Every human being has a heartbeat! Before that occurs it is just human tissue with the potential to become a human. The removal of unwanted human tissue is not murder nor infanticide any more than the removal of a leg or a lung for the preservation of the life of the owner of the gangrenous leg or diseased lung.

Women cannot get pregnant without some help, usually a male, not considerate enough to wear a condom.

I always had couple of emergency use condoms in my wallet for those occasions when the forces of instinctive natural arousal wouldn't be controlled or denied! And it's exceedingly hard for a female to wear one and almost impossible to oblige a fully aroused male to wear one.

Moreover it's often surprising how quickly a sexually aroused female will acquiesce at the sight of a condom!

Without which, hardly her fault she got pregnant! Some commenting here seem to believe a women can always say no, while simultaneously, denying them that right? Including the use of rohypnol in cases of date rape!

I've heard the usual piss weak, she was looking for it, excuse until I'm sick of it.

A babe wearing a bikini on a beach is not automatically looking for anything except a healthy tan and a full dose of vitamin D!

Folk who think otherwise need to leave their medieval thought processes, where they belong, in the dark ages!

A woman can't get pregnant by herself and no drunk, wife rapeing bastard/deadbeat dad, has the right to demand she go full term!
Alan B.

Thank you Wendy.

Life begins at conception.
Personhood begins with Life.

Coincidentally came across this today:

http://www.lifezette.com/faithzette/five-things-liberals-dont-want-american-women-know-about-abortion/

//no surprise that you would support such a vulgar nasty excuse for hatred Toni.//

It's just a hat, dude. Chill out.

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Dear Wendy,

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You wrote :

« Revealing a most unfortunate lack of understanding and information, Samantha Maiden … [stated] … that a surgical procedure often necessary following a miscarriage is the same procedure as an abortion. This is simply not true. There is a massive difference between a curette for a miscarriage and an abortion …»
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I have no idea what the procedures are, Wendy, but I see one common characteristic of both miscarriage and abortion : they are both human dramas.

The obvious difference between the two is that miscarriages are usually not deliberately provoked by the pregnant person herself, whereas abortions are usually carried-out with the pregnant persons approval.

Considering that almost all miscarriages are due to natural accidents, apart from the deep regret that one may have, there is not much more to be said about them.

When decisions to abort are carried-out by qualified medical practitioners, it is usually for one or more of the following reasons :

• Serious health risk for the pregnant person

• Foetus has a serious disability

• Poverty, pregnant person too young, or unable to cope with a child (or another child)

• Pregnancy the result of a crime, an accident, imposed by partner, or child not wanted

• Pregnancy less than 20 weeks

Some, many or all of these reasons may not be acceptable to religious devotees such as yourself, but they are to society at large whose ethical values are not determined by religious dogma.

The 2003 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) found that 81% of those surveyed believed a woman should have the right to choose whether or not she has an abortion. It also found that religious belief and support for legal abortion are not mutually exclusive, with 77% of those who identify as religious also supporting a woman’s right to choose.

Here is the link :

http://www.childrenbychoice.org.au/factsandfigures/attitudestoabortion#r1

Need I add that abortion in Australia has always been regulated by state (previously colonial) law, and is not devoid of a certain degree of hypocrisy.

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Abortion in Australia

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Here are the essential facts on abortion

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TYPES OF ABORTION

Surgical - can be performed up to between 20 to 24 weeks gestation, depending on legislation

Medical – can be administered up to nine weeks gestation and can be done at home except in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory
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LEGISLATION

Abortion laws vary between states and territories.

It has been effectively decriminalised in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

It remains in the criminal code in Queensland and New South Wales, but can be performed in these states under certain circumstances.
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COSTS

Costs vary, depending on geography and gestation. In urban areas and when they are performed by private providers, a first trimester surgical or medical abortion usually costs between $250-$400. This is what most women would pay in Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. Outside of major population areas, for example Tasmania and North Queensland, or regional areas, abortions of both kind can cost much more. In Rockhampton for example, a medical abortion costs above $700. In places where they can be provided publicly, like South Australia and the Northern Territory, they are free.
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Late term abortions can be especially hard to access and women may be flown interstate to get them.
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HOW OFTEN DO THEY HAPPEN ?

There is no specific Medicare number for abortions – they are lumped in with other gynaecological procedures including treatment of miscarriage. Because of this it is difficult to accurately measure the number that occur each year.

According to Children by Choice, a Queensland-based counselling service: "The lack of accurate information about abortion rates makes it difficult to plan for service delivery and to monitor whether public health interventions are successful in reducing the unplanned pregnancy and abortion rate, at both state and national levels."
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EXCLUSION OR SAFE ACCESS ZONES

Exclusion or safe access zones banning protests, violent acts of intimidation and aggression by religious fanatics, within about 150m of abortion clinics, are in place except in WA, NSW and Queensland.

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