But is it more selfish to abort the baby than to allow it be adopted by people who long for a child and will give it a great life?
In reality, how many underage mothers from under-privileged areas put their children up for adoption? Very few! Instead many of them bring a child into life of poverty and set a very poor example by missing out on education and personal growth by often sponging off the state / tax payer. That's why most adopted children come from abroad, not from Ireland.
The logical extension of this line of thinking is that if someone becomes unemployed, their children should be put down.
The problem is that it isnt left to the individual to make the choice. You often here the pro-abortion lobby trotting out the "its my body" line. The ignore the fact that the individual that suffers the gravest consequences - the unborn child is a human being in its own right with its own body. Again, the extension of the "its my body" logic would be that its ok to e.g. kill a poor person because you need a heart transplant from them because "its my body" that is in need.
No offence, but I find those comparisons ridiculous. Everyone's circumstances change at some point in their lives without being given much choice. My thoughts were more about people who willingly chose to have children where there is a known high risk of genetic disorder(s), long term poverty without much prospect of improvement, etc. I know of a family of disabled parents who have already lost two children to genetic disorders they were warned about and are now expecting their third which was confirmed to have spina bifida. It just doesn't feel fair to a poor child.
In terms of 'it's my body', it is the mother who suffers the most. I am not there just yet but from what I've seen and been told at ante-natal classes, childbirth is one of if not the most painful things a woman can experience. Before that, try 6 moths of utter discomfort where your skin feels too small, there is no comfortable position for anything and spending half the night in the bathroom. I was lucky to escape morning sickness altogether but even without it, pregnancy has been incredibly uncomfortable for me. It's my body that is suffering. My son is snug as a bug with nothing to worry about. Then when the child is born, think of sleepless nights, cracked nipples and all the rest. It should be a woman's choice whether she wants to go through all that. Some women are simply not interested in having children, don't crave unconditional love of a child or simply don't feel either physically or emotionally able to cope with such enormous change.
There are so many scenarios which do not involve killing poor people on the streets or putting down children whose parents are out of work for a week or two. I already stated that I am pro-choice and am very passionate about this issue in general. For those reasons alone, I wish people of both sides took a minute to think with only scientific and social facts in mind. Only then we can have a fair and balanced debate.