Should abortions be free?

So, if someone finds out part way through their pregancy that they're going to have a seriously disabled baby, they should be penalised for that?

Contraception - multiple types at the same time, even - can be used yet pregnancy can still occur; it's not just people being lazy. Even then, people can make mistakes; how would, say, a student be able to afford an abortion or raise a child?

And what about cases of rape? You could say abortions could be free when there's a convicted rapist, but not all sexual assault is reported, not everything leads to a conviction, and a trial could run on long enough that an abortion wouldn't be viable, and only the richest (who, incidentally, would be the most financially equipped to raise a trial) would be able to afford the abortion.

What about the impact on the parents and the other siblings? There are also diseases where the baby only lives for a few weeks or so. Is it really fair to force someone to give birth, only for their baby to die weeks later?

I think people having to pay for abortions will make people more careful but I feel like there are more cases with an actual reason (contraception not working, rape, disabled baby etc) as opposed to "forgot to use contraception".

Yes, people should be more careful - I'm not a fan of abortions effectively being used as contraception itself. But think about the student example - let's say they're drunk and the condom breaks, because they're not being too careful. Pretty much every student gets drunk, and pretty much every student has sex, so it's not an unlikely scenario, even if they attempt to be careful. Because abortions aren't free, the students either go into debt and risk ruining their futures, or decide to raise the child. More likely than not, that child would have a miserable life, potentially being put up for adoption and living in foster homes for its entire childhood. If abortion was free, that wouldn't be an issue; everyone, including the kid, would be ultimately better off, and it would be cheaper for the government, as state money wouldn't have to be spent on raising the child (which would obviously be way more than £700!).

You didn't even respond to the rape aspect of the dilemma. Sexual assaults happen, and pregnancy is generally the result of it. Would you effectively force the victim to have the child, because she simply couldn't afford the fee? £700 is a ridiculously large amount of money for a lot of people; if the victim paid it, that could be their entire savings - and their next few rent payments - gone. Why should the victim (and the victim's child) suffer because of the actions of the attacker?

Ultimately, making abortions cost money = less abortions = more kids ending up in state care = significantly more money being spent by the government. Money is your main argument, it seems, and it's ultimately cheaper to keep abortions taxpayer-funded. If you want to reduce abortions, do it with more sexual education; teach them about consent, safe sex, contraceptives, what the police can do, everything. That, and pretty much that alone, will get people to use contraceptives.

Yes, or "I didn't use it because I like to tease" etc...

omfg whilst we are on this topic, get on whatsapp i need to tell u something

It's nothing to do with being daft. Not everyone who needs an abortion does so because they forgot to use contraception.