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In reply to the discussion: Contrary to popular opinion, DU is supposed to be for politically *liberal* people. Either that or [View all]moriah
(8,311 posts)They had a really good episode about third-trimester abortions and the killing of abortion activists, and I though they did a good job of showing how many people's personal experiences can influence their opinion on these very sensitive topics.
At the end of the episode, he said "I used to expect people to be consistent -- that pro-lifers would oppose capital punishment, that champions of human rights would claim some for the unborn. I don't expect that anymore."
I'm fairly radically pro-choice, at least according to people who I do care about deeply who have extremely different opinions on the subject. I believe that while life may begin at conception, pregnancy does not begin until implantation. I hope for a day when we can do placental/fetal transplants rather than abortions, because there *are* so many women who would love to have a baby (though blasted few of them want an older child, and out of diapers is apparently too old for most) who can't conceive naturally. We can't. If the fetus is healthy and viable and the mother chooses to terminate the pregnancy, inducing an early delivery after shots to develop the lungs is reasonable (most doctors would prefer to avoid a D&X or any procedure involving instrumentation being inserted into the uterus if they could anyway), and unless the health of the mother requires otherwise all efforts should be made to allow a baby to live if it can on its own. As I said, I think asking the mother to wait a week for the lung steroids is reasonable. I would not force a Cesarean, however, even if it would mean a higher chance of survival than an attempted natural delivery.
I am firmly anti-abortion, however. I've had one, I felt I had no choice, I've discussed it on here before. I could not have one again, and I've done my best to make sure that I never do. I have a copper IUD, they rock. I feel badly enough that the IUD makes an unplanned pregnancy much more likely to end in miscarriage, but I'll grieve if that happens then. And the way to prevent abortions is to get better access to birth control and better support services for expectant mothers, not legislation.