Tuesday, June 08, 2010

bawk bawk bawwwwwwwwwwwk

Hope to do something reflective on a more common basis.

Today was probably the first time I've ever come across the concept of being a christian and opposition at uni, it wasn't anything major, or physical...
Ethics tutorials have been interesting, especially given the topic of reproduction this term...today was the topic of abortion- bit amazed to see how nearly everyone in the tutorial of 60 were pro-choice.
I came into this term being more or less pro-choice, but as we approach the end of it: After understanding how complex life has come to be, after coming to terms with how valuable a life is and what right we have to end the life of another- I personally believe that we shouldn't have abortion at all. I know that doesn't sound well with alot of people, and i understand your perspective of things; there are some things which would be hard to justify on my end. But don't get me wrong, I wouldn't force my ideas on you, nor would I judge you, its just what I think. Its just that I would probably NEVER bring myself to aborting a child, or carrying out euthanasia.

As for the tute today- all the discussion was on "rights of the individual" etc [which are all very valid points], but none ever contested the idea of the foetus life. Given the fact that the tutor was an atheist might've been my excuse, but I know I should've said something on behalf of all Christians.

But I couldn't bring myself to even put up my hand.

5 comments:

  1. Chris9:00 pm

    Hahah we covered this stuff briefly in a lecture, and our lecturer mentioned that it's important to note that Pro-Choice isn't the same as pro-abortion, but just that they can make the choice if needed. Usually it's just trashy junkies who do that crap anyway, the teens who have babies when they're 14/15 years old.

    Our lecturer also made a good point of asking when we thought the foetus actually becomes a human. Personally, I'd say 8 weeks-ish when all the structure grows to completion. Also, I'd support abortion if giving birth would be fatal for the mother, but hey that's just my view.

    It is an interesting discussion though eh?

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  2. Anonymous4:56 pm

    ....careful with using the fact that someone's atheist as justifying their pro-choice stance.

    Personally, learning all the steps in embryogenesis, while amazing, never changed the debate for me - you appreciate the complexity of life, true... but you can't ignore the impact it'd have on the mother's life. If someone's not mentally/physically/economically/whatever up to going through pregnancy, then they deserve a choice up til whenever the foetus is supposedly not a 'life'.

    'We shouldn't have abortion at all'; in an ideal world, when all pregnancies are planned, maybe. But until then, I can't see how you'd justify that view.

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  3. Anonymous5:00 pm

    And out of curiosity... what would you do if a patient walked into your practice and said they wanted to terminate their pregnancy? =\

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  4. Its a hard topic no doubt, especially when there are so many factors that come into play. I suppose my view more clarified is....if people need to do it, do it, though theres always a part of me that thinks ><" for the foetus. Alot of my decision would be in bias to the "Trashy people" so to speak, but then that would be judgemental =\. The availability of such a thing is asking to abused [though it is a bit baseless]
    chris- I've always wondered about abortion for the sake of the mother's life...maybe that might be a necessity. I would define life from the moment of fertilisation [when the two pro-nuclei fuse]...though of course the current definition is different and fair enough to that.

    @aditi: i should've clarified. I didn't mean a causation; more just the fact he openly admitted he was atheist and challenged everyone with a belief to state their views, something i felt compelled to say yet didn't. Sorry bout that mixup.
    As for the view itself- For those that can't support the child in any way [and it was unexpected]- its very tricky to say, but i wonder about the current state of adoption right now in aust? The fork in our opinions probably stems to "what is considered a life", and you're right, i'm probably being idealistic right now- but I think that there should be other measures implemented to at least reduce the need for abortion [education etc.].
    Again, I don't like the concept of abortion, and i would be a an impasse when weighed with the feelings of the mother- its just that life is more important [holistically] than one's feelings. OF course, there will be alot of exceptions, but thats what I think.

    As for being a doctor- Refer to another doctor who could give a less bias view would probably be the way to go there =\.

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  5. BELLE3:53 pm

    ah ethics.

    pro-choice. if you're not going to be the one carrying around the kid for 9 months and raising it, you have close to NO say. Makes life easier I think.

    This reminds me of our "what if" scenarios during annual :/

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