tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683446064054569523.post6261661113396722029..comments2024-03-28T14:05:05.234+13:00Comments on Little notes from Heather and Martin: Abortion - part oneHeatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17588832912375311757noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683446064054569523.post-70070088540034528072014-07-18T17:09:21.215+12:002014-07-18T17:09:21.215+12:00A very interesting read, Heather. I got your lette...A very interesting read, Heather. I got your letter and have been pondering my own stance. My stance comes more from a non-Christian perspective, although I've been interested reading what the bible has to say. I was wondering if the bit quoted from Exodus was directly from God speaking or someone's owns thoughts on the matter?? Reason I ask is that I 100% am anti the death penalty unless there is no other option at all to prevent further harm to others (ie, no chance whatsoever of rehabilitation of the perpetrator). <br /><br />For me, I am really struggling with this new stance from the Green's. It pains me to say it, but I feel so strongly about this topic that I may not be able to vote for them for the first time in my life this year. Which will be a real shame given they have so many great policies, this country really needs. I understand their reasoning for change, however I don't agree with the way they want that implemented. <br /><br />I agree that in some cases abortion needs to be more accessible. However it's so easy to get signed off in most cases, I have real concerns that as people we are very quick to make (what I see as a very HUGE decision) choices about unborn children's lives. Being pregnant is stressful even when you want to be, we go through so much change, emotionally and physically and it can at times be overwhelming. I can only imagine then how traumatising it would be for someone who's not in the right place in their life to find themselves pregnant. But we underestimate ourselves as to how much we can indeed cope with and adapt to, however inconvenient. <br /><br />But I believe abortion has its place. Some women are unsafe when they find themselves pregnant, for a host of reasons, incl risk to their own lives. Are we OK to make a decision that the woman can die if the pregnancy proceeds? We were faced with some tricky thoughts about this when we were due our 12 week scan. What would we do if there was something pretty majorly wrong with the baby? A pregnant Christian friend said they'd have the baby no matter what. However the cost to the system of having a child with major high needs means that money that could potentially save a 5 or 10 year old's life would be redirected to give aide to the child with the major disability. I felt really stuck. Would I be making a decision about someone's life no matter what I did (if the baby was found to be abnormal)? Would I be comfortable in saying to myself "oh well, it will be someone in the MOH's job to make that decision about where funding goes, so I'm off the hook?" I really began to see how it's not clear cut and thankfully everything was fine with this baby (so far).<br /><br />I have real issues with no sign off being required before 20 weeks. I know it's impossible to figure out when a human is a human and that comes down to all sorts of personal belief. Some cultures don't believe the person is "human" until the soul enters the body at birth. Some believe it's a human from the cell stage. Someone has to make the draw the line somewhere and that's tricky. It opens a huge debate about what makes a person a person and when this happens. I recall Isaac Asimov giving a good talk on this but I can't find the link unfortunately. <br /><br />I like your friend of a friend's blog post about alternatives and I think alternatives should be part of the answer to this problem. I think abortion is symptomatic of wider issues I'd rather see addressed by the Green's. And making abortion more accessible without making light of the fact that it is indeed a life. <br /><br />I feel that where a woman 'can', a woman 'should' give birth. The 'should' needs to be made more a point of, I believe. People are begging for children to adopt, or to bring up in relation with the mother. These were not even options discussed with the many people I know who have had abortions. <br /><br />Sorry for the ramble, I probably haven't added much to this!!Mamoosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05581150561728017702noreply@blogger.com