The new ethical controversy?

Flint · 09-24-2007, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freshnesschronic

...

What a controversial opinion!

glatt · 09-24-2007, 09:45 AM

I think abortion should, as a rule, always be legal. That means I have no problem with abortion being legal for parents who want to prevent their Downs fetuses from being born. But it makes me a little queasy.

A friend of mine had a baby/fetus that she aborted because it had a serious birth defect. One that would cause the baby, if born, to have a short and painful life that might last as long as a month or two in the hospital. It was a gut wrenching decision for her, but I think she did the right thing. I have no problem with that at all.

So I support and even encourage having an abortion when the fetus has a serious birth defect like the one above.

Downs is tougher. To make it personal, I've got a mentally retarded cousin, and while she has been quite a burden at times for her family, she is living on her own now, and leads a good and productive life. She's a great person. I'd be horrified at the thought of killing her.

To me, though, abortion isn't killing a person. It's more like erasing the life that could have been. It's hard to image what life would be like for me and my extended family if my cousin had never been in it. Maybe it would be a better life for us, maybe it would be worse. Who are we to even be making that choice? Well, this gets into religious beliefs and the morals/ethics of each family. So I'm going to cop out and say that it's really up to the parents. And I'm OK with that.

queequeger · 09-24-2007, 11:37 AM

I don't think screening prenatally for disease (or curing it, removing it) could be looked at as a bad thing under any context (except maybe religious). I don't see it any different from a more traditional immunization. I think the reason this fellow thought it's not something he wanted to get rid of, is that this is what he's used to. Making his son healthy would mean making him a different person, and he obviously loves the person his son is.

lookout123 · 09-24-2007, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Already we are living longer, healthier lives.

is that good?

But back to the issue. A close friend of mine and his wife were told after all the tests that their daughter would be born with Down's. He discussed abortion, how hard life would be, etc. Their daughter is now 7 and absolutely healthy. no defects whatsoever.

freshnesschronic · 09-24-2007, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lookout123

is that good?

Why isn't it good?

Hime · 09-24-2007, 02:36 PM

I think that the tests should be available, and I don't think it should be illegal to abort a fetus due to test results. After all, all families are different and not all would be able to care for a severely disabled child. For a poor family (who would currently be less likely to have access to prenatal testing), it can be devastating.

My mom is in a book club with a group of friends, many of whom met because their children go to the same school for mentally challenged kids. All of them love their kids, who range from completely autistic to slightly retarded, and are glad to have them despite their difficulties. However, all of these moms are successful career women and/or married to successful career men, live in some of the poshest neighborhoods in the area, and are able to send their kids to a special school and get them excellent medical care. I don't expect every family to be able to have the same success that they have.

Hime · 09-24-2007, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freshnesschronic

Why isn't it good?

A lot of people feel that the increase in human life spans is bad for the planet as a whole.

lookout123 · 09-24-2007, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freshnesschronic

Why isn't it good?

i didn't say it wasn't good, i was just curious about why you would assume it was.

personally i have no interest in extending the duration of my life. now if you can show me how to keep my body working the way it was at 29 for the 70 years then let's talk. I'd like that. But if everyone on the planet is doing the same thing we could run out of space pretty quickly.

piercehawkeye45 · 09-24-2007, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lookout123

But if everyone on the planet is doing the same thing we could run out of space pretty quickly.

With the overpopulation thing, it isn't so much of how many people there are or how they live, but how they live their lives. The world could potentially support a population twice the size it is now but we would collapse instantly if half the population lives at 1st world middle class standards.

09-24-2007, 11:37 AM	#3
queequeger Hypercharismatic Telepathical Knight Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: The armpit of the Universe... Augusta, GA Posts: 365	I don't think screening prenatally for disease (or curing it, removing it) could be looked at as a bad thing under any context (except maybe religious). I don't see it any different from a more traditional immunization. I think the reason this fellow thought it's not something he wanted to get rid of, is that this is what he's used to. Making his son healthy would mean making him a different person, and he obviously loves the person his son is. __________________ Hoocha, hoocha, hoocha... lobster.

09-24-2007, 09:45 AM	#2
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I think abortion should, as a rule, always be legal. That means I have no problem with abortion being legal for parents who want to prevent their Downs fetuses from being born. But it makes me a little queasy. A friend of mine had a baby/fetus that she aborted because it had a serious birth defect. One that would cause the baby, if born, to have a short and painful life that might last as long as a month or two in the hospital. It was a gut wrenching decision for her, but I think she did the right thing. I have no problem with that at all. So I support and even encourage having an abortion when the fetus has a serious birth defect like the one above. Downs is tougher. To make it personal, I've got a mentally retarded cousin, and while she has been quite a burden at times for her family, she is living on her own now, and leads a good and productive life. She's a great person. I'd be horrified at the thought of killing her. To me, though, abortion isn't killing a person. It's more like erasing the life that could have been. It's hard to image what life would be like for me and my extended family if my cousin had never been in it. Maybe it would be a better life for us, maybe it would be worse. Who are we to even be making that choice? Well, this gets into religious beliefs and the morals/ethics of each family. So I'm going to cop out and say that it's really up to the parents. And I'm OK with that.

09-24-2007, 02:36 PM	#6
Hime Extraordinary Machine Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Outside of Washington, DC Posts: 307	I think that the tests should be available, and I don't think it should be illegal to abort a fetus due to test results. After all, all families are different and not all would be able to care for a severely disabled child. For a poor family (who would currently be less likely to have access to prenatal testing), it can be devastating. My mom is in a book club with a group of friends, many of whom met because their children go to the same school for mentally challenged kids. All of them love their kids, who range from completely autistic to slightly retarded, and are glad to have them despite their difficulties. However, all of these moms are successful career women and/or married to successful career men, live in some of the poshest neighborhoods in the area, and are able to send their kids to a special school and get them excellent medical care. I don't expect every family to be able to have the same success that they have.

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