Originally Posted by
DrHax
I'm confused Oracle. Is it the womb part that makes it not living, or do you consider any living creature that's dependent on medical assistance "very not alive"?
I see what you're getting at here. You are trying to trap Oracle into saying either "it's the womb part" or "needing medical assistance" and then presenting an argument about people in a vegetative state, with your stance depending on which answer he gives. I argue that it is the needing medical assistance to survive that makes them not alive anymore. And before you get all huffy, let me say this: In those situations, they are not able to make their own decisions, just like a fetus. Their family and/or loved ones make the decision of whether to keep trying to cure them, keep them alive, or pull the plug. So if you are arguing that abortion is murder, than you also argue that pulling the plug on people in comas is also murder.
"But pulling the plug is a mercy and prevents any more suffering!"
So is abortion. As duck has pointed out, it is very likely that the child will not have a very good life. On average, women give at least three reasons for getting an abortion, with the most popular ones being:
A) Having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities (75%)
B) They cannot afford the child (75%)
C) They do not want to be a single parent or are currently having problems with their partner (50%)
All three of these are reasons that show that if the baby were to live, either mother, child or both would be in financial or societal jeopardy.
Originally Posted by
Avatar
A baby should be allowed to live out it's life.
It is questionable whether or not the fetus can be considered a baby or a child while it is still in the womb, especially if it is during the first trimester when most abortions are performed. And even if you argue that everyone has a soul like most religious people do, then you must also ask whether the fetus has a soul as soon as it is conceived, or if it gains one after a certain point in the pregnancy.
Originally Posted by
Avatar
If the parent is not fit to care for the kid then the kid can be placed else where to live.
Adoption is not nearly as effective as it seems to be. I don't have the numbers available, but a good chunk of children that parents put up for adoption, either through the hospital or afterwards, go into either orphanages or group homes. And many of those children do not get adopted, or if they do, they do not stay in the foster homes. In 2012 (latest available statistics) 23,000 children aged out of the US foster care system. Of those 23,000, only 48% were employed, and I imagine that most had trouble holding that job.
Originally Posted by
Avatar
It is not right to rid them of a life just because the parents are not smart enough to either care for the kid or use protection to prevent them.
It is not right to force someone to take care of a child when they cannot support it, especially when doing so will make both parties miserable. And just because a woman wants to get an abortion does not mean that she is not smart. See above for details.
Originally Posted by
Avatar
I also know, that sometimes the situation is that the girl was raped and forced to have a baby but even then. If you don't want the baby put it up for adoption
Only 1% of women who had an abortion reported doing so because she was raped. Of course, most women do not list that as a reason because they are ashamed or afraid. As for adoption, see above.