First, let me say that what I'm going to write is not meant in any hostility, nor to offend or attack anyone. If I sound too strong, or that I'm focusing on something someone said a lot, it's nothing personal against you, and I'm not arguing or trying to offend you, etc. I'm just giving my opinion.
Good topic. I'm pro-choice, but for myself personally, I'm against it and would never have an abortion. However, God gave us "free will" and it shouldn't be taken from us. If abortion is a sin, then those who have had unnecessary abortions will be judged (sometimes it's medically necessary for the mother). God judges us by what we've done with our free will, so I don't believe it's right that everyone else should control every moral choice, etc. for everyone. People have to be allowed to choose between right or wrong. Just because one person thinks it's right or wrong doesn't give them the right to make the decision for everyone. Imagine if you lost a lot of your rights because of someone else's beliefs.
As for rape, I'd personally still have the baby because I couldn't kill, or place the blame on another innocent person because of what another did to me. However, rape and any sexual abuse is a very serious situation. It doesn't just affect the woman physically, but also emotionally and mentally...it can REALLY mess a woman up, even without a pregnancy. Sometimes the woman can't bear having any part of her attacker in her or linked to her...she'll keep reliving the event. These women can, and do get suicidal. It's not fair to judge a rape victim or call them wrong because they decided to get an abortion, and they're not being selfish, etc. There's A LOT that goes into it. They truly suffer, and not by choice. What if the woman was made to keep the baby, couldn't handle it and committed suicide? One life wouldn't be lost, two would, and the woman had no choice when it came to getting pregnant. It's a violent, traumatizing situation in every form, and it's a memory, etc. that the woman has to live with for the rest of her life. I'm not meaning to get personal, but I was technically raped when I was two years old (considered by the law in the state I lived in back then), and I'm STILL not over it. I still have the memories, the flashbacks, everything. I'm 26 years old, and it happened when I was 2 (yes, I truly remember it all). I came face to face with them again when I was 12, but wasn't attacked again. I have so much trouble dealing with that event, and I couldn't imagine if I had also gotten pregnant from it. Like I said earlier, I'd have the baby because of my personal feelings, but I can't make someone else do the same thing. It's not fair. It's almost like blaming and punishing the victim. I've been sexually abused three other times since then, ages 13, 15, and 16. I have enough experience with the issue in my life and what it does to a person. People can have their opinions, but when it comes to victims of abuse, it's really not fair to judge them at all or say what they "should" do. There's really no clear cut answer there.
Otherwise, I'm personally against abortion. I just can't make that decision for others. There is one case that I've heard of back where I used to live that I found completely wrong though, and that was because the mother aborted her child ONLY because the baby was going to be of a mixed race if it was born. She willingly had the relationship with the man. That's the most shallow reason for an abortion I've ever heard. It didn't involve financial hardship, no support, etc. It was based solely because of race.
As mariemarie stated, if the woman can't get the abortion in a clinic or at a doctor's, she'll find some other way to get it, and there's a much higher death rate. Also, not everyone believes in God, so we can't push our religious reasons on them either. Even though my views are religious based to an extent, I can't push it on someone else. Some people are atheist...so how do you explain God, our creator, etc. to them?
Don't get me wrong...I love children, and I want plenty of my own. I'm personally against abortion for myself. Even if I was raped, and I know personally how the affects of sexual abuse feels, I would still have that child, BUT, I can't make that decision for anyone else or judge them if they choose to abort the child. God gave us "free will" and we need to have enough freedom to be able to make right or wrong choices. There will always be tests, temptations, etc. out there for all of us...some sink, some swim. Is it fair that another life is involved? No. But there are some that think abortion should be illegal, and women shouldn't have the choice to abort or not. It's not right to take that choice from a person, whether we agree with their choices or not. Imagine if you had no choice in something that was major to you, and you have no voice. God made those Ten Commandments for us to abide by, and be tested and tempted to sin or not. Thy shall not murder is one of them. It's possible abortion is a test of that commandment.
Adoption sounds nice and all, but it doesn't always turn out so nice. There are children that always wonder about their birth parents, wondering why they weren't wanted, etc. When they come of age, sometimes they have the option to find their birth parent(s) or not, but if they look for the parents, the parents are first notified to ask whether they want to meet the child or not. What if the parents say no? The child's questions still go unanswered and they're no happier. They tend to have problems. I know two people that were orphans as children that turned out good. I also know one that turned out badly, and his mental issues are related to the fact that he's adopted and wanted to know his birth parents, but they refused him. He's a heroin addict, and alcoholic, and has problems with his temper. There's a lot of hurt there. What if the kids don't get adopted, or they go from foster home to foster home? All I'm saying is that it's not for me to judge. I can only be in control of myself because bad things happen everywhere that I don't agree with. Even if abortions end up being illegal, what about rape, child abuse, murder, drugs, and so many other problems in the world? I can only wish for those women to make the decision that "I" feel is right, and keep their babies, but I have no right to force them to. Do I feel that abortion is killing a life? Do I feel it's murder? Yes. There are always choices and at least two paths to choose from in life, and people need to be able to choose for themselves whether to take the right path, or the wrong one.
Now, there needs to be more education to prevent the number of abortions, and those that willfully have sex without worrying about the consequences of it (good or bad). There needs to be a stronger support system for these people as well.
