The Student Room Group

should abortion be illegal after 6 months of pregnancy?

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Original post by richpanda
Yes it does. No later than 16 weeks would be the max for me.


No, it really doesn't.
Original post by Straighthate
babies can respond to their mothers voices after 6 months

therefore they are certainly conscious

how is it not illegal to kill a conscious person?


Yes it should be. I would consider that murder ( and a worse case, at that, because it's worse than killing a baby)
Original post by Retired_Messiah
Concious or sentient instead of alive.

Frickin algae is classed as alive scientifically and they do **** all


Even if the baby's a product of rape and the mother's a sickly psycopath?

Come on now you can't be so black and white on this



Why should that matter, a baby is a baby and deserves to be cared for by a caring family, not necessarily their biological family.
Original post by mobbsy91
Why?? If later on after 3 weeks, something is found which is life threatening, you're saying we should keep the baby alive? If circumstances change with the personal life of the mother-to-be, and the baby wouldn't be looked after well, we should keep the baby alive?


Yeah, and even if circumstances change the baby could be adopted.

Literally, there are so many ways to this that can to an extent bring a positive outcome.
Not if the 'baby' will cause harm to the mother or be born with defects.
The number of abortions performed after that stage of pregnancy is vanishingly small, and would almost always be because of serious abnormalities or risks, not just because the pregnant woman has randomly decided she can't be arsed having a baby.

Generally, a pregnant woman in the UK will have two ultrasound scans - one at about twelve weeks, which dates the pregnancy and screens for the likelihood of some problems, and another at twenty weeks, which is a detailed anatomy scan. Many conditions would only be observable at this second scan, and often further scans or investigations would be necessary to confirm the diagnosis. So, for example, a woman might be told at twenty weeks that it's likely the foetus she's carrying won't survive for more than a few days/hours after birth, and that it would be in significant pain for the duration of its short life - and confirming this diagnosis could take another couple of weeks. In those circumstances, I can absolutely understand why she might choose to terminate the pregnancy.

Incidentally, being 'three weeks' pregnant is not really a thing. The way pregnancy dates are calculated, you're considered two weeks pregnant at the moment of conception, and the embryo doesn't implant into the uterine wall for another week (or more) after that, with a further delay of a few days until the resulting hormonal changes can be detected by even the most sensitive pregnancy tests. So, a woman who is three weeks pregnant literally cannot know at that point that she's pregnant in the first place.
I believe abortion should be allowed up to 3 months after birth. It gives the mother time to decide whether she likes the choice she has made
Original post by Pro Crastination
My question to that argument would be how exactly does leaving the womb suddenly bestow consciousness and the full set of rights that this entails? Surely consciousness (and hence those rights) develops during gestation?


A baby's brain takes from 6-12 months outside of the womb to start to develop the neural pathways and responses that we see in adults as consciousness. During gestation the brain does develop but until those neural pathways and responses are formed then the baby isn't conscious.

They are merely responding to stimuli much in the same way that plants and animals do. Once the baby leaves the womb it is on it's own and no longer dependently attached to the mother and leaching nutrients from her.

By your argument we shouldn't be putting down dogs because they are conscious and their consciousness is higher than an unborn baby's and equivalent to a baby's and their rights should reflect that.

http://www.wired.com/2013/04/baby-consciousness/
http://www.popsci.com/blog-network/kinderlab/why-your-dog-smarter-my-baby
Original post by Retired_Messiah
Concious or sentient instead of alive.


but just because they respond that doesn't imply that they're conscious or even sentient, or else venus flytraps would satisfy those conditions. I mean, even a corpse to some extent might have muscle spasms in response to certain stimuli, but that wouldn't make them alive
Original post by NekoAngel13
The mother is the most important person.


Try telling that to the mother.
My (admittedly stupid) question, is why, unless due to medical complications, would a mother choose to abort after 6 months?
Original post by AlmightyJesus
but just because they respond that doesn't imply that they're conscious or even sentient, or else venus flytraps would satisfy those conditions. I mean, even a corpse to some extent might have muscle spasms in response to certain stimuli, but that wouldn't make them alive


Yeah I never said anything against that m8 I was just pointing out you made a semantic **** up

people on this site read far too much into what I say I'm just an ******* about stuff lmao
Original post by Betelgeuse-
I believe abortion should be allowed up to 3 months after birth. It gives the mother time to decide whether she likes the choice she has made


That should be thought about in advance, not while there's a living being inside of you. It's not as simple as returning an article of clothing after trying it for a while and not liking it.
Original post by AlmightyJesus
so life is conditionally sacred? that's nonsense. life is life. either it's sacred or it's not.


Life, in and of itself, is sacred. But a person's life may or may not be, depending on their actions and more.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by donutellme
Life, in and of itself, is sacred. But a person's life may or may not be, depending on their actions and more.


what did the action of a venus fly trap, for example, do to make their life not sacred?
Original post by AlmightyJesus
what did the action of a venus fly trap, for example, do to make their life not sacred?


It is sacred? There is no need to kill it for no good reason.
Original post by donutellme
It is sacred? There is no need to kill it for no good reason.


well that's what I was speaking about before you responded - I just went back into that topic. they said that a foetus was "alive" because it responded to stimuli. well a venus fly trap also responds to stimuli (flies in its "mouth"), and technically corpses still respond to certain stimuli.
Original post by AlmightyJesus
well that's what I was speaking about before you responded - I just went back into that topic. they said that a foetus was "alive" because it responded to stimuli. well a venus fly trap also responds to stimuli (flies in its "mouth"), and technically corpses still respond to certain stimuli.


But Venus fly trap IS alive!! Perhaps you mean sentient, in which case, a foetus is potato.
Reply 38
Original post by RugbyFighter
Not if the 'baby' will cause harm to the mother or be born with defects.


How do you define "defects"?

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Original post by donutellme
That should be thought about in advance, not while there's a living being inside of you. It's not as simple as returning an article of clothing after trying it for a while and not liking it.


Course it is, try before you buy. If you dont like it then just terminate it. Its not like a 1 month old baby has friends or feelings

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