Poll: You're pregnant. What do you do?

[a mace]

When my GF was having a baby, she complained more about the pain from having the IV drip than actually giving birth! Although it is like a wizards sleeve down there, she been scraped more times than a fishermans nuckle. So OP, pro-abortion until your ready to start a family.

 

[bauke67]

Let's just pretend I'm a woman for now. I can either have it aborted, or I can just sacrifice 9 months of my for that baby's entire LIFE. You can always have it adopted after that.
Doesn't that sound simple enough?

Hell yeah. I abort it before it's got a life, win-win. Or well win-nothing since I win and it wasn't a being with an agenda or consciousness.

True, but it could've been. If you smash your TV with a baseball bat before the movie starts, your still not gonna see the movie.

Could've been is meaningless. And thankfully in this case nothing useful or wanted of mine is lost, so doesn't compare to a TV.

Could've been may be meaningless, but could be, wich it is at that point, definitely isn't.
And the TV is just a metaphor, you may not want to watch the TV, but the actors would like people to watch them.

 

[soren7550]

In order, I'd:

- Freak out
- Panic
- Have boyfriend find an abortion clinic
- Get abortion
- Be horribly depressed and not talk to anyone for a long while.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Jump down the stairs? Seriously though, im a 35 man and i would keep it...even if it was a mistake, it would be my first child. I used to always say abortion if it was not wanted, but a girl i was with thought she was pregnant but it turned out it was a false alarm. But while in that situation i still wanted it even though i was in no place to be a dead being im in the UK and she was in USA. Its a difficult choice that you can only make in that situation.....as i found out. Guess it depends on age and ability to look after said child.

 

[Cabisco]

I feel bad for saying it, but as a man I'd want to get it aborted.

I have a friend who appears unable to have kids (seems that way, not medically proven). Seeing that makes me kind of think I'd see if their are anyone willing to adopt, though i'm not sure how I'd be able to deal with knowing their is my son/daughter out there and that they'd likely hate me for giving them away so they'd have a better life. Trust me, they'd have a better life, I can't provide for myself let alone a child.

 

[Mouse One]

I'll leave these here for everyone to peruse at their leisure (if you can). I dunno if I'd recommend basing anything on abstracts, I like to to look at study design (exposure measurement, control selection etc.), and they don't usually contain anything about study limitations. I'd hate to encourage misinformation. Usually university libraries have print copies of these journals. Going there to look these up is a better, if more investing, option.

Induced abortion as an independent risk factor for breast cancer: a comprehensive review and meta-analysis, J Epidemiology and Community Health, J Brind et al., 1996, 50:481-496

To meta-analyse or not to meta-analyse: abortion, birth and mental health. Br J Psychiatry. Kendall T, Bird V, Cantwell R, Taylor C. 2012 Jan;200(1):12-4. (A bit high-level, but gives a good explanation of what to watch out for when looking at studies on abortion, and in my opinion and excellent point on the individuality of treatment)

I can't find the other ones right now, but I will message you (and anyone else who wants them) with them when I do. Pubmed always seems to hide articles when I want to find them.

Oh, I know what you mean about abstracts not usually covering methodology. But frankly, I'm too cheap to buy subscriptions to journals when I'm not working in the field.

That article/analysis by Kendall et al does seem to agree with what the news reports on similar studies were saying (I know, popular media getting a study right isa bit of a shock). Older studies have been saying that while women with unplanned pregnancies are more likely to have mental illness, abortion doesn't really factor into it. If I'm reading (the abstract *cough*) right, Kendall is basically saying "meta-analysis is subject to bias, so jury's still out" and recommending focusing on the individual needs of the patient. Hard to argue with that-- but at the same time, I find that reinforces my dislike for blanket statements like "unless your life is in danger, have the child". It's got to be an individual call by the patient with the advice of the doctor, something I strongly suspect you agree with, tbh.

I'd heard about that 1996 breast cancer study (and I got to read the whole thing ). If I recall correctly, studies have also found higher incidence of breast cancer among nuns. Not trying to saying that there's a correlation there (although it wouldn't surprise me if having a kid reduced breast cancer risk-- but that's just armchair hypothesizing). But I think that underscores the importance of considering the needs of the individual. No one would tell someone about to take vows "Oh, you might want to hold off on the nun thing because some studies indicate it's associated with a higher risk of breast cancer." Yet some folks would say the equivalent to someone making another major life decision, i.e. whether to have a child or not. BTW, my wife had breast cancer twice, so I'm not just shrugging my shoulders at that risk.

Thanks again for the links.

 

[bauke67]

Let's just pretend I'm a woman for now. I can either have it aborted, or I can just sacrifice 9 months of my for that baby's entire LIFE. You can always have it adopted after that.
Doesn't that sound simple enough?

Hell yeah. I abort it before it's got a life, win-win. Or well win-nothing since I win and it wasn't a being with an agenda or consciousness.

True, but it could've been. If you smash your TV with a baseball bat before the movie starts, your still not gonna see the movie.

Could've been is meaningless. And thankfully in this case nothing useful or wanted of mine is lost, so doesn't compare to a TV.

Could've been may be meaningless, but could be, wich it is at that point, definitely isn't.
And the TV is just a metaphor, you may not want to watch the TV, but the actors would like people to watch them.

Not may be meaningless. Is meaningless. At that point it definitely is meaningless. There's only a single person and their desires.

Well thankfully in this situation there are no actors, there is only one sentient being involved.

I don't think this is still going anywhere, but at that point, before any abortion, there is "could be", a possibility, not "could have been" which is no longer a possibility.

 

[dobahci]

Well, just like I said in the other thread, to me the only logical consideration when it comes to how to deal with a pregnancy is whether you are capable (financially, emotionally, mentally, etc.) of providing for the child and giving it a good life.

People are rarely logical, though, and just based upon the words of people I know, getting an abortion is MUCH harder (emotionally) than some people tend to think. A lot of people who are dead set on getting an abortion end up bailing out at the last moment.

 

[runnernda]

I've never been pregnant, so I can't really say. But knowing my luck, I'm going to be the less than .1% that birth control isn't effective for, so I may as well think about it. I'm all for women's rights and all, but I just don't think abortion is for me. At this point in my life, though, I'm not equipped to raise a kid. I don't make enough money, and I'm just not ready. I have a lot planned for my life, and a child would kind of hinder that. I think I'd put the kid up for adoption. I wouldn't want it funneled into the foster system. I'd want to interview prospective parents and everything. I'd want to do my best to make sure the child was going to a good home.

That's my (way more than) two cents.

 

[Magicmad5511]

Start a religion, claiming I'm giving birth to the new Jesus because I'm a virgin. Also get scientists to examine me because I'm a man.

I am by no means the first dude to make this joke but oh well.

OK, serious answer time. If I got a girl pregnant I would be more on the side of leaving it up for adoption or aborting. I don't want kids until I'm married with a girl I love.
I think I lean more to abortion actually because I know kids often find life hard in care homes and orphanages. I'm also not religious, and while it seems a bit callous I think it might be easier for all parties. The baby wouldn't have to be raised by either the orphanage or two parents who don't love each other, and the parents won't have to deal with the struggles of raising a child that may cause vast problems in their lives.

The decision though would be ultimately down to her and I would support and be there if she decided to keep it.

 

[chadachada123]

I don't want to be responsible for giving a kid a crappy life, whether it be by keeping it and not being able to support him/her, or adopting off and risking them getting a really crappy set of parents.

Abortion is the merciful option, especially since the kid won't know the difference (lacking any capacity for thought or pain or anything).

 

[The_Lost_King]

I choose other because I would totally freak out because I am a dude

 

[Talvrae]

Had been, was trying tobe so i have kept her.... Now unless girl on girl action now cause pregnancy, there is very little risk i get pregnant.... But would probably keep it again

 

[Silvianoshei]

Thanks again for the links.

No problem. By the way, I'm actually kind of shocked that your wife's oncologist didn't mention this, but having kids and breastfeeding decreases your chance for breast cancer VERY sharply. Basically the less exposure you have to female sexual hormones, which are far lower during pregnency and while breastfeeding, your esentially removing a primary risk factor from the equation (besides being a woman, of course.)

I wouldn't ever tell a nun that, because I don't want to get fired after the hospital gets sued, but it's actually true, celibacy would increase your risk for breast cancer. It would decrease your risk for a bunch of other, more deadly diseases, like HPV, AIDS, and PID, so you have to think of the trade-offs.

 

[Lord Merik]

what is wrong is adoption? Why opt to kill the kid when you can send it somewhere where it will be loved?

Adoption is expensive and doesn't always work. There's a 50/50 shot the kid will end up in a worse home than if he was never adopted out in the first place, and that's assuming he even gets adopted!

not really true. I am adopted. It worked fine for me. Besides are you saying that killing the poor kid is better then giving him a 50/50 chance as you say?

 

[S_SienZ]

I'm a man who somehow got pregnant. I'll be rich, or at the very least remembered

 

[Art Axiv]

I'm not sure.. I guess I'll be ok with it?