[PhoenixAlive]

Originally Posted by ShimmeringFaerie

I don't understand why you think it is suitable to let a woman get so upset and distressed that she becomes suicidal. It seems to me that you would want to stop depression before it got that bad. In the same way that you would want to stop bullying before it got to the point where the victim wanted to commit suicide. Why wouldn't you let a woman have an abortion when she starts to get depressed rather than letting it continue?

I don't care if a woman is depressed while she is pregnant as long as it is not seriously affecting her physical health. Her feelings are irrelevant to my stance in this debate. All I care about is that both her and the baby survive. She can deal with her feelings in therapy.

Originally Posted by ShimmeringFaerie

Getting an abortion illegally doesn't make a woman unstable, it makes her desperate. And I'm obviously not talking about people who are in a position to get a medically necessary abortion. Are you seriously saying that a woman's life is worth less than the baby that she is carrying? That is doesn't matter if they die?

What I am saying is that I value the life of the mother equally with the value of the baby. So, if 20,000 women die from illegal abortions, this is better than the approximately 20 million babies who die per year from legal abortions alone.

Originally Posted by ShimmeringFaerie

Who exactly makes sure that all pregnancies are medically monitored? If a woman doesn't want to go to a doctor, who is going to make her? And it seems to me that if she doesn't care about the baby, then she isn't really going to want to spend the money on doctor's appointments and check-ups. I can't imagine that anyone would be able to institutionalise someone for smoking or drinking (unless they're an alcoholic), regardless of whether or not they're pregnant. Don't you think it would be better to allow women to get an abortion rather than make the child grow up with a disability?

Where I am living, you don't pay for healthcare. I didn't pay a cent for any of my doctor's appointments or check-ups, or ultrasounds, etc. I was speaking along the lines of if someone is an alcoholic or addicted to drugs. Smoking or drinking very occasionally during pregnancy isn't going to cause severe disabilities to the baby. And even if the baby has a disability, I would prefer both he or she, and the mother to survive the pregnancy.