There is a big difference between...

[Eilonnwy]

Heartless? You are raising that child at near the poverty level... their life has a high chance of being an unhappy one, unless they get very lucky... and few people win the lottery. I'd say it is very selfish of the mother to not realize this.

First, I did not say it was heartless to abort because you are concerned about the child's quality of life. I said it was heartless to support abortion because it's cheaper than paying for a child's healthcare with public money.

Oh, and every egg one loses in the process of menstruation is also potential life. Every animal and plant you eat WAS life, and probably could have born more life (therefore potential life). You start you origin point too late by far... the origin is with the seed, not with the impregnation of the seed.

Life and death are saddening... but it is those who are alive that concern my life... not those who could be alive right now had circumstances been different. You call it potential life... But almost is still missing.

I'm quite aware eggs are potential life, however after conception, barring any natural complications, that fetus will become a baby. You cannot deny that point. I do not think a fetus has the same rights as a living baby, but it's still killing when you abort the fetus. I would never say abortion is murder, I don't follow that rhetoric, but forgive me for feeling bad about potential life that would exist without significant human interference.

The question of the quality of life is a difficult one. It's unique to every individual and their situation. To say a child is better off not born because they would be in poverty is a very broad statement and does not do justice to the complexity of the situation. You can't tell somebody who lives in poverty they would have been better not to have been born. Not everyone at the poverty level are miserable people better off dead. The decision to abort a child is an agonizing one and it lives with that person for the rest of their life.

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Heartless yes. Who is anyone to judge that just because you aren't rich you can't have children? That just disgusts me. Wealthy people abandon their children to childcare so their kids are raised loveless. Quality of life isn't about money.

Heh, for once we are in complete agreement. It had to happen at some point, right? -_^