Quote:
Originally Posted by nancyre
If a child can survive outside of the mother at 20 weeks, then it is a human being at that point and deserves all protections at that point. Likewise if the mother's life is in danger to carry to term then the availability of the process needs to be there.
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Agreed. Unfortunately just about all of the arguments presented here avoid that topic.
Following is a list of reasons why women get abortions (from National Library of Medicine website). Apologies for the somewhat jumbled tables. The first number following each entry is the frequency the reason is given. The second indicates the percentage of the total.
Not financially prepared 386 40%
General financial 365 38%
Unemployed/underemployed 41 4%
Uninsured or can't get welfare 6 0.6%
Don't want government assistance 4 0.4%
Not the right time for a baby 347 36%
Bad timing/not ready/unplanned 321 34%
Too busy/not enough time 17 2%
Too old 16 2%
Partner related reasons 298 31%
Relationship is bad, poor and/or new 89 9%
Respondent wants to be married first/not a single mom 80 8%
Partner is not supportive 77 8%
Partner is wrong guy 61 6%
Partner does not want baby 29 3%
Partner is abusive 24 3%
Need to focus on other children 275 29%
Too soon after having had a child/busy enough with current children/have enough children right now 239 25%
Concern for other children she is rearing 51 5%
Interferes with future opportunities 194 20%
Interferes with educational plans 132 14%
Interferes with vocational plans 63 7%
Want better life for self/don't want to limit future opportunities 49 5%
Not emotionally or mentally prepared 180 19%
Health related reasons 114 12%
Concern for her own health 59 6%
Concern for the health of the fetus 51 5%
Drug, tobacco, or alcohol use 46 5%
Prescription drug (not illicit) or contraceptive use 14 1.5%
Want a better life for the baby than she could provide 119 12%
Want better life for baby 67 7%
Living or housing context not suitable for baby 46 5%
Lack of childcare or help from family to care for baby 13 1.4%
Don't want her children to have a childhood like hers 5 0.5%
Not independent or mature enough for a baby 64 7%
Too young or immature 47 5%
Can't take care of self 12 1.3%
Too dependent on parents or others right now 9 0.9%
Influences from family or friends 48 5%
Would have a negative impact on family or friends 22 2%
Don't want others to know/worried others would judge 19 2%
Pressure from family or friends 11 1.2%
Don't want a baby or place baby for adoption 38 4%
Don't want a baby or don't want any children 33 3%
Don't want adoption 7 0.7%
Other 11 1.2%
Total 954 100%
As one can see from the above, the majority of abortions are done for one thing and one thing only: convenience. The major argument for the passage of this amendment, judging from those repetitive TV commercials and to a lesser extent here, appears to be that abortions are prohibited in Florida even in cases of rape. But to base one's argument on a point so minuscule that it does not even show up in exhaustive lists such as the one above defines such an "argument" as solely emotional. And a solely emotional approach on any topic makes for poor law.