Pro-Life v. Pro-Choice

Since there's threadjacking in the CWI subforum... I didn't make this thread so we could attack one another. I know this is a heated discussion. No personal attacks; if you find yourself getting too upset there's no harm with leaving and cooling off. Pro-choice does not mean you don't celebrate the miracle of life, just like pro-life does not mean you don't believe in a person's ability to self-regulate. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. Here goes. --- I am a firm believer in the right of a woman to choose whether or not to have a child. That said, I could never have an abortion myself; having lost a child through miscarriage (which, since it was before 16 weeks, was termed a "medical abortion") I got a first-hand look at what happens and can't imagine willingly putting myself through that pain again. If another woman really wants to do that to herself, that is her choice. Now, I do think women should be educated on what they are doing to their bodies when they abort. The doctor should clearly explain the side-effects - things like depression, possible loss of fertility, possible scarring, PTSD...the list goes on. It seems like there's a lot of concentration on effects of the fetus in an abortion and not a lot of concentration on what happens to the mother. All that being said, I do not believe this education should be used to bully a woman into choosing one way or another. For example, in Texas it's a requirement to hear the fetal heart-tones before making a decision. That to me is bullying. Telling a woman that at 10 weeks her fetus does already have a fully-functioning heart is one thing. Making her undergo a procedure (I know, it's not a big procedure) and see the fetus and saying "look, there is the fetus, and there's it's heart, LOOK AT IT THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE KILLING" is a completely different thing. Is a doctor literally saying those words? No. But the action is implying that and I feel that's manipulative and wrong. Lastly, one of the first things I learned as a medical provider was my job is to do what is best for that patient, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Who am I to say that decision they made isn't what's best for them? All I can do is give the patient as much information as I can so they can make the most educated decision possible for themselves in their situation.

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 2629979