Cont'd

Until the 19th century abortion was not criminalised:

“In 1803, Britain first passed antiabortion laws, which then became stricter throughout the century. The U.S. followed as individual states began to outlaw abortion. By 1880, most abortions were illegal in the U.S., except those ``necessary to save the life of the woman.'' But the tradition of women's right to early abortion was rooted in U.S. society by then; abortionists continued to practice openly with public support, and juries refused to convict them.
Abortion became a crime and a sin for several reasons. A trend of humanitarian reform in the mid-19th century broadened liberal support for criminalization, because at that time abortion was a dangerous procedure done with crude methods, few antiseptics, and high mortality rates. But this alone cannot explain the attack on abortion. For instance, other risky surgical techniques were considered necessary for people's health and welfare and were not prohibited.”

Women choose and will continue to choose abortion for as many reasons as there are women.

The appalling treatment of a little girl began with the attitude of her stepfather that her body was for his use. That there should be any kind of furore over the question of this child obtaining an abortion outlines that many people still believe that a female's body is not her own.

However, attitudes like Philo's still persist and women must be constantly vigilant to keep our hard won control over our bodies and our lives.

The antiquity of abortion from historical records doesn't make it morally right. It merely shows the history of sinful behaviours.
Quoting ancient Egyptian and Chinese manuscripts doesn't validate abortion just as Chairman Mao's admiration for and even his boast in outdoing some of the ancient Chinese Emperors in terms of their evil behaviours doesn't prove anything other than his depravity and failure to show kindness and failure to learn from history.

Quoting Wikipedia entries about history without a purpose of moral betterment in mind is just banal.

Yabby,

You actually DO have your own dogmas. From what I've seen of the content of your posts you are obviously hostile to the Christiand heritage of the West. When you say you are free to change your mind, you are meaning that you value the altest fads and opinions over any set principles. This is how dictators and madmen work. They wake up in the morning and depending on their mood, they will decide who to kill or let live. Behaving like little gods. Nero,Hitler and Stalin and other dictators operated like that.
In any case, no amount of evidence that contradicts your undeclared( ashamed??) non-Christian and hence secular humanist principles/dogma woule cause you to change your mind. You are not as 'free' to 'change your mind' as you pretend. ( well in actual fact you are but you have a stubborn will that refuses to change)

Webby

You actually DO have your own dogmas. From what I've seen of your posts you are obviously hostile to the secular traditions that have made the west greater than theocracies. When you say you have the truth, you are saying you have subscribed to a set of supersitions and no amount of reason will ever sway you.
This is how dictators and madmen work. They wake up in the morning and depending on the content of their superstitious ideology, they decide how to interpret who their god wants them to kill.
Behaving like little gods, those behind the butchery of the crusades and 9-11 operated like that.
In any case, no amount of evidence* that contradicts your (ignorant?) fundamentalist Christian dogma would cause you to change your mind. You aren't even pretending you're free to change your mind. (Actually, you can, but you have a stubborn will that refuses to change).

See Webby? Ain't hypocrisy grand?

*Funny how the bible doesn't mention dinosaurs and is jam-packed full of miracles which don't seem to happen anymore. Could it be that it was written by superstitious primitives? No?
Could it be that these people didn't have access to science or evolutionary concepts? Still no?

What is it that makes your ravings different to those of muslims, hindus, jews or scientologists?
Even if we did accept Christianity... is it the Anglican, Presbyterian, Catholic, Uniting Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Protestants or Pentecostals?

In small doses I can see religion having something to offer, but no intelligent rational person can take fundamentalist religion seriously, except in the sense of the threat it poses to the peaceful pursuit of rational principles in society.

Fractelle,
There are many factors that trigger abnormal cell growth in the breast. Heredity is a large factor in abnormal cell growth. Having been a dairyman for 39 yrears of my life and seen many cancerous growths in lactating cows. I recognise genetics is a factor. However a surgically induced abortion predisposes natural cell growth to the posibility of cancer.
Fact: Women in third world countries do not have as high incidence of breast cancer as women in developed countries because they breast feed their children. In a natural abortion the body naturally shuts down and adjusts to the lack of intake by the dead foetus.

Fact: laws were passed in Australia to allow consultation by two doctors to determine if the continuation of a pregnancy would cause harm to the mother, or that the baby would be deformed. That law still remains however abortion is currently used as a birth control method and does great harm to the mother, and costs the taxpayers millions. It reflects badly on the iresponsible attitudes of those engaging in selfish sex. To avoid a pregnancy altogether by responsible behaviour especially toward the woman saves her from having to face surgery, and the moral decision to terminate a human life

*You actually DO have your own dogmas. From what I've seen of the content of your posts you are obviously hostile to the Christiand heritage of the West. When you say you are free to change your mind, you are meaning that you value the altest fads and opinions over any set principles.*

Err not so Webby. Perhaps you should pick up a dictionary and look
up the word "dogma".

My view of Christianity is much as the same as it is for the thousands of religions that have so far be invented. Check your
anthropology. Any isolated human tribe ever found, believes in
some kind of deity, from moon gods, sun gods, all sorts of gods.
It makes perfect evolutionary and psychological sense, but that
does not mean that its all true.

I certainly do not follow any latest fads. If you want to understand
the world, just learn a bit about biology. Suddenly it all makes
sense.

Even fanatics like yourself, make sense from a biological and
neuro science perspective