Question for the atheist converts

[_Scottie]

For those of you who used to be religious anti-abortionists, do you have a different opinion on abortion now?

[_John Larsen]

My position remains the same, although I was a liberal Mormon.

I believe that abortion is morally reprehensible in the general case. However, in the specific case, the moral nuances can be quite complex. As such, no general moral principle can be abstracted. In other words, because of the many conflicting moral issues involved, each case must be decided separately.

Therefore abortion should remain legal. Society should also invest in other options such as contraceptives, sex education and adoption.

[_SUAS]

For those of you who used to be religious anti-abortionists, do you have a different opinion on abortion now?

My feminist thoughts:

Just because you are "religious" does not necessarily mean you are anti-abortion. How about the fact that a woman any woman is entitled to a safe legal medical procedure. There are many religious people that feel this way, there are too many pro-choice people for them to be all atheist.

Believing that a woman is entitled to have access to a safe legal medical procedure has nothing to do morals/religion. A woman's right to choose what to do with her OWN body should have NO ties to any religious belief whatsoever, but it does.

Too much of our constitution is tied to religion/morals and always will be. I hate having to live by someone elses morals.

Why we still allow our rights to be controlled by some religious old fashioned thinking is beyond me?

My body, my choice, my legal right. At least for now.

Yet no matter how many times Roe v Wade comes before the supreme court and how a women's rights have been chipped away, abortion is still legal because a large part of society feels abortion is a private choice between a woman and her God.

To answer your question finally I have always believed in a woman's right to choose, my conversion to atheist had no bearing on that.

[_antishock8]

For those of you who used to be religious anti-abortionists, do you have a different opinion on abortion now?

Yeah, my position changed radically. I think there needs to be an aggressive program emplaced that enforces use of birth control, which is abortive in nature more or less, and more people need to get abortions instead of reproducing and passing their neglect onto society. My concept of life has also been altered since I don't believe in any deity any more. In other words fetuses aren't sacred cows to me. in my opinion, the cost to society is prohibitive when we're talking about outlawing abortion.

1) Require people who want to reproduce to prove that they can care for their children without the aid of medicaid, welfare, or any other type of state assistance.

2) Require a minimum aptitude for potential parents.

3) Mandatory sterilization for welfare recipients.

4) Free snippage for citizens by the state.

5) Anyone who advocates outlawing abortion must have adopted, minimum, a child from neglectful parents.

6) Violation of my rules results in stripping you of your citizenship, and you'll be sent to live in Saudi Arabia.

[_John Larsen]

For those of you who used to be religious anti-abortionists, do you have a different opinion on abortion now?

Yeah, my position changed radically. I think there needs to be an aggressive program emplaced that enforces use of birth control, which is abortive in nature more or less, and more people need to get abortions instead of reproducing and passing their neglect onto society. My concept of life has also been altered since I don't believe in any deity any more. In other words fetuses aren't sacred cows to me. in my opinion, the cost to society is prohibitive when we're talking about outlawing abortion.

1) Require people who want to reproduce to prove that they can care for their children without the aid of medicaid, welfare, or any other type of state assistance.

2) Require a minimum aptitude for potential parents.

3) Mandatory sterilization for welfare recipients.

4) Free snippage for citizens by the state.

5) Anyone who advocates outlawing abortion must have adopted, minimum, a child from neglectful parents.

6) Violation of my rules results in stripping you of your citizenship, and you'll be sent to live in Saudi Arabia.

Who would you have enforce these draconian rules?

[_Sam Harris]

For those of you who used to be religious anti-abortionists, do you have a different opinion on abortion now?

My feminist thoughts:

Just because you are "religious" does not necessarily mean you are anti-abortion. How about the fact that a woman any woman is entitled to a safe legal medical procedure. There are many religious people that feel this way, there are too many pro-choice people for them to be all atheist.

Believing that a woman is entitled to have access to a safe legal medical procedure has nothing to do morals/religion. A woman's right to choose what to do with her OWN body should have NO ties to any religious belief whatsoever, but it does.

Too much of our constitution is tied to religion/morals and always will be. I hate having to live by someone elses morals.

Why we still allow our rights to be controlled by some religious old fashioned thinking is beyond me?

My body, my choice, my legal right. At least for now.

Yet no matter how many times Roe v Wade comes before the supreme court and how a women's rights have been chipped away, abortion is still legal because a large part of society feels abortion is a private choice between a woman and her God.

To answer your question finally I have always believed in a woman's right to choose, my conversion to atheist had no bearing on that.

As a theist, I have always believed in a woman's right to choose as well, and SUAS, I think you spoke very well on this. Just because you are religious does not necessarily mean you are anti-abortion. Me, personally, unless I had to for medical reasons, I would not abort my child...even if I was raped. I know what it feels like to be born unwanted. I would keep and cherish my child. Children are gifts. But I cannot speak for another person.

Forgive my intrusion otherwise.

[Guest]

For those of you who used to be religious anti-abortionists, do you have a different opinion on abortion now?

To answer your question finally I have always believed in a woman's right to choose, my conversion to atheist had no bearing on that.

In my religious days, I would have argued that you are not doing anything to YOUR body when you have an abortion. You are doing it to your BABY'S body. Just because you are the host to this being, and it is parasitically attached, doesn't mean it is part of your body! It is its own body feeding from your body.

I have conflicting views, and I'm not quite sure what I believe.

On the one hand, I never understood "woman's right to her body" for the above reason, and I still believe that reasoning to be true.

On the other hand, a growing baby is just a fusion of a living sperm penetrating a living egg, and multiplying into a collection of living cells. Abortion is no different than removing a tumor, which is just a glob of living cell tissue.

But, then on the other hand of that, aren't we ALL just a complex collection of living cell tissue? At what point are you destroying a glob of cells rather than a conscious being?

Perhaps it a simple matter of phrasing. Religionists question at what point the spirit enters the body. An atheist will question at what point does a human gain consciousness?

[_Scottie]

As a theist, I have always believed in a woman's right to choose as well, and SUAS, I think you spoke very well on this. Just because you are religious does not necessarily mean you are anti-abortion. Me, personally, unless I had to for medical reasons, I would not abort my child...even if I was raped. I know what it feels like to be born unwanted. I would keep and cherish my child. Children are gifts. But I cannot speak for another person.

Forgive my intrusion otherwise.

No intrusion. All opinions and comments are welcome! And you make some valid points.

[_Sam Harris]

It all hinges on when that glob of cells become conscious...and it will for a long time. I think that the religionists need to keep their religigionist noses in their religionist business on this and other issues...and vice versa in some cases.

I'm not feeling the partial-birth abortions, because I don't know if the baby can feel that, but a first-trimester termination...c'mon...is fetus saying "ouch"?

[_Scottie]

For those of you who used to be religious anti-abortionists, do you have a different opinion on abortion now?

Yeah, my position changed radically. I think there needs to be an aggressive program emplaced that enforces use of birth control, which is abortive in nature more or less, and more people need to get abortions instead of reproducing and passing their neglect onto society. My concept of life has also been altered since I don't believe in any deity any more. In other words fetuses aren't sacred cows to me. in my opinion, the cost to society is prohibitive when we're talking about outlawing abortion.

1) Require people who want to reproduce to prove that they can care for their children without the aid of medicaid, welfare, or any other type of state assistance.

2) Require a minimum aptitude for potential parents.

3) Mandatory sterilization for welfare recipients.

4) Free snippage for citizens by the state.

5) Anyone who advocates outlawing abortion must have adopted, minimum, a child from neglectful parents.

6) Violation of my rules results in stripping you of your citizenship, and you'll be sent to live in Saudi Arabia.

Adam Corolla (when he was on Loveline) used to talk about an idea of putting birth control in the drinking water. If you qualified for a license to have a baby, the state would provide you with a pill that would neutralize the chemical in the water. I liked this idea!