Off Topic Thread 5.0

"Abortion is an option and should be"

The second part of this statement is true. The first part is, unfortunately, not true. Or very soon to be not true.

The specific details are here, but in effect, this Supreme Court decision will soon make abortion illegal in 13 states. 5 have already declared it illegal, but needed the Supreme Court ruling for their state's attorney general to enforce it. Others were waiting for the SC decision before declaring it illegal.

Those 13 states sum to a population of approximately 70 million people, or ~35 million women.

If it was up to me to be in charge of the timely regular taking of a pill to prevent unwanted pregnancy I dread to think of the amount of times sex would have been unsafe

Well it winds up fundamentalist Christians. Your point is?

Boys! I'm just saying I don't think it's a right. I understand the complexities involved. I know about post partum depression etc. All I am saying is contraception would eliminate some abortions. I'm not anti abortions. I think the decision is wrong.

No it shouldn't be banned. It should be free for the poor.

No! I don't believe it's a right. If a person can afford one, then good. For the poor it should be free.

Worth noting that there's no right to abortion in Ireland either, it's totally up to legislators to decide, exactly as it is in the US.

The problem is the legislators in those states.

Medical treatment is a slippery slope. What about botox treatment. Or boob jobs.

Yea those that need them should have access.

On another topic, I support the idea of ending your life if you are suffering. Morally, it's probably not right! But why allow unwanted or unnecessary suffering. A lot on here would likely disagree with me. Controversially enough, I believe this should be a person's right.

I hope this opinion isn't too extreme or upsets anyone.

As fair as I'm concerned, it really doesn't matter what any individual thinks about abortion. It's a spectrum. Some will support unrestricted access for whatever reason, at any point in the pregnancy. Others will want the unborn to have a right to life from the moment of inception, regardless of circumstance. The rest of us fall somewhere in the middle, with varying opinions on appropriate circumstances, pregnancy duration, health risks and all the rest of it. It's incredibly complex. And the more we get bogged down in a legal/scientific debate, the more we miss the point of what's really going on.

As with most incredibly complex ideas, the most efficient way for a nation state to arrive at the appropriate policy is to let the public decide. Let every opinion be respect, let people debate and try exert influence, but ultimately, like it or not, let the majority opinion rule. Some local regions (e.g. individual US states) will have different micro-majority views, but the nation state as a whole makes the aggregate decision. You either trust that process or you don't subscribe to democracy. You either abide by the nation state's opinion or you can leave it (and forfeit your right to free trade, federal funds, defense, and the rest of it).

The situation in America was that 70% of the public (comprised of 87% Democrat and 50% Republicans) did NOT want Roe overturned (source). A minority of right wing Christians, through political engineering and an insane amount of luck (Trump appointing three justices), forced through this legislative decision against the will of the people. Find me a better definition of fascism enacted in a first world country in our lifetime.

Most of us on these boards are lads. Most of us don't think about abortion that much, or have a very vague understanding of its importance to women. You're not a bad person if you've never thought about it. But every single one of us* should be very concerned right now, regardless of your views on women's rights. When these fascists are done with women, they will eventually move onto something that will more directly impact men. Contraception, premarital sex, sexual freedom, pluralism and scientific inquiry. They hate all of these things, and Roe is just their matinee.

(*well, those of us in the US, i guess!)