Thanks for you opinion gals!! However the choice is not our to make and the government has voted for it to stay the same.

I'm not totally sure myself. I do think if there is the possibility that the baby is viable earlier than is believed then the abortion limit should be reduced to relect that. However, as other posters have said i'm sure that my opinion will change once I start training.

One thing for sure though is that my opinion that women should have the choice will remain the same.

Susie xx

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This is my opinion and I've not started training yet so it may change. The majority of women find out they are pregnant in the early stages and go on to have an early termination. Some wait and see or deny to believe and leave it later. However, if the limit was reduced to 20 weeks or less (in germany it is 12 weeks) and then if the women has to terminate (health reasons, abuse and so on) it should be approved. Life can change so quickly and I've never been in this position but I can only assume it would be the hardest decision I could make.

I think every case should be looked at individually though I do believe social abortion limits should be a lot lower, preferably 1st trimester.

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This is a tricky subject, but I personally think it should stay the same at 24 weeks. I'm a strong believer in choice.

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I am generaly neither pro nor anti abortion, but I think the woman should have the choice.

I read a quote in yesterday's guardian - something along the lines of 'why does the government seem to have difficulty with letting the decision making lie with those who will have to bear the consequences?' which kind of sums up my position.

Anomaly scans are performed in the trust I work in at 21-22 weeks. If the abortion limit were lowered, women whose babies are found to have severe problems at this scan will have no choice but to carry on with the pregnancy. So why perform the scan?

And yes, with advances in medical knowledge and technology babies born at 23-24 weeks have improved survival rates - but the figures alone say nothing about the kind of lives these babies and their families go on to lead. There was a recent article about a miracle baby who survived, having been born at 23 weeks - but at 6 months old she is still on oxygen 24 hours a day. An interesting read is a book called 'saving premature babies' (can't remember the author) that explores the implications for children, families, and society of saving very early babies - the book basically asks the question 'just because we can, does that mean that we should?' A thought provoking read on a very emotive subject

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Love Dory xxx
Just keep swimmin', just keep swimmin'....

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Thank you for your post Dory. I understand where you are coming from and I look forward to gaining some experience that will help me form some kind of evidence backed opinions. (if that makes sense)

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That is a very interesting post Dory, thanks for the points you make, I particularly like the quote you put, it makes a lot of sense when you think of it that way.

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Midwifemissy x

Student Midwife 2007
Student uni rep
Educational Resources Manager

PAB Support Worker

I think that for social reasons abortions should be lowered to 20 weeks because of the discoveries that some fetuses are surviving earlier than expected from 20+.

Although i do believe it is a womens choice but i think abortions are becoming a form of contraception to some women and that scares me.
I read an article a couple of days ago that some are having up to their 8th abortion ( then again this was The Sun newspaper so have to be careful with that statement lol they called a 12- (i think it was) 24 week old fetus an embryo in another article I read ' The life of an embryo' which confused me because i thought the embryonic stage ended at 8 weeks?) !
But in fairness it doesn't disclose the reason why a minority of women have so many it could be a range of reason but it just makes women seem they are incapable of taking care of thier own health.

I understand accidents do happen and even the minority of cases the morning after pill doesn't stop unplanned pregnancy, but how did it get to this stage?.

On the otherhand, there is a part of me that understands that choosing to have an abortion must be a very difficult to make and definately a decision not to rush into and my heart goes out to women who have to face this terrible decision.
I know each decision has to be asessed individually, and at times you just have to put your moral beliefs aside and think about what is right for that person in that situation, and unfortunately abortion may be the choice.

One of the reason (and my opinion) the main reason why abortion were legalised was so that women wouldn't have to have to face the dangers of unqualified "doctors", dirty surgical utensils etc that are associated with backstreet abortions, so if legalised abortions saves a woman from being infected or worse killed then they should be more readily available.
But i guess the government has realised that from the soaring abortion rates it has bit them on the bum.

I have to be reasonable though as i still haven't started midwifery training yet so my opinions may change, guess i'll have to see.

(Medical/ congenital reasons weren't going to be affected by the bill- i heard on the news, as these abortion can be carried up to birth if needed? if im wrong please correct me!).

p.s sorry for the lengthy "essay" (and if theres anything that seems inaccruate pls tell me), i've been studying different ethical implications on abortion for my AS ethics class at school so i'm able to feel free to voice my opinion on this thread and this is good revision for my exam, plus I can't get a word in edge ways sometimes with my class because of 'conflicting opinions' lol.

Thats what this thread is for. So we all have a chance to voice our opinions and hear everyone elses. I don't think it matters where in your training (if any) you are because as women (which i think most of us are) we will naturally have strong opinions on abortion.

Thank you for your input. I agree totally that some women are using abortions as contraception and that many need to take responsibility for their own health.

Susie xx

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Fab post, D. I hadn't thought of the anomaly scan at all

Re social terminations, in my view, we need to look at and try to understand the bigger picture. IMO sex education in schools are inadequate and are simply not indepth or honest enough. However, despite this improving and millions being spent on it, there seems to be little improvement in the figures. I have the upmost sympathy for those undergoing social termination (and hate that term aswell) believe me, there are very few who want to terminate at all, let alone late for those reasons.

Lots more research needs to be done to get the full picture of the reasons behind it, I am all for women's choice and do not judge them whatever their decision

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