like I do not respect the woman's right to control her body. I have taken a lot of heat for this opinion from my fellow liberals, but I cannot dissuade myself of the belief that the soul begins at conception.

Normally I am against mixing religion with government, and I understand that 'soul' is not an idea that can play into law. However, if I consider abortion murder, I don't feel like I have any choice but to vote and speak out against abortion, even though it means forcing my beliefs on others. While the issue I odd, since there is not objective way to define when human life begins, I feel so strongly that a foetus is a human life and must be protected by the government. This overrides any rights the mother has to control her body, any discomfort she feels emotionally or physically, and any emotional scarring from rape of incest. It is regretablle and disagrees with my other principles, but if I believe abortion is murder I don't really have the choice to feel otherwise about it.

For me it happens to be a government and religious issue, and is the only issue on which the two mix much at all.