Thank you Di for letting us know how the world is, and the women’s attitude and position.

Can any pro-abortionist give me a legitimate defence of the termination of a healthy 32 week old fetus? Termination at this late stage is certainly being done in this country. it's one thing to talk about abortion in the early stages of pregnancy, I think it's quite another issue entirely when a fetus is this advanced.

We've just had a "man" in Brisbane sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a newly delivered baby. He delivered the baby at home and then murdered it and buried it in his back yard. Maybe he should have taken the woman to a clinic and got the doctor to do it a couple of days before birth, might have been OK then.

I think Timkins has a point when he says that abortion has more to do with power than anything else. It's a two-edged sword. I just wonder how many women are forced or coerced into having abortions against their will by boyfriends and lovers. Not much power or control of one's body there.

Regardless of whether Tracey thinks the Emily Maguire piece is vague or badly written she still raises a key point that anti-abortionists do not address. That is, is abortion murder or not? If it is not, if it is simply a form of contraception then what is the problem? If it is murder, then what are anti-abortionists doing to change legislation so abortion service providers and their clients are thrown in jail?

As Maguire said, the attitude of some anti-abortion politicians ("I disagree with abortion but I don't want it made illegal") would be obviously outrageous if they said "I disagree with child molestation but I wouldn't want it made illegal".

Abortion is either murder or not. Make up your minds and stop hiding behind weazel words.

Davidjs, if abortion is murder then a woman is not a sovereign human being but a mere receptacle for a foetus - is that not a form of murder - murder of a woman as a human being? Protection of the unborn at the expense of the living is slavery and ignores the plight of abused and starving children around the world.

The obsession anti-arbortionists have with the unborn, over the well being of the living borders on the insane. I wish anti-abortionists would put as much energy into helping abused children as they do with their rants over what is more an attempt to control women than any real concern over the well being of children.

Cranky

I wouldnt think there are too many abortions that are indeed termianted at 32 weeks, and if this is performed then perhaps the reasons behind them are related to the health of the pregnant women and not as a form of late-term contraception...
just an idea that seemed quite reasonable to me.

generally,
it is still good to remember that medicare subsidises the procedure,but does not pay for it entirely. Women, and perhaps their partners still have to pay at least $200, not to mention if they wanted to receive councilling.

DavidJS, be careful what you wish for.

"Abortion is either murder or not. Make up your minds and stop hiding behind weazel words."

To equate abortion with murder is undoubtedly the aim of pro-lifers, and in the current political climate - both here and in the US - they might just make a push for it soon. Fortunately, politicians are notoriously expedient, so the present "don't touch, it might bite" approach should hold for a while, but don't underestimate the rat cunning of some of the more virulent opponents of personal liberty.

One of the aspects of the current debate that I find particularly interesting, is how the various conservative governments around the world have come to the conclusion that the nanny state so beloved of the socialists is in fact a very neat idea, and perfect for retaining power. And we happily go along with each individual erosion on the basis that it sounds like the right thing to do, without looking at the big picture. Sad.