Which of the following do you agree with most?
Abortion is necessary to control the population. 2%
It is her body, it should be her choice. 53%
Personally against abortions, but respect the rights of others. 12%
I dislike abortion, and wish to reduce the number of abortions via certain reforms, but a ban would be going too far. 5%
Ban certain procedures like D&E, but keep it legal for all as a whole. 2%
Abortion should be banned, but enact several reforms to give women other options. 9%
Abortion is immoral, but necessary in certain cases. 13%
Abortion is immoral, and never justified. 4%
This is a continuation of the ongoing Abortion discussion, as the OP of the previous thread is inactive and I would like to establish a more precise poll to see where people stand on the issue. I would recommend that posters please read the entirety of this post before posting.
https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=375127 - This is a link to the previous iteration of the thread.
As it has been pointed out that I should put forward some roughly neutral definitions and points, here are a few major definitions and documents to keep in mind:
'Fetus' definition
'Murder' definition
'Self-Defense' Definition
'Homicide' Definition
Merriam-webster definition of 'parasite'
Biology definition of 'parasite'
Biology definition of 'parasitism'
Merriam-webster definition of 'innocent'
Wiki Article on Parasitism, has source links that might be of use.
And on another note: Useful post in this very thread giving a decent examination of the word Parasite and parasitism. Credit to Esternial for going to the trouble.
Important Documents for a rather U.S. centered discussion.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Interactive map of abortion access around the world, who allows it, who doesn't, etc. etc.
14th amendment to the US constitution
4th amendment to the US constitution
The Bill of Rights for the US constitution
And a basic site that gives summarized arguments for both sides of the argument.
Pro and Con Arguments
Before I begin, though:
One thing I would wish to do in this thread is present for the consideration of pro-lifers a 'compromise' of sorts. I think in most cases that both pro-lifers and pro-choicers can agree that abortion in itself is a sad thing, sad that a human life is ended, but sad also that such must exist for our society to treat everyone equally.
Often it has been mentioned that pro-lifers simply wish to reduce abortions. This is all well and good. This can be done without disrupting the rights of anyone. It can be done by advocating for free and widely available contraception, including long term and short term options, as well as ensuring comprehensive sex education that provides training to utilize contraception effectively. It would also be useful to rework the welfare system to prevent women from being overburdened, financially or otherwise by the prospects that an unwanted pregnancy would bring.
If these things were set in place, the number of abortions would be rather tremendously reduced, and in a way that imposes upon the rights of no-one. It will rectify the root cause of abortions without causing anyone to drastically alter their lifestyle and eliminate any sense of stigma that might come from experiencing an unwanted/unexpected pregnancy.
It would be at this point neither necessary nor feasible to enact any form of abortion ban as the need for enforcement of such a ban would be all but nonexistent. Why ban what for all practical intents and purposes does not happen save in medical emergencies?
Food for thought.
That being said, my previous OP is presented below.
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Abortion, mayhap one of the greatest hot-button issues of modern society, generates more debate and name-calling than even the evolution/creationism argument (I refuse to call it a debate as such implies that creationism is worthy of equivalent respect compared to the Theory of Evolution, but that’s all for another thread).
No person has the right to control another person’s body against their will.
Long version of my Position
Now, throughout my own presence on these boards, I’ve noted a wide variety of arguments against the concept of abortion (which as Abortion is presently legal in the United States, is the side that I will focus on here), though in the end they all end up summarizing into a handful of fundamental positions. I shall present them here, along with the points arguing against each, as well as arguments against specific sub-arguments.
Please keep in mind, these are utilizing my own positions on the matter as a pro-choice individual. Other pro-choicers may differ from my own position, though I have found that the position I have reached is the most consistent and sustainable of those available. I ascribe to a philosophical version of Occam’s Razor in this situation: The less you have to present exceptions or justifications to your argument, the higher the probability that your position is the logically correct one. This is the logical aspect, not necessarily the moral aspect.
It is also important that this position is focused on the United States and the rights granted to citizens by the US Constitution. Those from other countries might have different legal situations.
Without further ado, the basic pro-life arguments:
”1. ABORTION IS MURDER!”
”2. If the woman did not want to get pregnant, she shouldn’t have had sex!”
”3. Every human has a right to life!”
”4. The man helped create the life, he should have a say in whether it ends!”
”5. She should just put it up for adoption!”
When one boils all of the debate down to its most fundamental basis, the argument is rendered into the following question: Does the right of a person to control their own body supersede the right of another person to live? This to me is a matter of opinion. Does one defend themselves from attackers with deadly force or not? It is a personal choice, one that has no right or wrong answer.
So NS, hopefully you have read the long version and can understand the context of the following questions. What say you?
1. Does the right of a person to control their own body supersede that of another individual’s right to live? Why or why not?
2. Even though you might personally disagree with abortion, do you accept that others should have a right to it? Why or why not?
MODS: Let me know if you wish me to make further adjustments.
CHANGELOG
9/5/2016- Minor change to one option on poll, does not change actual option.
9/7/2016- Added links to definitions and documents that might be useful source material.