Most people think women have a right to choose an abortion, but the number is falling, a survey has indicated.
Where do you stand on this?
Read this story
Latest stories
^top
Once you introduce a law permitting abortions, it seems virtually impossible to repeal, though you may be able to restrict it.
Personally I'm against most abortions, but not sure about changing the law.
^top
Of course they are. I can think of many reasons why a woman/couple wouldn't want to bring a baby into this world. I imagine women could think of many more.
I know some people on here go on about the time for choice being before conception, but accidents happen for whatever reason. Doesn't mean that accident has to rule you're life. Though it probably will one way or another. I imagine a lot of women find it hard to live with the guilt of having an abortion even if it was the right choice for them at the time.
^top
Pip wrote:
Of course they are. I can think of many reasons why a woman/couple wouldn't want to bring a baby into this world. I imagine women could think of many more.
I know some people on here go on about the time for choice being before conception, but accidents happen for whatever reason. Doesn't mean that accident has to rule you're life. Though it probably will one way or another. I imagine a lot of women find it hard to live with the guilt of having an abortion even if it was the right choice for them at the time.
I have to agree with you and there are so many scenarios involved here that no one can conclusively say yah or nah... without making a mistake at some point.
^top
To put this in perspective, we already have a lot of research evidence that shows when women have decided on a termination they very rarely change their mind.
I suspect BPAS has only done a 'survey' here in order to get their concerns into the papers. Certainly they're not telling us what countless other studies have already documented.
If a woman is seeking a termination she currently has to see a practitioner and get one doc to sign off that she is indeed suitable for a termination (and that she wants one and will suffer if she doesn't get one). Then at a later stage another doc must do the same.
This was introduced years ago to ensure women were really certain they wanted terminations, but with increased demand on health services and limits on practitioner time you can end up waiting many weeks from the time you decide on a termination to the time you get one. For the minority who are uncertain this could help, but for most women this is a problem.
Why? Because the longer your pregnancy progresses the less likely it is you can have a termination by tablet (known as a medical termination) and more likely to need a surgical termination. The longer your pregnancy progresses you'll also have symptoms that can make you feel dreadful. It's bad enough if you want the baby but traumatic if you don't. And obviously the psychological damage of waiting and often concealing a pregnancy (from friends, family, work colleagues etc) is hard.
So what BPAS are asking for (as many others have already requested) is that this process can be simplified. If a woman is certain she wants a termination she should be able to refer herself directly for the procedure, still be assessed by a doctor but not have the waits between sign off times. In many areas this is already happening, and it happens when women have a termination privately.
For those who are not certain obviously they have time to consider and counselling offered.
The evidence suggests women who are made to wait do not change their minds but are often more distressed by waiting than the termination itself.
There's no major changes being suggested here, more a reorganisation of services. Some medics are complaining about this but that's because it places care in hands of nursing staff and decisions in the hands of patients which (some) docs are notoriously unhappy to allow.
^top
