I agree that all methods should be available, in the UK all contraception is free, but our abortion rate is still very high.

But who's to say it wouldn't be much higher without all methods of BC being free? I haven't compared the US's abortion rate to the UK's but I would assume that the US's rate would be higher based on that fact.

I'll try to find some figures, might be hard though because of population different, I assume there will be a like the number of abortions in so many people or something.

This year there have been 200,000 abortions in the UK where as last year it was around 195,000 , but I can't get full stats for this year yet so I will use 2008 stats for the USA as well.
Last year in the UK 18.5 women per 1000 had an abortion.
Last year in the USA 19.4 women per 1000 had an abortion.

That is a slight difference. I believe making birth control more accesible would decrease the number of abortions in the US, but there is no way to really prove that without it happening.

Some people who are very religious follow the bible to the T. Some religions say you cannot use birth control or some people think it's a bad thing. So really, having more accessible birth control or free wouldn't really matter. It would be insane to say we should make abortion illegal. You can be against abortion, but that is what you believe. We should still always have that option. I couldn't imagine how many unwanted babies or dumpster babies there would be if we had no option of abortion. In that case, I rather have those women get abortions because that isn't fair for the children. You have to remember that birth control in all forms are not 100%.

I don't really understand your point about people not using birth control for religious reasons even if its' free for cheap, just because those same religious people wouldn't be the ones getting abortions, would they? Maybe I'm missing something, I'm too lazy to read everything on the forum lol.

I agree with the rest, though. That is the thing that scares me, if you take away the option of an abortion, how much nurturing and love is that mother going to give her child when she really wanted it aborted? People decided to terminate their pregnancies for a reason, and if they are forced to raise that child instead I'm afraid there would be even more bad parenting and mistreated children out there (or like you said, dumpster babies). But probably a lot of people would say that is still better than being aborted....but, it's all opinion. Of course adoption is always the best option, but I don't think it's something a lot of people would explore. In some ways I think it's seen as more 'taboo' than just having a baby or getting an abortion. I've always agreed with the saying "Don't agree with abortion? Don't get one."

Very true, and then think of how many poor kids would never even be adopted and would spend their lives in the care system?!

I couldn't agree more. My birth control is $58 per MONTH. I am questioning whether or not I can continue to shell out nearly $60 monthly for birth control because my insurance doesn't cover contraceptives, much less someone who is in a lesser economical standing than I am.

Totally agree with you!!

okay, so your a 12 year old girl who has just 'become a woman' now completely (by natures eyes at least) capable of having a baby. your blood father, has been rapeing you since you were 3 years old, and he gets you pregnant. your baby, that you will give birth to, probably with no medical attention or little at that, will more than likely have serious health issues due to inbreeding, and you a skinny 70 pound 12 year old (or however much the average one weighs) will be lucky to survive the birth.

or how about this one, you, a mother who is average age, married, single.. whatever, finds out you are pregnant, then you find out that you have a life threatening condition, and if you continue with this pregnancy you will have a 100% chance of dying, there is no odds or maybes, you will die if you continue carrying this pregnancy... maybe even you have other children and are a single mom, whos going to take care of those kids if you die because abortion is illegal?

your a 17 year old girl walking home from school one evening and a man jumps out of the woods and rapes you, 6 weeks later you find out you are pregnant. you know mentally and emotionally you cannot have this baby because every day of your pregnancy and this childs life will be a constant reminder of that horribly devistating night.

everyone who has an abortion has reasoning for why they cant continue on with a pregnancy, and everyone has thier opinions on abortion, but if we make abortion illegal then people will still have them, very unsafely and it will increase the mortality rate of the mothers like no other... you want to throw every woman who has had an abortion in jail? thats 1.3 million women a year...

so go ahead and have your opinion, as i will have mine, but just keep in mind that there are situations out there, where any inteligent human being would recognize that the smart thing to do would be not continue the pregnancy...

You know, who am *I* to say a woman doesn't have a right to do what she will with her own body? Yes, I am a Christian, YES, I am 100% Pro-Life, and I DO believe abortion is wrong. God gives us free-will for a reason, though, and there is NO ONE who should take that away from a woman who has to make such a terrible decision. It's ultimately her decision to make, and she will live with that for the rest of her life... and there after.
That being said, QUOTAS for abortion? That's just SICK and TWISTED. There is no other way to describe it. I DO believe that there should be restrictions put on abortion, and there is no way anyone should be trying to persuade a woman (or girl as the case may be) to abort their baby for financial gain. Disgusting.

Everyone of those scenarios that you have given are extreme & are probably in the VERY low percent of women who are getting abortions. Did you know statistically speaking these are the reasons women get abortions.

Why women have abortions
1% of all abortions occur because of rape or incest; 6% of abortions occur because of potential health problems regarding either the mother or child, and 93% of all abortions occur for social reasons (i.e. the child is unwanted or inconvenient).

So you are only speaking about 7% of the women obtaining abortions worldwide every year. I think when there is a medical reason why the woman couldn't carry the child full-term or if the baby has serious health issues that will prevent them from living after birth then there should definately be exceptions! As for the women that are raped that;s a touchy subject because I would hate to see a woman suffer through that mentally (believe me I have sympathy I am a victim of sexual abuse) but it's my opinion & my opinion only that the child shouldn't be punished for what the rapist did & they deserve a chance to be born & be given to someone who will love them. I am mostly infuriated at the women who use abortion as birth control. Did you also know that 47% of women who have an abortion in a year's time have had AT LEAST one previous abortion. So that's the facts.

Oh & by the way this is the website I got the statistics from in case anyone is wondering.
http://www.abortionno.org/Resources/fastfacts.html

I understand that the reasons listed are "extreme" and very low - but still...
What if a woman and her significant other have 2 children already. What if they practice safe sex, but find out that their condom broke, and she's pregnant? Not everyone knows if there's a tear or a hole in the condom right away. What if due to recent job losses, etc they are uninsured? What if they cannot afford the pregnancy? What if, as a couple, they cannot afford another child? You cannot tell a MARRIED couple that they cannot have sex. Stuff HAPPENS. Sometimes it is abortion SIMPLY for inconvenience. I'd say it's a heck of an inconvenience to make a decision between paying your mortgage and bills and providing food for your children or having another baby. I cannot believe anyone would say that woman is SELFISH for her decision.. and believe me, it HAPPENS.

What about young women who are in school and know that a child would only complicate their life right now? Do they not deserve the chance to finish school? College and working full time and parenting is HARD - especially SINGLE parenting at that. She should have that option.

Well seeing as I was/still am a teenage mother, go to college, & work full time I would say it's quite possible! Hell yea, it's hard but you make those decisions & you live with them. You make the best of what you have & work your ass off for your kid. Plus, if you are pregnant & uninsured you can get on Medicaid (not sure if it's called that in other state's, but pretty much government health insurance). The government has many things to help a married couple like that to get back on their feet & support their family.

You aren't the only one. I had my daughter at 15. I graduated high school, went back to college, became an LPN, etc. I worked my ass off and made sure my daughter was taken care of. But it was HARD work, and her Father is a deadbeat. I'm saying I respect a woman's choice to NOT go through that. Yes, most women who are pregnant can get on state medicaid. And the government does NOT help out as much as it should. My husband and I are a PRIME example of this. He was laid off from his job in February. I lost my job in May. We applied for medicaid because he had EMERGENCY open heart surgery just weeks after his severance pay ran out (along with his health benefits) - guess what? We WERE DENIED any coverage. We now have over 30k in medical bills. If it wasn't for the HOSPITAL having a discount program, we'd have had to file bankruptcy. *I* didn't qualify for health insurance - only my daughter did. We didn't qualify for any kind of assistance besides my daughter's insurance. So a big thanks to the government for helping us out in our time of need.

Sorry, but I'm tired of seeing women with 3 or 4 or 5 kids, sucking the life out of welfare and our government.
If they'd have spent $500 and had an abortion, maybe they could've went to College, got some kind of degree, and did something with their life besides reproducing.

Although the government insurance didn't come through for your husband & you (which I believe is wrong by the way) it isn't the topic at hand. Any pregnant mother can get on state insurance, unless her salary is above a certain amount.

I agree I'm tired of seeing women have so many kids that they can not support live off the government & aid, but that's an entire different topic as well. As far as saying they might go back to college, get a degree, & go to work if they hadn't have had children is kind of a jump ahead. You can only help people who help themselves. Just because they have kids doesn't mean they can't do something with their lives. I mean me & you are living examples. =)

How can you believe it is wrong? We applied for medicaid for my husband. We were denied. LoL I don't see how that is wrong?
And yes, if her salary is above a certain amount, she can be denied, but MOST of the time a pregnant woman CAN get insurance... but we pay for it.

And you are completely, completely right. You can only help those who help themselves - but a lot of women don't help themselves.

Unfortunately, too many people now have the attitude that they are "entitled" to help by the government, and they spend forever on food stamps, cash assistance, bill assistance, etc.

I am *ALL* for government assistance if you need it! By all means, USE IT - help yourself! Key word: HELP yourself ;)

Oh I meant I believe it was wrong that you couldn't get on state insurance when you needed it. Not saying I didn't believe you applied & were denied it. :P

LOL Okay :] I was like "How is that wrong?! We really did get denied! lol"

Nice!

I cannot put into words how much I agree with your whole paragraph. There are ALWAYS reasons for every abortion. Their choices are not for us to judge. We don't know their exact circumstances - and for people to say that anyone who is having an abortion is doing so for a SELFISH reason, has never truly been in the situation where they have had to make that decision.

Obviously I have been in that situation before. I got pregnant when I was barely 17. I had no job, no help from my parents, nothing, hell I was still in high school. So of course it would have been EASIER to get an abortion, but I didn't. I took responsibility for my actions & worked my ass off & grew up & became a mother. Not to mention there is always adoption for those women who spoke of in your original reply to me. What would be wrong with having the baby to give to a childless couple who hope & pray for a child everyday?

"If women get illegal dirty abortions than they brought things on themselves."

Even in cases of rape and/or incest?

Like I told someone else before you are only talking about 1% of women having abortions because of rape or incest. But that is a sticky situation. If it is because of rape I hate the woman having to live through that mentally, but I don't believe the baby deserves to be punished for what the rapist did. Pretty much, they are getting a death sentence for another person's crimes. Incest is another thing, if something is wrong with the baby because of incest than I believe there should be exceptions.