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Originally Posted by puggymom  See this is where my personal opinions conflict with my beliefs of maternal rights taking precedence over fetal rights.
Again this is my personal opinion and do not believe that laws should be based on it.
Once you have a viable fetus (currently ~23 weeks) you have had plenty of time to make a decision to have an elective abortion. The problem is for every law that intending to protect a viable healthy fetus and a healthy mother you are now making it harder for a woman who needs the abortion for medical reasons to get it as she now has to prove to the courts that it is needed. Who is determining when it is ok? How is this going to be determined? If she has cancer and MAY survive long enough? Some people do not think this is a good enough reason for an abortion. What if that is the opinion of the judge making that decision? Shouldn't this be the indiviual familes decision? |
You make very good arguments here, but I believe any judge would defer to a doctor's expert knowledge as to what is a valid medical reason and what is not. I don't think that abortions would have to be individually approved by judges before they'd be allowed to happen (at least, that's not what I would suggest as law).
A huge problem I have, though, is that term "viable" fetus. If the implied care contract the mother has with the child is met, and she keeps what she willingly chose to place in her body in her body, it would be viable at 23 minutes just like 23 weeks. Nothing magically happens on the 23rd Monday. If the baby could make it, it could make it. If it can't, it can't. If it can't, and/or the mother can't handle it medically - well, those are good reasons (one death is already there, or not ending the mother's life because of a medical issue).
I think you and I are actually a lot closer than at first blush it may seem. I don't agree with letting doctors and judges decide how a pregnant woman can live her life - that's not the point at all. But, I also don't think the woman has the right to end a life because it's not convinient.