Difference between revisions of "Abortion"

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==Overview==
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[[Category:Issues]][[Abortion]] is the killing and removal of a fetus before birth. It is generally only an issue with regard to human birth, where it is forbidden by many religions and opposed by others. It is also illegal in some countries, and more countries make it illegal as the fetus comes closer to term.
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[[page type::article]]
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[[thing type::process]]
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[[category:issue]]
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</hide>
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==About==
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[[Abortion]] is the killing and removal of a fetus before birth. It is generally only an issue with regard to human birth, where it is forbidden by many religions and opposed by others. It is also illegal in some countries, and more countries make it illegal as the fetus comes closer to term.
  
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In the {{USA}}, proponents of legalized abortion generally describe themselves as "[[pro-choice]]", while those who seek to restrict or criminalize abortion generally describe themselves as "[[pro-life]]". Feelings on both sides tend to run very high, but extremists on the "pro-life" seem to have a greater tendency towards extreme actions, e.g. making threats against doctors who perform abortions, and even occasional acts of bodily harm or murder.
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In the {{USA}}, proponents of legalized abortion generally describe themselves as "[[pro-choice]]", while those who seek to restrict or criminalize abortion generally describe themselves as "[[pro-life]]". Feelings on both sides tend to run very high, but extremists on the "pro-life" seem to have a greater tendency towards extreme actions, e.g. making threats against doctors who perform abortions, and even occasional acts of bodily harm or murder. They also do not seem able to honestly address the arguments against their position.
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==Sub-issues==
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===Pages===
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The policy debate is mainly over the following two sub-issues:
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* [[/US]]: abortion in the United States
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* Under what circumstances (if any) should abortion be [[legality of abortion|legal]]?
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* [[/ban]]: outright banning of abortions, whether selectively or universally
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* Under what circumstances (if any) should abortion be [[public funding of abortion|publicly funded]]?
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* [[/counterlaw]]: other laws (besides banning) ostensibly intended to reduce abortions
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==Arguments==
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* [[/reasons]] that people actually seek abortions (statistics)
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===Pro===
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* [[/recreation]]al abortion, aka {{l/alias|abortion as birth-control|&ldquo;recreational abortion&rdquo;}}
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* There is some evidence that the [[wikipedia:Roe v. Wade|legalization of abortion in the U.S.]] led to a dramatic decrease in the crime rate at approximately the time when the "ghost children" (the kids who would have been born if abortion had remained illegal) would have been reaching adulthood.
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* [[/stories]]: anecdotes to illustrate the actual reasons why people seek abortions
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** See: ''Freakonomics'', ISBN 006073132X, and commentary by [http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2005-09-11-1.html Orson Scott Card]
 
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** Obviously this does not ''prove'' a connection, but the evidence deserves further examination.
 
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** If a connection can be established, then there also remains the ethical question of whether a decline in crime is worth the cost of the increase in abortions ([[costs and benefits]] for this particular outcome, or in other words: How much less crime? How many more abortions?), to which some groups might well answer "no".
 
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===Con===
 
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====Abortion for boutique eugenics====
 
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Currently there is an in utero test for [[wikipedia:Down syndrome|Down syndrome]]. That testing, combined with abortion-on-demand, has made people with Down syndrome an endangered population. By some estimates, 90 percent of these people &ndash; who, if allowed to live, can live happy and healthy lives &ndash; are aborted. What is to stop parents from aborting children who are are a specific sex? As science progresses, there are more and more tests that can be performed in utero. What is the next issue what will provoke abortions? Hair color? Political affiliation?
 
  
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My mistake, the next issue appears to be that doctors want to "screen out" all male embryos that '''may''' contract autism due to family history. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2230764,00.html]
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===Positions===
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===Responses to Con===
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* [[anti-abortion]]: generally views killing of any fetus, at any developmental phase, as [[murder]]
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====Abortion for boutique eugenics (response)====
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** [[pro-life]]: opposes abortion in the name of promoting life, generally opposes violence too but some violent anti-abortionists call themselves "pro-life" nonetheless
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* [[Any tool can be misused]]: just because a tool can be used for bad things does not mean that it should be outlawed for ''all'' uses. You have to weigh the [[costs and benefits]]. If a given tool is found to be prone to a particular misuse, then the issue to be addressed is ''how to prevent that specific misuse'' without losing the overall benefits of the tool.
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** Claims of those who oppose legal abortion include:
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* As long as it is the ''parents'' making this decision, it is not clear what the harm of this particular outcome would be.
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*** [[/eugenics]]: the primary goal of [[pro-choice|abortion choice advocates]] is based in [[eugenics]]
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* Just because someone with a screenable condition ''could'' live a happy and healthy life doesn't mean that they ''will'', nor does it mean that they might not actually ''prefer'' to be aborted so the family can start over and try again (and give birth to a kid who ''might'' have a much happier, more fulfilling life). We can't know for sure, because we can't ask them (especially the ones who are born unable to communicate, or born with insufficient mental capacity to be able to grasp the question). We have to use our best judgment; [[you can't not decide]] in these cases.
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**** [[Abortion for boutique eugenics]]: editorial arguing that abortion will inevitably be misused
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===Other/Mixed===
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*** [[/black genocide]]: a primary goal of [[pro-choice|abortion choice advocates]] is that of reducing the number of [[black people]], or possibly [[genocide|eliminating them altogether]].
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{{faint|''none yet''}}
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*** [[/profit]]: abortion doctors and clinics are primarily motivated by money
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==Notes==
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**** The real money is in 2nd and 3rd trimester abortions; nobody wants to do 1st trimester.
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Need some documentation about extremism on either side; it should be easy enough to find news items about pro-lifers bombing or vandalizing abortion clinics, but I'd also like to hear about anything bad done in the name of pro-choice. Items about arguably ''positive'' actions taken by either side may also be relevant, e.g. the woman who goes around buying up abortion clinics and changing their mission to be consistent with the pro-life point of view &ndash; which is at least a peaceful and lawful method of working against abortion even if you don't agree with the goal. --[[User:Woozle|Woozle]] 12:40, 2 August 2006 (EDT)
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*** [[/health]]: health effects
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==Reference==
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**** [[/cancer]]: it is claimed that abortion causes cancer
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*Wikipedia:
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*** [[/industry]]: abortion is a huge industry (this is related to, but separate from, the profit claim)
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** [[wikipedia:Abortion|Abortion]]
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*** [[/prohibition]]: anti-abortionists generally see prohibition as essential
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** [[wikipedia:Abortion debate|Abortion debate]]
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* [[pro-choice]] sees abortion as an unpleasant necessity, while working to reduce the need for it
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** [[wikipedia:Roe v. Wade|Roe v. Wade]] led to legalization of abortion in the U.S.
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==Related Articles==
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===Discussion===
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* Sub-issues of [[abortion]]:
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* [[/stories]]: individual stories about abortions
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** '''ethics''':
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* '''ethics''':
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*** [[personhood]]: at what point does a fetus become a person, and acquire the right to live?
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** [[personhood]]: at what point does a fetus become a person, and acquire the right to live?
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** '''legislation''':
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* '''science/facts''':
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*** Under what circumstances (if any) should abortion be [[legality of abortion|legal]]?
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** [[Human gestational development]]: the stages of development of a human embryo/fetus
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*** Under what circumstances (if any) should abortion be [[public funding of abortion|publicly funded]]?
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** [[/reasons]] why abortions are requested
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===Related issues===
 
* [[reproductive issues]]
 
* [[reproductive issues]]
 
** [[birth control]]
 
** [[birth control]]
 
** [[sex education]]
 
** [[sex education]]
 
** [[extramarital sex]]
 
** [[extramarital sex]]
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==Positions==
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==Links==
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===Reference===
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* Wikipedia:
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** {{l/wp|Abortion}}
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** {{l/wp|Abortion debate}}
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* {{dkosopedia}}
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* {{sourcewatch|Reproductive health}} (Reproductive health)
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===Official Positions===
 
* '''1995-03-25''' [http://www.vatican.va/edocs/ENG0141/_P3.HTM Pope John Paul II] restates the Catholic Church's position on abortion and other "life" issues, with links to keyword indices
 
* '''1995-03-25''' [http://www.vatican.va/edocs/ENG0141/_P3.HTM Pope John Paul II] restates the Catholic Church's position on abortion and other "life" issues, with links to keyword indices
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==News==
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===News===
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{{links/news}}
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====to be filed====
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* '''2012-01-19''' [http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57362079-10391704/abortion-more-common-where-its-illegal-where-are-rates-highest/ Abortion more common where it's illegal: Where are rates highest?] "The new global abortion study - that's published in the Jan. 19 issue of The Lancet - is from the U.S.-based Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization. Researchers found a link between higher abortion rates and regions with more restrictive legislation, such as in Latin America and Africa. They also found that 95 to 97 percent of abortions in those regions were unsafe."
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* '''2007-04-21''' [http://www.alternet.org/rights/50788/ How Media Mistakes Fueled the High Court Abortion Ruling] by Gloria Feldt, Women's Media Center: states that there is no such thing as a "partial birth abortion", but this term is apparently used to refer to [[wikipedia:Intact dilation and extraction|Intact dilation and extraction]]
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* '''2007-04-19''' [http://www.alternet.org/rights/50781/ Supreme Court Ruling Threatens Women's Health] by Amy Goodman
 
* '''2006-06-21''' [http://www.alternet.org/rights/37877/ Anti-Choice Legislators Have Gone Too Far] (should eventually go in [[anti-abortion]] article)
 
* '''2006-06-21''' [http://www.alternet.org/rights/37877/ Anti-Choice Legislators Have Gone Too Far] (should eventually go in [[anti-abortion]] article)
 
* '''2006-01-27''' [http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-01/aps-aaa012606.php Abortion-rights and anti-abortion groups share some values]
 
* '''2006-01-27''' [http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-01/aps-aaa012606.php Abortion-rights and anti-abortion groups share some values]
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==Slogans==
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===Video===
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* bumper sticker, seen 2007-02: "Life is a gift, not a choice."
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* '''1992''' ''[http://www.archive.org/details/when_abortion_was_illegal When Abortion Was Illegal: Untold Stories]'': includes some [[anti-abortion]] arguments in the comment section
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** rebuttal: Gifts are not usually forced on the receiver
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* '''2006''' [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0841119/ Lake of Fire] A documentary showing realistic and extreme views on abortion.
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** principle re-applied: (Homo/Bi/Trans)sexuality is a gift, not a choice.
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==Humor==
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===Humor===
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* '''2006-08-01''' [http://www.idrewthis.org/2006/children.html Thinking of the children] (D.C. Simpson, [http://www.idrewthis.org/ I Drew This]): right-to-life vs. early childhood welfare
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* '''2006-08-01''' [http://www.idrewthis.org/d/20060801.html Thinking of the children] (D.C. Simpson, [http://www.idrewthis.org/ I Drew This]): right-to-life vs. early childhood welfare

Latest revision as of 13:44, 29 January 2025

About

Abortion is the killing and removal of a fetus before birth. It is generally only an issue with regard to human birth, where it is forbidden by many religions and opposed by others. It is also illegal in some countries, and more countries make it illegal as the fetus comes closer to term.

In the United States, proponents of legalized abortion generally describe themselves as "pro-choice", while those who seek to restrict or criminalize abortion generally describe themselves as "pro-life". Feelings on both sides tend to run very high, but extremists on the "pro-life" seem to have a greater tendency towards extreme actions, e.g. making threats against doctors who perform abortions, and even occasional acts of bodily harm or murder. They also do not seem able to honestly address the arguments against their position.

Pages

  • /US: abortion in the United States
  • /ban: outright banning of abortions, whether selectively or universally
  • /counterlaw: other laws (besides banning) ostensibly intended to reduce abortions
  • /reasons that people actually seek abortions (statistics)
  • /recreational abortion, aka abortion as birth-controlA
  • /stories: anecdotes to illustrate the actual reasons why people seek abortions

Positions

Discussion

Related issues

Links

Reference

Official Positions

  • 1995-03-25 Pope John Paul II restates the Catholic Church's position on abortion and other "life" issues, with links to keyword indices

News

News

to be filed

Video

Humor

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