The 8th Amendment Part 2 - Mod Warning in OP

Poyndexter wrote: »

Ok guys to be honest I came on here to post and give my opinion on the matter but the level of vitriol, hate and lack of respect is something else. It’s an online forum supposed to be for some serious and light hearted discussion. I’ve given my views and some have respectfully engaged in informed debate with me while others would want to have a look at themselves. Not naming names but you know yourself.

As I said myself in my first post I wanted to give my reasons for voting no so people can understand where the no side are coming from but it’s as if if walked into the middle of a liberal feminist conference. No wonder there’s little to no debate here and it all just ends in bitter insults, lies and hysterics if anyone dares go against the consensus.

There are people on both sides of the campaign who take things too far at times, but the majority of posters in this thread are debating the issue with you. That's not the same as spewing hatred.

I get that there are a lot of No voters who are well meaning and believe that their view is the morally correct one. It's easy to default to that position in Ireland given our history and the stranglehold the church has had over society for so many decades. Even though many people would now consider themselves non-religious, there is a subtle cultural hangover from the past. I grew up in a Catholic house where abortion was seen as wrong and the killing of innocent babies. As a teen I never questioned that, nor did I have any reason to.

Then life happened. I grew up, got more life experience, and opened my mind. Had a scare myself (I was on the pill at the time) with a boyfriend who was adamant he didn't want a baby. Given my own upbringing, I was really uncomfortable with the idea of abortion but I knew I would have no support in bringing up a baby. I didn't know what I would do if I was pregnant. In the end it was just a scare, but it made me realise that it's impossible to say with any certainty what you would or wouldn't do in a situation until you're in it.

I decided to educate myself, read up on the medical facts, and decide where I can draw the line. From doing this, I realised pretty quickly that a foetus of less that 12 weeks cannot be considered as valuable as the life of an actual born person. At that early stage it is not a sentient being and it cannot feel pain. As the pregnancy goes on, of course the foetus develops towards being an actual baby, but under 12 weeks it is very much a potential life.

For me, while I can be respectful towards people with a different view to me, I do find some No voters frustrating. Mainly because many of them just default to the 'abortion is bad' position without really questioning it or trying to put themselves in someone else's shoes. As a woman, it drives me nuts that in Ireland we are denied the rights we would have if we lived in just about any other developed country (and many developing ones) just because a cohort of people want us to live by their values. Values which they would probably question if they or their daughters had a crisis pregnancy.