Not that we need more controversy around here, but last night I went to the screening of a pretty disturbing movie: link here that my aunt made and got to thinking about this and I really don’t think I know any pro-lifers. This could be because of a few reasons, namely a) I don’t know many extremely devout Catholics, and b) intentional or not, the overwhelming majority of my friends and family are liberals, at least in a social sense.
Now, while I certainly have my beliefs on what is right and wrong pertaining to this subject, and I feel strongly about them, but I don’t really consider this to an area in which my opinion should matter at all (this should be left to women and the would-be father). I’m not trying to spark a huge debate over this, but considering the carnival of Roberts hearings and the crazy shit that the president of Pakistan is dropping in the Washington Post, it’s as topical as ever. I’m just wondering if we have any pro-lifers on this board, and if so, is the division split exactly as the lib/conservative viewpoints are?

A lot of this stems frommy finding out that my girlfriend has been more or less excommunicated from her church at home because she volunteered for a pro-choice organization. Nothing like bringing up abortion on a largely male internet bulletin board to suck the fun out of everything, but I’m curious.

Apparently being excommunicated from a church is the new "it" thing. But anyway, I think you can guess how I feel about abortion.

this is one of the few polorising issues that i understand why there are two sides. i'm pro-choice, but i 100% see where the pro-lifers are coming from.

I fucking hate that the anti-choice people have been allowed to tag themselves as "pro-life". For those dicks to call themselves pro-life implies that the other side of the argument is anti-life, which is total propoganda bullshit.

It's pro-choice and anti-choice. Those are the two sides.

I'm pro-choice, but that doesn't mean I'm pro-abortion - the concept is just so brutal, but then I also can't imagine myself ever being in a situation where I would need to make the decision. I just think women should have the right to decide - they're the ones who carry and generally care for the child, no matter how hands-on the dad is. Why should my opinion, as a man, count? As for me, personally, I can't imagine undergoing an abortion, not knowing that it's my child that's being chopped up and sucked out. Of course, in the case of rape or incest, etc., I'm all for it. No woman should have to carry and raise a child given to her through some horrific experience like that.

So, to sum up: I wouldn't ever want to limit anyone's right to one, but were I somehow to magically change sex and become pregnant, I simply couldn't ever go through with one. Of course, I might be slightly biased, being a new dad and all.

women should be the only ones to decide on this subject IMO.

i know more than a few people who've felt this way until it became a reality.

I'm pro-choice because I believe it's more a matter of individual freedom and privacy than anything else.

I'm pro-life or anti-choice. Don't believe in the death penalty either.

I'm also Catholic, but I don't know how much that has to do with my belief. I completely understand where pro-choice is coming from and I have some hang-ups on the issue too.

I've detailed my views on this before, and while I'm not a Pro-Lifer, I have views that contrast with quite a few people on the board, except maybe Tanner (oldbulee) and a couple others. Then again, I don't subscribe to any political party's handbook either.

I don't necessarily agree that only women should be left to decide the legitimacy of abortion as it pertains to law.

Individual abortions are personal and private decisions with personal and private emotions; however, as law is concerned, abortion does contain societal implications across the board.

At the same time, I'm only home for about 10 minutes and don't really have time to defend this viewpoint, but I'm gonna throw it out there anyway.

I'm a recovering Pro-lifer - I've got strong feelings on the subject because I was adopted within a year of the Roe v Wade decision and fear that if I had been conceived any later that I might have been aborted......but I finally came to a realization that most women who choose to abort are probably making the right decision - because they know that they cannot provide for a child at that time in their life - whether that be physically or emotionally.....many kids have a rough enough time of it growing up without having to deal with those issues. I find it so ironic that so many Pro-Lifers want to outlaw abortion and then not provide any sort of tax money for Welfare or childcare programs to support the kids that they act like they care so much for....those are just a few of the hypocricies that made me reconsider my original beliefs.

That's interesting because my family is Catholic and they are all militantly pro-choice (at least my mom's side).



That puzzles me too. It's almost psychotic how the Christian Right wants to force a women to have a baby and it doesn't bother them if the baby starves to death because the mother was taken off welfare thanks to the politicians the CR helps elect. At least the Catholic church is consistent in its social/economic policies with respect to welfare and the common good. I give the Pope credit for that at least.

If this is what passes for a "fun topic" 'round here... I don't even have a good comeback for that one...

dalen and i agree??? wtf!!!

while i understand the sentiment behind saying men have no say in this discussion the thought of someone aborting my child without me having ANY say scares the piss out of me.

it takes two to make a child - - the fact that over the years lots of bad men have abandoned their children shouldn't factor into the discussion.

in most cases an unwanted pregnancy is the fault of the man and woman.

i think the decision about an abortion involves so many factors that are so extremely personal that I just don't think that the government need get involved with these types of issues unless they have an extremely valid reason to do so.

so if I were John Roberts I would convince the court to make someone's right to make decisions about their own medical treatment a fundamental right, period, and apply strict scrutiny to it.

Sums it up for me as well. Except for the new dad part.

I also love it when pro-life advocates refer to the opposing viewpoint as pro-abortion instead of pro-choice. Ahh.....the subtle art of spin.

I don't really give a fuck. Seriously. I know it's a "women's rights issue" but I mainly take those for granted. You are given the same opportunities as men these days, and you take 'em and that has bettered our society IMO.

I have raised enough money from NARAL and PP to be indictable as a co-conspirator when the anti-revolution starts, but fuck it, I am a morally compromised and extremely morally ambiguous person. Selfish to a fault. You wanna murder the little fucker growing inside you? I say go for it, but don't act like your not killing something that is alive. Embrace the fact that life is one big gray area, and you can justify ANY behavior to yourself.

Maybe this sounds sociopathic, but hell, Bill Clinton's my hero. I guess you can summarize my beliefs as: People are gonna do it anyway, so it may as well be legal.

I'm basically a Pro-lifer who advocates choice and rationality. I don't like the idea of women using abortions to free themselves of the responsibility for not using protection and for being irresponsible, but I wouldn never want the government to legislate reproductive health to a large extent.
I would prefer that the government made it a bit easier for people to adopt especially Homosexuals and that the Catholic Church and Conservative religious fundamentalist would encourage the use of contraceptives and sex education at an earlier age.
Neither side appeals to me that much. I cringe when I hear a NOW representative or a Liberal Senator/Representative speak about the woman's right to choose without addressing the moral reppercussions of abortion and can't help but laugh when I hear some evangelical Pro-lifer blather on about life beginning at conception.

My wife and I are strongly pro-choice. We were very young (she was still in high school) when we found out she was expecting our first. We chose, obviously, to have the baby. He is now 13. I can't imagine how different our lives would be now if we'd made a different decision, but I also can't imagine not having the freedom to MAKE that choice.

I disagree that women should be the only ones to decide this subject, though. Unless you mean "a woman should be the one who ultimaly descides what to do in her own situation, in regards to her personal pregnancy. The issue itself is rightly a societal one, and everyone should have a say in the matter.

these are my two big reasons why i'm pro-choice

That's not too far off from what I believe.

I was also raised a Catholic and assume that I am not welcome in the Church if they actually knew my political stance and belief system. I still attend during the holidays since my whole family is going and the hour doesn't kill me. I just usually avoid it due to the politically charged sermons and the fact I hate to be hit up for money to fund a Catholic school that cares more about winning football games than they do educating kids.
I sort of wish I was officially excommunicated from the Church and received an official decree from the Vatican on it.

You better watch out. Borg's family is raising a catholic army to destroy infidels like you.

If he wants to come to Nebraska and kill me, I say go ahead. I doubt my life is worth the expense it would take to eliminate me for being an infidel.