Abortion not used as birth control

[fireheart17]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/s...-1225874718678

Fratched for content.

Your thoughts?

The main one I have is more in line with the comments:

While the article might come off as somewhat misandrist, there is a legitimate point overall: contraception is the responsibility of both parties involved (or multiple partners). Sterilization does work to an extent (there's a .2 failure rate), however there are plenty of cases where women have still gotten pregnant.
I blame the myths that still go around society: that if I use a mars bar wrapper and a rubber band, it's the same as a condom. She can't get pregnant if she has her period. She can't get pregnant if we have sex with her on top, she can't get pregnant if we ride the cotton pony in the spa....etc.

[Greenday]

I blame the myths that still go around society: that if I use a mars bar wrapper and a rubber band, it's the same as a condom. She can't get pregnant if she has her period. She can't get pregnant if we have sex with her on top, she can't get pregnant if we ride the cotton pony in the spa....etc.

Don't forget my personal favorites: "She can't get pregnant if she jumps up and down afterward!" or "She can't get pregnant if she douches with coke" (for the record, diet coke works the best) or "She can't get pregnant if it's her first time."

I blame a lot of it on lack of education on the matter. While we get excellent sex ed classes that covered the good with the bad, I know a lot of the country doesn't get this kind of information. Kids will have sex no matter what. Teach them how to be safe! It's realism, deal with it. Parents obviously are doing a crappy job so someone needs to step in. Which brings me to...

#1 problem I've seen so far though: Parents. Teach your damn kids how to be safe. They will find out about sex anyway and you have no way to prevent it from happening so at least teach them how to protect themselves from pregnancies and STDs.

[guywithashovel]

From the article

Ms Abigail blamed primarily male politicians for perpetuating the myth that women used termination as a convenience rather than for emotional and medical reasons.

I really hate to come off as one of those touchy, humorless men's movement kind of guys, but could they please stop blaming all of this on men? There are PLENTY of pro-life women, both in politics and amongst everyday people.

This actually embodies a sentiment on both sides that I find rather telling. The left wing, pro-choice, feminist types argue that men are always trying to take away women's reproductive freedoms and ability to control their bodies. Then, on the other hand, you have people in the pro-life camp arguing that men support abortion rights because they like to knock up women and then pressure them into getting abortions so that they don't have to pay child support.

It seems like no matter what people are arguing in regards to this subject, a bunch of fingers are always pointed right at me.

[BlaqueKatt]

Your thoughts?

Dammit when will people realize that abortion is not the problem, it is merely a symptom of the actual problem.

I believe the actual problem lies in the lack of information given at an age where it can be useful(start earlier darn it)-I mean we start telling elementary school kids about drugs, start comprehensive sex-ed at around age 10-12 with a build of of basics starting before that say maybe ages 8-11.

Greater access to affordable birth control/plan b.

and last but not least more funding for better forms of birth control, come on we've had pretty much the same things for what 50+ years now-minor tweaking in formulations/administration is not something "new"-hormones delivered via patch or vaginal ring are the same as the pill-find something better. It's like science said "well this works pretty well, we'll stop at adequate". Sorry China has 100% effective, 100% reversible "vasectomies", done with a silicone plug can be removed and replaced as often as you like in a dr's office.....


address these issues and I would almost guarantee the abortion rate would drop significantly, eventually fading into medical obscurity for the most part.

But then I'm a rational, logical human being.....what could i possibly know?

she can't get pregnant if we ride the cotton pony in the spa....etc.

Well technically she can't "riding the cotton pony" means wearing a tampon, as far as I'm aware tampons don't cause pregnancy

[HYHYBT]

It seems like no matter what people are arguing in regards to this subject, a bunch of fingers are always pointed right at me.

Well, then, stop knocking up every woman you meet!

Abortion is one of those issues where I'm glad that I will never have to make such a decision, or have any part in causing someone else to have to do so.

[tropicsgoddess]

Don't forget my personal favorites: "She can't get pregnant if she jumps up and down afterward!" or "She can't get pregnant if she douches with coke" (for the record, diet coke works the best) or "She can't get pregnant if it's her first time."

I blame a lot of it on lack of education on the matter. While we get excellent sex ed classes that covered the good with the bad, I know a lot of the country doesn't get this kind of information. Kids will have sex no matter what. Teach them how to be safe! It's realism, deal with it. Parents obviously are doing a crappy job so someone needs to step in. Which brings me to...

#1 problem I've seen so far though: Parents. Teach your damn kids how to be safe. They will find out about sex anyway and you have no way to prevent it from happening so at least teach them how to protect themselves from pregnancies and STDs.

Thank you! Knowledge is key and the more kids are educated on sex, the more they'll know how to keep themselves from having unplanned pregnancies which (some cases) do lead to abortion. That abstinence only stuff is crap and doesn't work nor educate kids at all. I'm pro-choice but I think it's downright stupid for somebody to use abortion as repeat and permament/semi-permanent method of birth control instead of a freakin' condom, pills, IUD and the like as well as: PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMMON SENSE!

[BlaqueKatt]

and an article from the UK-a small percentage of teenage girls do use abortion as birth control.

Teenagers are using repeat abortions as a form of birth control, with some girls having four or more terminations by the age of 18, it has been claimed.

Nearly 1,500 of the 19,000 girls under 18 who had a termination last year had previously undergone one earlier abortion for an unwanted pregnancy – and in at least one case a teenage girl had her eighth abortion.

it's about 7% or so-but at least they're saying it's a failure to educate and make options more available.

[guywithashovel]

I'm pro-choice but I think it's downright stupid for somebody to use abortion as repeat and permament/semi-permanent method of birth control instead of a freakin' condom, pills, IUD and the like as well as: PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMMON SENSE!

Why is it stupid?

Forgive me if this constitutes a thread hijack, but I've become a little intrigued by the sentiment of "I don't like abortion, but I think it should be avoided" or "I'm pro choice, but I would like to see fewer abortions done." I even started a thread about this a while back. If there really is nothing wrong with abortion, then why should it matter how often it's done or why it's done?

[Wingates_Hellsing]

Because whether it's something people should be allowed to choose to do or not do is beside the point that it is, in the case of it's use as a birth control, a stupid idea. There are almost limitless easier, cheaper, faster, and much more pleasant ways to keep from having a baby (basically, all of them) and to resort to abortion every time is both unnecessary, and stupid.

We may have the right to make dumb decisions in this country (at least, in most cases) but that doesn't mean they aren't dumb decisions.

[BlaqueKatt]

If there really is nothing wrong with abortion, then why should it matter how often it's done or why it's done?

it's not like getting a haircut, it does carry some very serious risks like all invasive medical procedures, and they are finding in some women it may be a factor in decreased fertility later on.

[HYHYBT]

If there really is nothing wrong with abortion, then why should it matter how often it's done or why it's done?

Speaking only for myself: it's not that "there's nothing wrong with abortion," but that, in some cases, it's the best option there is, and that in the rest of them, it's nobody else's place to tell someone they can't get one.

[Rebel]

I knew a girl who had had at least 4 abortions by the time she was 15 years old.
I'll admit, I judged her harshly. Figured she was a slut who couldn't be bothered with condoms and the pill and was using abortions as her form of contraception.

It wasn't until she was pregnant for the 5th time when we were 15 that my opinion changed.
She was off school for a few weeks and so I asked around as to what she was up too. Turns out she was in protective custody. She was testifying against her dad who had been sexually abusing her for years, and who also kept her away from doctors so she couldn't get the pill.

It's an extreme case, but it's worth mentioning. Not everyone who uses abortion as birth control do it because they're uneducated or lazy. Sometimes it's the only option.

The girl kept the last baby. There was a good chance it was her boyfriends.

[smileyeagle1021]

If there really is nothing wrong with abortion, then why should it matter how often it's done or why it's done?

Who says supporters think that there is nothing wrong with it?
I personally find abortions rather distasteful. I do not like the idea of ending a pregnancy that could have been so easily avoided (this of course does not apply to rape cases and other noncensual situations)... I don't know who or what that potential child would have been and whether or not it was good to see to it that they weren't born... that said, I recognize that I am not a god, nor would I want to be... it is not my place to get between these women and their conscience.

[AdminAssistant]

Also, keep in mind, many people consider Plan B/morning-after pill to be "abortion." These drugs are extremely important for preventing unwanted pregnancy, especially in rape cases.

[Boozy]

I think it's pretty idiotic to purposefully choose the most invasive, expensive, dangerous, time-consuming, and inconvenient option for birth control.

I don't want to limit a woman's access to abortion in any context, but I'm still free to think women who get them repeatedly are bloody morons.