Anne Robinson and the law on abortion

Yes, a foetus/baby is alive but it is not capable of independent life at the stage when most abortions take place.

I do know someone who had numerous abortions as well as two children. The appalling job she made of raising those two children makes me think it's a good thing she didn't have more than that.

I accept your views maryeliza , I did so in an early post .

You have little knowledge of being a Christian, what you don't understand is Christians are inviduals , we think for ourselves, agree on somethings not on others , there was a woman on the programme who was a Christian and anti abortion but not aggressive

I was working in the Birmingham Women's Hospital a few years after the act came in - I was a medical SW there and got very involved in the assessments of mothers under the "social" clause of the act. The hospital was chosen as one of those to be involved in the research into the act.

It was an interesting exercise. One of the things that was very clear was that almost no women emerged from the process of abortion without some emotional consequences - indeed on several occasions they got pregnant straight away afterwards.

I found being involved in it all quite hard as I had and have mixed feelings about it all - I recognise a woman's right to choose, but deep down I find it hard to see it as just a bundle of cells.

Why on earth would anyone want to keep Christianity out of a discussion on abortion - why do you think that it took so long for abortion to be legal here and what role do you think that Christianity plays in countries where it is still illegal - we only have to go across the Irish Sea to know about the suffering of women there because of bigoted misogynistic religion.#mybodymychoice

Wondered how long you could keep Christianity out of this discussion maryeliza, am sure you would manage it in a discussion on knitting

Yes I know it would be reporting the carer, what difference ?

In law, but tell any mother to be who is thrilled when her baby first moves , it not alive according to law

Giving a foetus the right to life above the mothers right to choose? Why? I have a very dear friend from university days who is a very committed Christian. She would never have had an abortion but if I had ever been in that position she would have loved and supported me throughout the whole process with never a word of reproach or criticism. She would have just opened her heart and arms to me and enveloped me in unconditional love - as I said she is a Christian. Not like those who harass women attending abortion clinics or ( as in the USA) shoot a doctor who carries out abortions.

I hadn't realised until recently about the necessity of being in a licensed clinic. That does seem absurd.

I think it would be better if it was easier to get an early termination, which would then prevent delays.

A woman is a living, thinking being. A early stage foetus is a clump of cells. Why should the woman maintain and nurture a clump of cells if she doesn't want to?

In the eyes of the law a foetus isn't a baby, hence the difference. Also, you wouldn't be reporting a neglected baby, you'd be reporting the carer.

I agree SueDonim and what surprised me about this programme was the fact that performing an abortion in any other place than a licensed clinic was still a criminal act. It should be decriminalised and provided there are safeguards women should be able to take a pill at home if they are in the very early stages of pregnancy.

The problem I have with the argument- you have no right to tell anyone what to do , why is it so wrong to want an unborn to have a right to life , yet so wrong not to report a neglected baby ?

I didn't see the programme but I agree with others that abortion will always be with us, irrespective of whether it's legal or not.

Adoption is always thrown in as an easy solution, but it's not. Many adoptions break down and the child always has to live with the knowledge that they were initially unwanted.

People who disagree with abortion need never undergo one. However, I believe they do not have any right to tell anyone else what they must or must not do.

I might add that you only need to see a GP, no seeing other doctors to prolong the ordeal.

Interesting, here in South Africa, where the private health care is of a very high standard, they give you a pill to take at home, no fussing. My friend did this with no complications . Of course she was in the very early stages of pregnancy. They also give the morning after pill too, with no problem.

It’s worth noting that the requirement to have abortion signed off by two doctors delays the time it is carried out, and I’m sure we all agree the earlier the better for the procedure. Women go to their GP, get agreement, then are referred to a hospital doctor (a gynaecologist) for the second opinion. It takes several weeks until that appointment. Abortions would be carried out earlier if we had abortion on demand.

I didn't watch this as I knew it would upset or anger me. I've never had an abortion but I know two girls who have and they both found it very upsetting - it wasn't like having a tooth out.
This sounds like a non sequitur but have any of you visited Haddon Hall? In one of the display cases there are small glass phials (dug up in the grounds) which are believed to have been filled with herbs and used as abortifacients - they date from the Middle Ages. This problem has been with us for hundreds of years. We're supposed to be civilised, it is after all the 21st century. Why are we still arguing about this?

damewithaname and there are tens of thousands of children in care because NOBODY wants to adopt them...what do we do with those children...just add thousands more every year ...that makes sense!!Abortion is a necessary evil ,MOST women who have one do so with regret and a lifetime of guilt ,sure there will be the odd one who abuses the system as there are in every walk of life .You cant punish everyone because of a few.Not all are feckless or careless ,I can assure you .You do still need two doctors to sign off an abortion ...at least here in Scotland you do ,though we haven't devolved power over abortion,so there has to be a good reason why they will sign off 8 abortions.....even if that reason was the woman wasn't capable of taking care of herself never mind a child.So much judgement of others on here ...how clever of you all to have never made a mistake .

And so it is in all things, people will do what they have always done regardless of public approval or disapproval, legal or illegal

FFS it doesn't matter what you do women WILL have abortions and HAVE had abortions since time immemorial. We should be pleased that it is now done in a safe environment and isn't someone using a coat hanger or laying on a dirty table in a back street

And speaking of giving birth as pushing a giant f*****g baby from my vagina is a woman who would be traumatised giving a baby up for adoption? Not forgetting she has had avoided pushing three giant f*****g babies , so far , killing three babies isn't barbaric? And she referred to them as babies

Well when you talk about babies having the right to life and giving them up to couples who want children you don't even mention the welfare of the mother involved. What about her physical and mental health? If you think that women should have unwanted pregnancies and then give them up you need to face the reality of what that actually means.

It means forcing a woman, against her wishes, to gestate a pregnancy to term. Taking on the risks of pregnancy related illness, long lasting birth injury, and the undoubted toll on her mental health. Then giving her baby away and the associated trauma that involves.

I struggle to understand how people who believe in the 'right to life' could be willing to be so barbaric to an already born person.

Having an unwanted pregnancy does not mean the child won’t be loved. I know from experience.

Not a safe practice in my opinion especially with hospitals closing and the nearest hospital an hour or more away.

A friend's daughter was given the abortion pill after a 'missed abortion'. It had been discovered at the 20 week scan that the foetus had died. She was given the pill and sent home and after hours of awful pain haemorrhaged. Rather than wait for an ambulance she was literally wrapped in a sheet of plastic, loaded in their car and rushed to hospital in the nick of time for immediate surgery. Doctors told them she was close to being too late.

I support the right to choose, regardless of whether I agree with how some people use that right.