[Idle]

That was within the legal limits of abortion, would you personally abort? This can also be used to talk about other severe mental illnesses.

I have no real opinion and I am just interested in hearing people's views

[The_Lonely_Goatherd]

As someone who is schizoaffective (a mixture of schizophrenia and bipolar), I wouldn't and I hope my mother wouldn't have aborted me, had she known in advance

[ckingalt]

I could never support the decision to abort any child that I was the father of (Im not anti-abortion, it's just a personal choice).

However if I felt otherwise, I would consider aborting a child who is likely to be a danger to themselves and others for the rest of their lives is a better justification that aborting a child because you don't feel prepared to be a parent.

[*Rouge*]

Schizophrenia isn't a purely genetic condition though so that test wouldn't work really.

[madders94]

No.

There is a big difference between aborting a severely disabled child, and one who will have a mental illness.

[NDGAARONDI]

(Original post by madders94)
No.

There is a big difference between aborting a severely disabled child, and one who will have a mental illness.

They're both eugenics. You don't even have to be severely disabled to get aborted.

[leahnic]

No I wouldn't my mum is schizophrenic and you wouldn't have a clue that she is when you meet her
If its treated properly it makes no difference to a person

[GeorgetheAug]

There's no way of telling if someone will or won't develop Shizophrenia, and the condition itself varies wildly in severity/symptoms.
It's possible to examine whether someone may have a genetic vulnerability, but this is the same for many disorders and it would be very unrealistic to abort any child that had a vulnerability to any disorder.

[geetar]

No, I wouldn't.

[Idle]

(Original post by GeorgetheAug)
There's no way of telling if someone will or won't develop Shizophrenia, and the condition itself varies wildly in severity/symptoms.
It's possible to examine whether someone may have a genetic vulnerability, but this is the same for many disorders and it would be very unrealistic to abort any child that had a vulnerability to any disorder.

We are talking hypothetically one day in the future.

[GeorgetheAug]

(Original post by Idle)
We are talking hypothetically one day in the future.

Still not realistic! There's just too many variables to consider. You'd have to know the circumstances the child would grow up in, which is pretty difficult if it's not even been born yet... :|

[Idle]

(Original post by GeorgetheAug)
Still not realistic! There's just too many variables to consider. You'd have to know the circumstances the child would grow up in, which is pretty difficult if it's not even been born yet... :|

The question was if there was not how possible is it that

[Sabertooth]

I don't believe in abortion full stop but I find it hard to reconcile that with the fact that the kid would suffer so much. I have psychosis myself and I've thought so many times myself that I wish my mum had aborted me, the idea that I could bring a kid into the world that feels the same way, well, it's a horrible feeling.

But, I'm in a serious relationship and we've spoken about having kids in the next few years quite a few times. I'm aware I could pass my psychosis onto them and it fills me with guilt. If the test for schizophrenia was 100% accurate, I'd like to abort the kid just so they don't suffer but when it came down to it I really don't think I could - I couldn't live with having killed an innocent foetus. There's also the fact that maybe once the kid reaches schizophrenia age there might be better treatments available. So I guess my answer is no.

[GeorgetheAug]

(Original post by Idle)
The question was if there was not how possible is it that

Well I don't see any point in speculating if it's never going to be possible anyway

[Idle]

(Original post by GeorgetheAug)
Well I don't see any point in speculating if it's never going to be possible anyway

It will probably be possible in the future, how to predict mental health issues is only just starting to scratch the surface. If you compare what could be done 50 years ago until now it isn't out of this world new technology could arise allowing it.

[walterwhite123]

Possibly. Would have to consider it if the eventuality arrived.

Having just had to go through the whole amnio result scenario It's not an easy decision.

[GeorgetheAug]

(Original post by Idle)
It will probably be possible in the future, how to predict mental health issues is only just starting to scratch the surface. If you compare what could be done 50 years ago until now it isn't out of this world new technology could arise allowing it.

Mental illnesses are far more unpredictable due to the vast number of variables that contribute to their development.
It would be like trying to predict if someone will break their leg - They might be particularly vulnerable to it if they play sports like football or rugby, but you can't tell for sure that it will happen. Likewise, it's possible that someone who doesn't play any sport will end up breaking their leg due to sheer bad luck.

[OU Student]

No test would ever be 100% accurate. But it would be nice to know before (that's if) it happens.

[daisydaffodil]

No. Goodness knows what advances might be made in science, I'd feel utterly crushed if I aborted a baby with possible schizophrenia if they were to then come up with a powerful new drug ten years later. What right have I got to choose to kill my child? If I've allowed them to be conceived it's only right that they are given the opportnity to have a life. There might be an error in the test, and who are we to decide how much others will suffer? Indeed, the child might be born with a mental illness but may not suffer as much as we fear, a mental illness does not necessarily equal a terrible life.

[Pawsies]

No because my child might not even get it. Just because there's an 80% chance my child could have schizophrenia doesn't warrant abortion imo.

I could never abort a child, it'd bother me too much. I'd rather give up for adoption if necessary.