Poll: Would you abort a pregnancy if the child would have Down Syndrome?

[llafnwod]

All I know is that I wouldn't be able to raise the kid properly.

So all you anti-abortion people can fight over who gets him. What's that? No takers? Aw hell, I thought you were trying to be good people.

Well said. Utter hypocrisy is not good when you're trying to make yourself out as a better person.

Has anyone here gone with the "it's your baby and you have to keep it" argument? As admittedly satisfying as beating up straw men is, please respond to actual posts and opinions given in this thread.

 

[Aesir23]

It would really depend on some things like the potential severity but yes. Even though they are human, thoughts, emotions, etc. I would want my kid to have a semi-normal life without having to be discriminated against or be picked on by prejudiced assholes over something they can't control. I mean, if even a small thing such as being shy or awkward is enough to get someone alienated and ostracized from their peers then I can't imagine what a special needs person would face. All I know is that I would feel terrible about making the 'right' decision and subjecting my flesh and blood, my child, to that hell.

 

[Chainsauce]

Yes.

I'm mildly disgusted at the number of people who are saying yes. My uncle has down syndrome and while he may not perceive things like we do he still has thoughts and emotions. When my grandparents had to send him to a home because they were no longer able to take care of him I remember that a few days later he was crying because he missed them. He's still human. He's still capable of being happy or sad or angry, and even if he can't express himself he still loves his parents and his sister, and they love him. I desperately hope the people here just don't understand what they're talking about or else I fear for the human race.

We're talking about aborting an unborn baby, to me there's a big difference between a fetus and a human. Just to clarify, I'm not saying either one of us are right or wrong, I'm just explaining things from my point of view.

OT: Yes, without a doubt.

 

[dex-dex]

well first of all being pregnant in the first place really is scary.
my god

 

[Fetzenfisch]

Its a harsh clash of emotion and logic. Something that just will be decided spontanous and randomly out of irrational feeling, like always when those two worlds collide. You will be sure that you are thinking about it alot, but the decision is already made.
The logical part of being a human in me says, either kill it in this early stage or at least give it away to protect our social lives from utter destruction.But the logical part is an egoistic asshole, which is already angry about all that anti-allergic medication degenerating our genepool by letting so many defective survive ,so the emotional part will probably already have set that it is our responibility to deal with it whatsoever.

 

[Kurokami]

Yes, absolutely.

Unless you have a strict no abortion rule, how can you justify not having it? I can't think of anyone you're doing a favor to, including the baby.

 

[Lexodus]

All I know is that I wouldn't be able to raise the kid properly.

So all you anti-abortion people can fight over who gets him. What's that? No takers? Aw hell, I thought you were trying to be good people.

Well said. Utter hypocrisy is not good when you're trying to make yourself out as a better person.

Has anyone here gone with the "it's your baby and you have to keep it" argument? As admittedly satisfying as beating up straw men is, please respond to actual posts and opinions given in this thread.

Yeah, I quoted a guy in my last post, who said that unless the woman is in ''legitimate'' danger, it's murder and wrong. Or, rather, that you cannot do it under any circumstances other than that (saying 'if this happens, then you can do it' implies 'if this specific example doesn't happen, then you can't).

snip

No, I did not vote entirely because if the womans life is in legitimate danger then you can abort. Other then that abortion after the life-blood starts to flow is murder.

See?

 

[SulfuricDonut]

I'm mildly disgusted at the number of people who are saying yes. My uncle has down syndrome and while he may not perceive things like we do he still has thoughts and emotions. When my grandparents had to send him to a home because they were no longer able to take care of him I remember that a few days later he was crying because he missed them. He's still human. He's still capable of being happy or sad or angry, and even if he can't express himself he still loves his parents and his sister, and they love him. I desperately hope the people here just don't understand what they're talking about or else I fear for the human race.

True, but that's the main controversy over abortion--whether or not to call an unborn embryo a full human being--isn't it? I think this poll is more trying to ask whether your opinion on abortion would be affected by the knowledge that your child would have a disability, not your original standing on the topic.

I myself am not against abortion, however I can fully empathize with anyone who is, if they consider the embryo a human being and think it shouldn't be killed. However people who are against abortion shouldn't change suddenly accept it when they realize their child won't be fully healthy because, as wellhereiam stated above, the child is still human, and so their same beliefs should still apply to them.

If the parents go through with an abortion only because their child would be disabled, then they are pretty much only doing it because it is more convenient to them to have a healthy child instead. Since abortion is always about being convenient to the parent's lives (healthy baby or not), I would say that if they changed their minds in this situation, then they hadn't believed very strongly against abortion in the first place.

 

[Tibike77]

Wow the amount of people that would abort is kind of shocking. [...] Happiness for my 'offspring' would be my only real concern in the long run, they do say ignorance is bliss.

So you would rather have a happy but ignorant society rather than a content yet knowledgeable one ? All the rulers of the world would like a clone army made out of you, you must be very proud.
There are nearly 7 billion people on the planet, and any pair of potential parents could easily have 15 or more children in their lifetime if they wanted to (although most get content by 3, if not earlier).
WHY would you EVER want to bring a less than healthy specimen of a human being into this world anyway, when you have so many more chances of creating a healthy one on your next try ?

 

[Spectre39]

Yes. I don't even want a child. I have an avid dislike of children.

I strongly recommend people like you to look up "Childfree" if you aren't already aware of it. It's a lifestyle that you may already live, but never realized.

 

[llafnwod]

Well said. Utter hypocrisy is not good when you're trying to make yourself out as a better person.

Has anyone here gone with the "it's your baby and you have to keep it" argument? As admittedly satisfying as beating up straw men is, please respond to actual posts and opinions given in this thread.

Yeah, I quoted a guy in my last post, who said that unless the woman is in legitimate danger, it's murder and wrong.

Fair enough. But, let's keep things civil.

 

[Naheal]

Yes. Absolutely. Without a second thought.

I know it makes me an evil, evil person but I don't even think of Down's sufferers as human. They're...not right. Defective. Little more than pets or playthings like animals. And like I said, I know that makes me an evil, evil person but my revulsion at the sight of them is deeply personal and not something I can deny.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that a Down's sufferer isn't human, but I don't believe I could viably take care of someone with Down's Syndrome, which would mean that I'd have to put the child into foster care or up for adoption. Unfortunately, that system is so borked that they would have an even worse life. Rather than force them to live through that, I'd abort the child.

 

[Blatherscythe]

First I'd make damn sure that was the actual results, so no errors were made. If my child really did have downs syndrom, I hate to say this but I'd abort the poor thing. I wouldn't want to live with a mental disability like that and I wouldn't subject anyone else to live in such a way, better to put them out of their misery right then and there.

EDIT: I'm talking about if it was a severe case, if they're just a little slower then no I wouldn't abort the child.

 

[Kurokami]

They're...not right. Defective. Little more than pets or playthings like animals. And like I said, I know that makes me an evil, evil person but my revulsion at the sight of them is deeply personal and not something I can deny.

No, I assure you that the mentally handicapped are very much real human beings. Would you argue a child is less than human? BTW, I do appreciate the honesty. I don't know many Down Syndrome individuals personally, but I did go to school with some. As George Carlin so eloquently said it about children "They're like any other group of people. A few winners, a whole lot of losers." Maybe try volunteering some time? Face the fear.

I wouldn't act on it (on account of my moral principle) but I don't consider babies till the age of 3 to be 'real people'. Retards on the other hand I have a conflicting time arguing with. I'm not gonna suggest lining them up to kill them, but if I abort kids going to be born so, I would. (please don't read into it as though I'm gonna wait at a hospital with a mallet in case a doctor gives me the headsup, the woman's choice takes priority, I'm just saying that that's my general opinion)

 

[MrHero17]

I'd say yes to the abortion. In my book(because everyone handles this one differently) a human fetus that is 10 weeks old really isn't worth anything to me. I just don't have that sense that a number of people do that an the life of an unborn baby has some sort of intrinsic value. And I saw someone else say this and I agree with it is that I would just rather my child not have downs. I guess that ties into my not placing a certain kind of value on the unborn because I don't see why I wouldn't just want to abort the baby and try again to get a healthy one. Would anyone really ever choose to have a child with a disability? Wouldn't the vast majority of people desire for their children to be as strong, smart and healthy as possible?

 

[skywalkerlion]

I'm not even anti abortion and the amount of "DOWNS SYNDROME VICTIMS DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE" sickens me. It's one thing to say you abort it for mercy, which I can sympathize with, it's another to say people with Downs don't deserve to live like a normal human being.

And the whole "Why not just abort and retry" thing is also really stupid. That's just about one step below saying "Well, you don't like your current wife, just kill 'er and find another". It's quite obvious most of the people who say that have never experienced an attachment or commitment to a child you've conceived. Not saying I have, but at least I'm not completely arrogant of the idea.

/endrant

*puts up flame shield*

 

[InnerRebellion]

It pains me to say it, but yes I would. I'm sorry, but I am not going to put a burden like that on my child, as I've seen how it's destroyed my girlfriend's family.

 

[thedeathscythe]

I would put him/her up for adoption. My uncle raises kids like that, he has three, and I've had to baby sit them, even one at a time it's handful for me, and they're older and more tame than they once were. I don't think I could handle it, as bad as that sounds, but I'm not one for abortion, so I'd give it up =]

 

[ninjajoeman]

no because this would lead people to believe then that any mental sickenss would be a good reason for abortion in my opinion. If that happens then its possible that they would also abort if the childs not "perfect" after a certain point.