The Great Abortion Debate

So with all of the attention Sarah Palin is getting during this election (that seems to be dragging on for eternity) I would like to put my two cents in about her outlawing abortion.

The following is a discussion I had online in a motherhood community:

Quoting kristichristen:

To the person who claimed a fetus the size of a dot is a baby- be realistic.
A baby should be called a baby when it is viable outside the womb. Period. Until then, it is a fetus.
I would much rather some fourteen year old get an abortion than hear about her microwaving her kid a year down the road.
Thanks anyway.

Quoting monkeysmom21006:
Sorry, but when you were found out you were pregnant, did you refer to it as a "fetus" or a "baby"? Just wondering. I know from the second I found out I was pregnant with both pregnancies (my first at 5 weeks my second at 3 weeks 1 day) those were my BABIES. I do however agree that I would rather a girl get an abortion rather than harm the baby later in a cruel/ disgusting way. But then again, how do you KNOW she'll act like that? I got pregnant at 15, had my son at 16 and never had even a HINT of thought of doing something like that.

kristichristen:

I referred to it as "being pregnant". Whenever I refer to the "baby" I say she- because it is a girl. She is not viable outside the womb yet, and I know that. A speck is not a baby. There is no heartbeat until around 6-8 weeks, and there is no telling if there could be anything wrong with the fetus. To put a young girl through the trauma of forcing her to look at an ultrasoun is horrible. If she makes an adult decision to say, Hey, I can't take care of this baby when its born, so she decides to abort, I don't see anything wrong with that. Lets say she sees this ultrasound and is "talked into" keeping this baby. What if they find birth defects that she REALLY can't deal with? What if her family finds out she's pregnant and kicks her out, or beats her? It is a lot of what if scenarios.I DON'T agree with using abortion as a form of birth control, but I DO believe that YOU can't tell another person what to do with their life. I had my first daughter when I was 17, and wouldn't have chosed abortion for myself. Then again, I was VERY lucky to have the amazing support system I have.I am not naive enough to think that EVERY situation of abortion should be stopped. I can only make a clear decision for myself.

I am kristichristen in case you hadn't guessed.

Kristi M. Rufener