I say the defenceless child has most right follwed by that of the husband and the woman last
@ livingday, this position of yours is typical of man. Consider this contrary view: 1.Nearly all abortions take place in the first trimester, when a fetus cannot exist independent of the mother. As it is attached by the placenta and umbilical cord, its health is dependent on her health, and cannot be regarded as a separate entity as it cannot exist outside her womb. So, it has no independent existence as a human being to talk about 'rights'
@ jennypriceson, Since life begins at conception, abortion is akin to murder as it is the act of taking human life. Abortion is in direct defiance of the commonly accepted idea of the sanctity of human life
@ tundamartin, I refer to my comments above about the foetus not being human as it is entirely dependent on the woman's life. However consider this : The concept of personhood is different from the concept of human life. Human life occurs at conception, but fertilized eggs used for in vitro fertilization are also human lives and those not implanted are routinely thrown away. Is this murder, and if not, then how is abortion murder?
@jennypriceson,
On the basis of natural law written word of God, human life begins when the woman's egg is fertilised by a male sperm.
From that moment a unique life begins, independent of the life of the mother and father. The features that distinguish us from our parents - the colour of our eyes, the shape of our face - are all laid down in the genetic code that comes into existence then.
Each new life that begins at this point is not a potential human being but a human being with potential.On this basis I think abortion is an act of murder.
@ Allen-jones,
I think you have taken a thorougly religious stand but even the various faiths accept that if a foetus is seriously abnormal or that the child will be born seriously disabled that abortion would be permissible in this circumstance. Is that not life they are aborting regardless of presumed handicap?
The other point in this debate is that of gender equality. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother. Women need free access to abortion in order to achieve full political, social, and economic equality with me. Women need the right to abortion in order to have the same freedoms as men. Women need the right to abortion to have full rights over their own bodies (including the right to decide whether or not to carry a foetus to birth) - without these rights they do not have the same moral status as men
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