if society would develop into something where people would start thinking like this then when they are trying to have children then I'm 98% sure that technology isnt the problem but the human race isDreadsox said:If people are going to abort for one defect, with the development of future technology, they may decide that there are other "defects" that are potential "hardships" on the family.
LivLuvAndBootlegMusic said:If couples are so self-centered that they can't love a child with a handicap, then why don't they just adopt?
Angela Harlem said:And no, cleft palates are a ludicrous reason for aborting an unborn child.
FizzingWhizzbees said:
I think that to assume that such a decision would be due to the couple being "self-centered" is far too simplistic. There are so many factors which could influence a couple's decision if they were in this situation. I also think that deciding to have an abortion is an agonising decision for a couple to have to make and I don't believe that deciding to abort a fetus which would be born with severe disabilities indicates that the parents wouldn't have loved the child.
melon said:
It can mean whatever. That's the beauty of "choice." They may never look back, or they may be tortured by it until they die and beyond. But that is their choice, and it is not my place to judge.
Melon
Dreadsox said:I do not need to be specific. That is why I said "defect" in quotes.
melon said:Again, the mothers will have to deal with their conscience someday.
anitram said:
Maybe you don't need to be, but the scientific community is quite specific in defining genetic defects.
Dreadsox said:
I think you are looking at it from a scientific standpoint, however, if people are beginning to look at things like clubbed feet, or cleft pallates....there is something wrong and I see nothing that could stop science from develping future tests to determine other "defects" that people may not want in their lives.
beli said:I process clinical trial and other medical insurance applications. I enjoy reading the applications and thinking "I hope this one works, its sounds wonderful".
I honestly believe, and maybe Im naive, that society will put brakes on itself if we start heading down a foggy path. I really dont believe that society will begin making/choosing babies that only fit the USA ideal of beauty or whatever.
anitram said:
It blows the mind, and just goes to show that probably 90% of the general population has no idea what cloning even means.
FizzingWhizzbees said:
I also think that deciding to have an abortion is an agonising decision for a couple to have to make and I don't believe that deciding to abort a fetus which would be born with severe disabilities indicates that the parents wouldn't have loved the child.
LivLuvAndBootlegMusic said:
This is something couples need to consider before getting pregnant. My opinion is that if you're not willing to or prepared to care for your child no matter what, then you should not get pregnant.
U2Kitten said:
You know we may not agree on much but I'm with you on this one.
LivLuvAndBootlegMusic said:
This is something couples need to consider before getting pregnant. My opinion is that if you're not willing to or prepared to care for your child no matter what, then you should not get pregnant.
LivLuvAndBootlegMusic said:
Aborting a child b/c it has a cleff palette just seems so sick and twisted and, I think, selfish.
There's just something that feels so wrong about playing God. You can preach women's rights at me all day long, but as a woman, I feel that an unborn child should NEVER EVER have to suffer b/c someone else decides it is not worthy of living or someone else doesn't have the guts to live with their mistake.
FizzingWhizzbees said:
Let's use a hypothetical situation here: a couple finds out that their child will be born with such severe disabilities that it will live for only a few months or years, will have no quality of life and will suffer unimaginably throughout its entire life. In your opinion if they choose to have an abortion, then they shouldn't have got pregnant in the first place?
That seems so judgemental to me. I can't imagine what a couple must go through if they find out their child will be born with severe disabilities, but I don't believe that deciding to have an abortion is a decision they take lightly and I certainly don't accept that making that decision means that they shouldn't have decided to have children in the first place.
meegannie said:
I think it's very judgemental and harsh to declare the decision to have an abortion 'selfish' in all cases.
U2Kitten said:
I'm not talking about all cases. I'm not talking about severe deformities that would cause the child to suffer and die anyway. But using the old worst case scenario thing to justify every single one doesn't fly with me, because statistics have shown that over 90% (in some reports as high as 98%) of the abortions in the US had nothing to do with rape, incest, threat to the mother's life or the health of the baby.