Ok, Dawg, I'll take the bait. Remember, you asked.
I believe life begins at the moment of conception.
I believe that God creates and instills a soul into the baby the moment it's conceived.
As a mother who has miscarried three children, I never felt that I lost a zygote or a fetus; I lost a baby, I lost a child, and grieved that loss.
According to the Journal of American Pediatrics, there is never a time when a baby "must" be aborted to save the life of the mother. The pediatricians say that, if necessary, a mother can have an emergency c-section if her life is in danger and then the pediatricians can try to save the baby. They may or may not be able to succeed but they will try.
I believe that the mother's life and the baby's life are equally valuable.
Rape and incest are tragic. In both cases, the woman is terribly abused and victimized. There is a book called, "Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About their Pregnancies, Abortions, and Children Resulting from Sexual Assault" by David C. Reardon. This is considered the most comprehensive study on this theme. In rape, the trauma is "someone hurt me." In abortion, the trauma is "I hurt and killed someone else: my child." Abortion is not a solution to the rape. I does not alleviate the pain and trauma of the woman who was raped. It merely adds a new trauma. Many rape victims feel pressured to have an abortion.
It is unjust that a woman who has been raped must carry an unwanted child for nine months. It is a far greater injustice to kill the child. This is one of those cases where injustice can't be avoided.
I've known many women who've had abortions for various reasons. I've only known one who didn't have terrible grief and lots of regret. It was a life-changing event for all of them.
I'm "pro-choice," i.e., I believe we make a choice to have sex or not to have sex. If we choose to have sex, we risk pregnancy. I think abortion is merely after-the-fact birth control. Most of the women I know who had abortions did so because they were in college and it would mess things up for them, or they were in high school and were afraid to tell their parents. Inconvenience is not a good enough reason to take a human life, in my opinion. I think people want to have their cake (sex) and eat it too (not have any repercussions.)
And for the person who mentioned women "dumping zygotes" via contraception, you are correct. Most women don't know that contraceptives are generally abortifascients. Which is one of the many reasons I also don't support contraception.
And, no, I don't believe in capital punishment or euthanasia.
Once upon a time I considered myself a strong feminist who supported all of the above. However, in time I found out that the feminist line I'd been sold for so many years was a lie that led to an empty life. So I did a little investigating and discovered that my thinking was flawed. So I changed. And that's how I got where I am today, so I don't blame people for being where I once was. They've bought the line they've been sold, too.
It bothers me that people see babies as a liability. I often wonder if they even think about all of the wonderful things that child could contribute to society, were it allowed to live.
Okay. all of you can fire away.
StAnn
