Wowee,
We get the most horrible or horriblist headings that can give galloping consumpion in swallowing our Christmas ham whether it was GM or not.
No, we don't eat babies like dingoes are supposed to.
What we get is "The STATS" when the subject should be about "feelings" of Love, Sex and Emotion of what happened to conceive a baby.
How do we feel about aborting a fetus. Does it offend us?
How does it feel for that mother?
How does it feel for that father. How does it feel for that baby that was never born?
How does it feel for the family that a baby may live and another his or her sister or brother may be aborted?
What the numbers are does not compute with those who care.
There are Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics and it does not matter what the statistics are.
It does not matter that there are 84,214 abortions.
Is that any less a crime on humanity that if there were 84 million abortions.
It matters that there is one abortion. What if Jesus Christ was aborted?
There would be no Christmas.
It matters that there is one abortion!
What if you the reader was aborted. You would not be reading this.
How horrible that would be.
How horrible it would be that you yourself was aborted and that decsion was left up to the mother!! No it is not only the mother's decision.
I am a father! And bloody proud that I am.

When I read Rebecca's honest and clear account of her abortions I was impressed by her ability to write about what is unquestionably an incredibly confronting, difficult and emotional experience without peppering the telling with sensationalist emotion or self-conscious defensiveness. I also found myself wondering whether I would have piped up with my abortion story (for the record I was 23, it was neither an easy decision nor one without implications, and it is not one I regret) had I been at one of the dinner parties she mentioned. After all, we live in an enlightened society, we freely acknowledge that an individual can and should be able to make informed decisions about their lives and their bodies and that there is no shame in doing this. Then I read GlenWriter’s response. And it made me desperately sad. For him; for his children – let’s just hope its not dad they turn to when the cookie cutter existence he clearly envisages for them doesn’t quite work out the way he planned; and for every young woman who, when faced with one of the most confronting decisions they may ever have to make might potentially bump up against such ignorant, insensitive, ill-informed and non-constructive views when what they really need is love and support.

Two can play that game, GlenWriter. What if Pol Pot had been aborted? What if Stalin had been aborted? The sum total of living beings of the time would be greater, if that's a good thing. What if Mao had been aborted? And don't think I'm going to fall prey to Godwin's Law. So what if there were no Christmas? We might still have Saturnalia (same feast, different word, approximately the same day). And if we didn't have Christmas, we might have fewer seasonal suicides - dead entities who knew they were dying, not more or less (depending on gestation) undifferentiated cell clumps.

I'm a proud father too with eight grandchildren. I do understand the feelings and I hasten to add I supported my wife in having a termination in 1976. We subsequently had one more child in 1984. I know my wife would have much preferred a medical abortion if the option had been available at that time.
I also supported my daughter at age 19 to have a termination whilst she was in an unhappy engagement. The only impediment was the hostile prospective Mother-in-law who tried to claim rights to the fertilised egg. My daughter is now settled with four children and discussing vasectomy with her husband.
I congratulate Rebecca in sharing her personal perspective in contrast to the one-eyed Pro-lifers who ignore the feelings of the woman and attempt to heap guilt on them for their decision.

It is interesting that Rebecca recognises, yet does not challenge, the stigma some place on single mothers. She recounts the difficult circumstances that led to her deciding against having the baby, but does not challenge why there wasn't help for her to change those circumstances. Why there was not for instance more assistance to help her complete her studies while pregnant or parenting. That's where I think the community has to work.

The reference to public support for abortion doesn't acknowledge that while people don't want to restrict access to abortion, they would prefer there were fewer abortions (see: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=3489).

I was also interested that she wrote " pro-life advocates are more than happy to speak for us, to attribute us with the worst motives and character - lack of morality and maternal instinct, stupidity, callousness, avarice, you name it." I'm sorry that's her experience, but I regularly read about abortion in the media and I don't recall seeing that. Pro-life advocates are much more likely to recognise the difficulties and offer women assistance to have their child, so they don't feel forced to have an abortion.

Of course abortion is a very difficult decision for a woman. So shouldn't we look for better alternatives rather than continue unquestioned support for a surgical solution to very real social problems that confront so many of us?

Hi Rebecca,

To me it is men mainly that want to deny women the right to decide for themselves in a world where science does allow such decisions. It is not for misguided people like Tony Abbott to cry about abortion when he himself has demonstrated an even worse approach, giving an unwanted child away. Even though he didn't. He thought he did and accepted that for many years.

I am male but believe strongly it should be the role of men to support the choices their women make about children, not moralise.

For those wishing retrospective abortions there is certainly one which would have allowed Australia to be a better country than it has become over the last decade. But that's not reality.

Rebecca is indeed brave to write about this issue but I have to admit I find it difficult to believe that any twenty yeard old does not know how babies are made. The media is full of it and has been for decades. That's a copout Rebecca.