The Abortion Debate... (3 Viewers)

[Phanatical]

asqy livejournal is a bit iffy at the moment, but i would read it, its a good read

she's not saying she's fucking proud, she says she's willing to admit that she had an abortion, and she's not sorry she did it, because it was the right decision. i feel exactly the same way. i think it's ridiculous that i feel like it's something i have to hide away, because i'm not sorry i did it.

and before anyone says anything about my openness here... this is an internet forum. the only people i know irl who would've read this thread... knew anyway. very few people know; my own parents and relatives do not know. while i'm not exactly ashamed, because of the current stigma i feel i have to conceal the fact i had an abortion, when in fact i made a mature, informed and ultimately correct decision to do with MY body. she is not trying to make people proud of the fact that they've had abortions; rather she is trying to destigmatise it and make the general public realise that there are plenty of women who have abortions who do NOT experience any negative mental impact.

I think you never should have been put in the situation where an abortion becomes an option. If society were responsible, you wouldn't have been pregnant in the first place. I mean seriously, you're only 17. A couple days older than my younger brother. MUCH too young to be considering even having a relationship, much less getting pregnant and having an abortion.

We shouldn't be encouraging young people to have sex, get pregnant and have abortions. Sure, they should be allowed to have them as a last resort, but we shouldn't be letting them be put in that situation in the first place.

 

[glycerine]

its more the idea that women who have abortions are ashamed, are depressed over it and suffer long term damage

i'm not ashamed. i'm not depressed. i've had no long term damage; i'm capable of healthy sexual relationships. i aborted an embryo when i was 16 and I AM NOT SORRY. IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO AT THE TIME.

it does actually feel really good about that, because considering the current stigma... its a difficult thing to admit out loud

 

[neo o]

Repent Sinner!

 

[glycerine]

I think you never should have been put in the situation where an abortion becomes an option. If society were responsible, you wouldn't have been pregnant in the first place. I mean seriously, you're only 17. A couple days older than my younger brother. MUCH too young to be considering even having a relationship, much less getting pregnant and having an abortion.

We shouldn't be encouraging young people to have sex, get pregnant and have abortions. Sure, they should be allowed to have them as a last resort, but we shouldn't be letting them be put in that situation in the first place.

Well thats based on your set of values. As far as I'm concerned, I was 16, I was capable of consenting, and I have my own reasons for why I started having sex when I did. I don't give a shit about your younger brother, I care about ME and *I* as an individual was ready. I'm not your brother. I was not 'put' in any situation, I MADE MY OWN DECISIONS AS A RELATIVELY MATURE YOUNG WOMAN.

No one's encouraging young people to have sex, no one is encouraging them to get pregnant and certainly no one is *encouraged* to get an abortion. The current emphasis is on education rather than encouragement.

 

[Phanatical]

Society should be encouraging young people NOT to have sex.

That's why I support raising the age of consent to at least 18.

 

[glycerine]

Or maybe they should realise that YOUNG PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HAVE SEX, WHETHER IT'S LEGAL OR ILLEGAL, ENCOURAGED OR DEMONISED and focus on education on what sex means and what precautions you should take. I'm sorry that you feel your sexuality is something to be ashamed of, but I love sex, and lots of it, whether I'm in a relationship or not, and it doesn't bother me whether it's legal for me to have sex or not.

And before you use the 'well maybe if you hadn't slept around so much you wouldn't have needed an abortion' argument - I was in a long term relationship at the time. So don't even bother.

 

[waterfowl]

No one's encouraging young people to have sex, no one is encouraging them to get pregnant and certainly no one is *encouraged* to get an abortion. The current emphasis is on education rather than encouragement.

I completely disagree with that! The media is full of sex, sex and more sex.
Nearly every show on TV has at least two characters who are involved in sexual relations, even Neighbours and Home and Away these days.
The media and TV shows are full of people having sex and this leads people to think it is important to do it to fit in.

 

[Phanatical]

I'm not using any such argument. I'm just saying that our young people shouldn't be taught that they're ready to have relationships, because quite frankly, they're not.

If we up the age of consent, and actually begin promoting abstinence as the right thing to do, then we stop seeing 8 year olds who are having regular sex. Or, like one of my former classmates, being a dirty skank at 16 with two kids to two different fathers and a third on the way. She had never been responsible enough, and she should never have been put in that situation in the first place.

Values are important. They don't need to be religious ones (I'm as anti-religion as you can get), but a moral and ethical code is something that this society needs badly.

 

[Phanatical]

I completely disagree with that! The media is full of sex, sex and more sex.
Nearly every show on TV has at least two characters who are involved in sexual relations, even Neighbours and Home and Away these days.
The media and TV shows are full of people having sex and this leads people to think it is important to do it to fit in.

Hear Hear!

 

[glycerine]

Oh no! Not teenagers having sexual relationships! Maybe they do that because... *gasp*... teenagers will have sex, no matter what you tell them?

You can't say that your moral ethics should dictate what society puts forward as 'right'. If we were to remove active sexual education (like the one we have now) teenage pregnancies would skyrocket, as even less teenagers would realise the need for careful and vigilant contraception. It's not education that breeds teenage pregnancy, it's ignorance, as is seen in so many lower class areas where the education standards are less than sub par and the rates of teenage pregnancy are through the roof

For the record, I prefer sex out of relationships, I agree with you completely, I'm not ready for a long term relationship, which is something I've now realised.

 

[Phanatical]

There's a difference between sex education, and actually telling kids to go have it. In Health classes, we learnt all sorts of sex-related stuff, but not once did they say that maybe it would be better to wait for a few years.

We should be telling them that they Shouldn't have sex, but if they must, do it responsibly. Not GO FUCK EACH OTHER, BECAUSE IT'S GREAT FUN! Such a mentality in our society is dangerous.

 

[Generator]

From what I can remember, at school we were told to be both safe and responsible. The idea of telling us all to wait a few years is kind of pointless given that it is a personal choice and all.

 

[Phanatical]

You would have to be a total idiot to base your life on H and A.

Harmony and Analysis?

 

[Phanatical]

From what I can remember, at school we were told to be both safe and responsible. The idea of telling us all to wait a few years is kind of pointless given that it is a personal choice and all.

I would argue that despite the physical maturity, people even our age still lack the mental maturity.

 

[glycerine]

There's a difference between sex education, and actually telling kids to go have it. In Health classes, we learnt all sorts of sex-related stuff, but not once did they say that maybe it would be better to wait for a few years.

We should be telling them that they Shouldn't have sex, but if they must, do it responsibly. Not GO FUCK EACH OTHER, BECAUSE IT'S GREAT FUN! Such a mentality in our society is dangerous.

Well in my health classes we got told that it was our own individual decision and that we shouldn't have sex unless we're absolutely ready and we should make sure we've discussed it with our partners and have had a deep introspective look inside ourselves before making the decision, and if we dont want to have sex, thats good too. No, they didn't come out and say don't have sex, you're too young, wait til you're older... why not? because that would be enforcing a particular moral value on everyone, which is absolutely wrong when we live in such a diverse society

 

[Generator]

I would argue that despite the physical maturity, people even our age still lack the mental maturity.

It seems as though far too many people of all ages lack the maturity to be in a sexual relationship and/or producing kids, but, as Asquithian said, it is an issue of individual liberty and not 'thou shalt abstain' from above.

 

[Phanatical]

Well, I was thinking 25 would be a nice safe age. I also contemplated a licensing scheme. You could go for your dating license, then your driving license all on the same day.

Society needs to have ethics. If they can't behave in a sensible manner, then they need to be taught the correct ways to behave.

 

[Phanatical]

The biggest problem is that people THINK they have the mental maturity, when they quite clearly don't. They do something stupid, then they regret it a few years later.

 

[Phanatical]

Better than 16 year olds having kids.

 

[ur_inner_child]

No one has the right to judge who's mature or not.