When Romania outlawed abortion, it was a disaster

[Mindysan33]

@cannibalpeas

However, I don’t begrudge women, especally mothers, their deep unease at what they honestly see as the murder of innocents.

It’s not based on science, though, it’s based on their religious belief, hence out the door it goes. I’m really not down with ANYONE else deciding what happens in my body. Period.

@Magdalene, thanks for that article. Seems spot on to me.

[LurksNoMore]

I’m pretty sure most anti-abortion people don’t actually see abortion as murder of innocents – they say that, and I’m sure most of them believe they mean it – but their actions, generally speaking, aren’t those of people who see ongoing mass murder. (Thank goodness, because that tends to lead to considerable violence very quickly.)

[cannibalpeas]

I agree. The question of when life begins is an inherently philosophical one and therefore beyond the answers of science and therefore beyond the realm of reasonable legislation. Reasonable being the operative word. Reason and belief seldom interact.

[Mindysan33]

@LurksNoMore

but their actions, generally speaking, aren’t those of people who see ongoing mass murder

In some cases, it is, though. It’s not all the time, but enough acts of violence have happened aimed at abortion clinics that show that some subset of the movement are indeed motivated by their belief that life begins at conception. Even the gruesome placards they sometimes place in public places for their protests illustrate that point. They are a large enough subset of the movement that they can get the ear of one of the 2 major political parties in this country and shift them towards a hardline stance on abortion.

So, yes, we should take them at their word. They are wrong, but that is what they really believe.

[teknocholer]

@Mindysan33

…it’s based on their religious belief…

In the great majority of cases, it’s based on what they are told is their religious belief. Not many are theologians who worked it out from first principles. Religious and political grifters have learned to exploit people’s faith for their own purposes.

@Magdalene

the majority of women who have abortions are women of color

From that link:

“No racial or ethnic group made up the majority of abortion patients: Thirty-nine percent were white, 28% were black, 25% were Hispanic, 6% were Asian or Pacific Islander, and 3% were of some other race or ethnicity.”

There’s a higher proportion of WOC for sure, but abortions seem to cut across racial lines. I wonder if the lower rate for white women reflects the ease with which they can get morning-after pills or abortifacients that might not show up in the stats.