The Rise of the 'Cosmetic Abortion'

In a society increasingly concerned with perfection, are we losing our basic humanity?

The ethical storm over abortions has been renewed as it emerged that terminations are being carried out for minor, treatable birth defects.

Late terminations have been performed in recent years because the babies had club feet, official figures show.

Other babies were destroyed because they had webbed fingers or extra digits.

Such defects can often be corrected with a simple operation or physiotherapy. Link to Article

Is it right to abort a six month old foetus for having a cleft palate?

The 4D ultrasound is bound to stir up more ethical controversy.

The scientist behind the remarkable 4D ultrasound images of babies “walking” in the womb has re-ignited pressure for a review of Britain’s abortion law with a breakthrough technique to detect cleft palates in foetuses.
Link to Article

[edit on 4-6-2006 by Beelzebubba]

This is horrifically sad, but in all honesty, couldn't everyone see this coming? Once it is genarally accepted that it's not life till it's born, why would one think that once the technology is in place to diagnos imperfections that people wouldn't "pass" on less than perfect. Especially considering how image concious man has become as a whole.

Little by little society's respect for life erodes away. People are starting to make decisions for others at the beginning and the end of their lives now. I don't think I know anyone anymore who thinks people shouldn't be "put down" at a certain point - as if they were animals.

I am not surprised at all, just saddened.

Maybe the parent should be put down, after all they are the reason the baby is the way it is. Some defective genes in the mother or father, hell lets kill both the parents to keep them from reproducing, and give the baby to a family that really wants them.

Some people...

I have always been pro choice (I was a PP clinic escort at one point) however, even I have issue with a late term abortion for treatable causes.

However, this is a well know tactic of the pro life groups and others to 'chip" away at the exisiting laws (at least here in the US).

The problem with the whole adoption thing ADVISOR is multi faceted. One of the benifits and yes curses of our modern age is the technology dependant child. Its how we term kids who need a plethora of equipment to survive. Few families are truly able to care for these children. The stresses involved are incredible. We see our kids all the time as they bounce in and out of the hospital.

My stance on abortion stands, unless the person was raped, I'm against it. That is the only case I personally feel should have the option. Other wise they were willing from the beginning, and should take responcibility for adult actions.

Originally posted by ADVISOR
My stance on abortion stands, unless the person was raped, I'm against it. That is the only case I personally feel should have the option. Other wise they were willing from the beginning, and should take responcibility for adult actions.

I didnt think I would be able to change your mind

Here's my stance on abortion...

I'm against it. I'm not a Christian, heck I'm not even religious. But I think all life is sacred, whether it starts in or outside the womb. If it truly starts outside the womb, which I doubt, there is still the potentiallity of life, pre-birth, and it should be considered equally as sacred.

HOWEVER...

We all know there are circumstances where giving birth is dangerous to the mother, potentially deadly, and I don't believe that anyone else other than that mother has the right or proper perspective to decide whether her baby lives or dies. I understand peoples' drive to protect innocent life... but I don't think that trumps or overrides the rights of an adult mother.

Bottom line: IT'S NOT MY BUSINESS.

But aborting a baby because they have a relatively benign abnormality is sick, pure and simple... aborting it for ANY abnormality, other than one that would cause the baby extreme suffering down the line, is totally outrageous. When I decide to have a kid someday, I will love that kid no matter what. Even if he/she is born mentally retarded, which I've thought about before, I'd still accept the baby and I would raise him/her to the best of my ability. Although I could probably understand someone who has no way at all to pay for the care of a severely disabled child, I think thast we need to set up more support-systems for situations like that. In that sense, I will totally agree with Hillary Clinton in that it DOES take a village.

But this is so unsurprising and so indicative of today's society... I really was not shocked at all when I read this thread.

Here's my stance on abortion.


They should raise the age limit to sixty five.


But seriously, whether or not you are for or against abortion, the government should not be legislating what you do to your own body.

Just my .02

Originally posted by LeftBehind
But seriously, whether or not you are for or against abortion, the government should not be legislating what you do to your own body.

Just my .02

No? Well how about limiting what you can do to someone else's body? Sorry, the fact that it has gotten to the point where a viable child (don't even tell me a late term abortion is not being done on a viable child) can have it's life ended because of a minor treatable defect really ought to be sending up red flags for everyone - no matter where you stand on abortion in general.

This is a sad statement on society as a whole.

abortion is a womans choice and the womans choice only noone has the right to tell her otherwise.

however i totally disagree with abortions from the gestation of 12/16 weeks on unless there are mitigating curcumsises ie sever birth defect causing child pain etc or health to mother. there have been cases of abortions being carried out at 6 /7 months i think this is truly sick by this time its not just cells etc being taken away it is a baby.

i am prochoice but i used to be against it untill a few years ago when my circumsises changed for the worse and i had to have one done ( due to health of myself), more counciling should be given to the woman b4 this desicion is made, i feel this area is sorly lacking in helping the woman come to a decison ensureing it is what she wants and is not being forced to or is scared.

maybe instead of slandering these woman we should be making sure the help is there b4 and after they have to make this decision

If a parent can abort a child at 7 months then they should be able to abort them at 17 years of age. A child is a child after all

No, I guess thats not a good idea, mankind would be extinct in just a few years if that were to be legal. No one would EVER survive their teen years.

My personal take has always been that i'll get involved with abortion on the day I find myself pregnant. Still,

This is pretty damn sick to kill a child over a birth defect.

Next I see them taking a picture of the child in the womb, aging it on a computer so the parents can see what it would look like as an adult, and then the parents killing it because its not pretty enough.

We live in a sad world.

wupy

Here in Australia the majority have quite a liberal view on abortion and the controversies that rage in the United States do not occur here. I am pro-choice and have never really had a problem with the aborting of a foetus for valid reasons, but this is ridiculous.

People can choose to abort a child (for that is what I believe it is at such a late stage in the pregnancy) for simply having an extra toe or a cleft palate but what does that say about the the deformities that lie hidden away in the minds of these people?

Being a person who was born with a minor physical defect, this really raises my hackles.

If the Nazi's had had this technology, I'm sure it would have been used with gusto to help create the 'perfect race'.

It is just eugenics with a smiley face.

I am strongly against abortion and i agree very strongly with your point.

My own parents were pressured into having me aborted saying i was going to have a cleft lip, missing limbs, and being born without part of my skull and no brain acording to the ultra sound. 3 different doctors told my parents this and all pointed out that an abortion probably shouldnt be out of the question. Besides havign my skull crushed by the forcepts at birth, I was completely normal and was pretty much the oposite of what the doctors told my parents i was going to be like. Ive been a great athlete, been healthy, and i am very intelligent.

Due to my own experiances, it angers me that so many prospective lives are ended before they are even given a chance. Some people seem to look at abortion like it is a damn video game...If you dont get the start of the level perfect, than just push start and restart the level so you can start the level perfectly. People should think of what it would be like it they themselves were aborted and never got a chance to live a life. Even a life without parents and with physical limitations is better than no life at all from my perspective.

Also as abortion beign a womans choice.... I think that is bull poo... If a woman wants to engage in activities that propose a possibility of becoming pregnant than she should deal with the consequences. The baby isnt her body. THink of it this way. IF the choice was left up to the baby..how many of those babies once they have grown up would say, "I should have been aborted".

[edit on 5-6-2006 by bcdefxyz2000]

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[edit on 5/6/2006 by Mirthful Me]

I honestly think in my lifetime I could see "Designer babies". Being able to choose genetic traits for your child if you have enough money. First it will be noble affair to stop common genetic defects and diseases. But as the technology advanced it will be used for cosmetic features.

You want your child not to have a baldness gene, what him to have blue eyes, be 6ft plus and built like a football player that type of stuff. When this tech first comes out it will cost insane amounts of money and could very well lead to a genetic upper and genetic underclass. The have and the have nots on a whole new level.

Your skull was CRUSHED by the forcepts at birth?! Is that at all a common thing?

That sounds horrible.

Is abortion really all that bad....

The point I would make supporting abortion is the overwhelming population in some countries. Think about it this way we are nearing the limitations of food and water production so much so that once the population hit about 9 or so billion we will no longer be able top support it. I figure a population drop is needed...

Aside from that it is not your or anyone elses right to dictate what someone can and cannot do irregardless of your views. Abortion is more a civil rights issue I would rank up there with Gay rights etc. Even if you think it is murder it is still not your place to tell an expecting mother she cannot abort a pregnancy.

Take into account the rising cost of healthcare in the US and other countries and you will realize that even a cleft pallet could potentially bankrupt a young parent living on a limited income.

Originally posted by FredT
I have always been pro choice (I was a PP clinic escort at one point) however, even I have issue with a late term abortion for treatable causes.

However, this is a well know tactic of the pro life groups and others to 'chip" away at the exisiting laws (at least here in the US).

The problem with the whole adoption thing ADVISOR is multi faceted. One of the benifits and yes curses of our modern age is the technology dependant child. Its how we term kids who need a plethora of equipment to survive. Few families are truly able to care for these children. The stresses involved are incredible. We see our kids all the time as they bounce in and out of the hospital.

I hope that before God restores all those babies bodies in Heaven that you'l have to collect all the bloody parts first. Secondly I hope that in hell all those who partook in this massacre will be covered in the stench of those rotting fetuses that they butcherd forever! Harsh am I, Damn right, and I don't care!

Originally posted by ronishia
abortion is a womans choice and the womans choice only noone has the right to tell her otherwise.

however i totally disagree with abortions from the gestation of 12/16 weeks on unless there are mitigating curcumsises ie sever birth defect causing child pain etc or health to mother. there have been cases of abortions being carried out at 6 /7 months i think this is truly sick by this time its not just cells etc being taken away it is a baby.

i am prochoice but i used to be against it untill a few years ago when my circumsises changed for the worse and i had to have one done ( due to health of myself), more counciling should be given to the woman b4 this desicion is made, i feel this area is sorly lacking in helping the woman come to a decison ensureing it is what she wants and is not being forced to or is scared.

maybe instead of slandering these woman we should be making sure the help is there b4 and after they have to make this decision

Perhaps you should stand in on a late term abortion, maybe even help with the crushing of the head right before they suck out the brains. Hell you can hold the bag for those buthchers. Careful don't want to get any blood on your hands though.

I believe that those who say that they are pro choice are either comepletely sadistic or value their own lives too much and are unable to take a stand against anything that might cause them to be hurt or looked upon as out of touch and biggoted-- weaklings all of you!!!!!!1

Originally posted by Graystar
Perhaps you should stand in on a late term abortion, maybe even help with the crushing of the head right before they suck out the brains. Hell you can hold the bag for those buthchers. Careful don't want to get any blood on your hands though.

I believe that those who say that they are pro choice are either comepletely sadistic or value their own lives too much and are unable to take a stand against anything that might cause them to be hurt or looked upon as out of touch and biggoted-- weaklings all of you!!!!!!1

How dare you and you say that pro choice people are sadistic and biggoted?
I am talkin from exerience in this, what do you think that taking this choice is an easy one? do you not think these woman like myself torture ourselves for hours before we make this kind of desicion? We are pro choice because what right is it of everyones what goes on in someone elses life, what RIGHT does anyone have to tell people the choices they should make?

As for your comment on late term abortion and standing in on them i have seen the sites and read comments from the doctors on procedures which is why i am AGAINST late term abortions unless the mothers life is severly at risk ie DEATH.

Il share with you a story of a friend of mine, she was 12 when this happened, she fell pregnant and told her mother, the doctors suggested she have an abortion because of her age and the fact that because of a condition she had she couldnt carry full term. Her mother refused it. My friend was forced to carry through this pregnacy, she confinded in me that she didnt want the baby, was depressed and scared. did anyone listen to her or notice she was becoming depressed? NO. she had the baby, and 2 weeks later killed herself she had become so depressed at the thought of having this baby, and the tension she had at home from her parents became to much.

Now someone is going to say they could have given the baby up for adoption yea fair enough but what about the woman that have been raped and got pregnant? Would you have her go full term with the pregnacy, knowing how this child was concieved, and being constantly reminded about her ordeal.

Before You judge people on their choices how about living a day in their shoes and feeling what it is like to have to make a desicion like that.

sadistic and bigotted indeed pffttt

How dare you and you say that pro choice people are sadistic and biggoted?
I am talkin from exerience in this, what do you think that taking this choice is an easy one? do you not think these woman like myself torture ourselves for hours before we make this kind of desicion? We are pro choice because what right is it of everyones what goes on in someone elses life, what RIGHT does anyone have to tell people the choices they should make?

As for your comment on late term abortion and standing in on them i have seen the sites and read comments from the doctors on procedures which is why i am AGAINST late term abortions unless the mothers life is severly at risk ie DEATH.

Il share with you a story of a friend of mine, she was 12 when this happened, she fell pregnant and told her mother, the doctors suggested she have an abortion because of her age and the fact that because of a condition she had she couldnt carry full term. Her mother refused it. My friend was forced to carry through this pregnacy, she confinded in me that she didnt want the baby, was depressed and scared. did anyone listen to her or notice she was becoming depressed? NO. she had the baby, and 2 weeks later killed herself she had become so depressed at the thought of having this baby, and the tension she had at home from her parents became to much.

Now someone is going to say they could have given the baby up for adoption yea fair enough but what about the woman that have been raped and got pregnant? Would you have her go full term with the pregnacy, knowing how this child was concieved, and being constantly reminded about her ordeal.

Before You judge people on their choices how about living a day in their shoes and feeling what it is like to have to make a desicion like that.

sadistic and bigotted indeed pffttt

blah blah blah I said it and I mean it and really don't care about your mumblings
roll in the blood that you feel is your choice to spill. use the rotton corpse for your make up and hair products or send it out to be studied. eat it. drink it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You reak of one who says save the whales burn the babies!!!!!!!!!!


im always ammazed that those in favor of abortion always use the rape line........ Good job staying on script!


One final question : How in the world does someone fall pregnant???? I'd really like to know that one. So sad she killed her self! please, where do i send the flowers! My father killed himself too, but you won't find me condemning and entire "unwanted group" to death on his account! your friend didn't kill herself because she had the baby she did it because she didn't want the responsiblity of rasing it. Selfishness got her pregnat and selfishness took her life period!
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