Richard Dawkins on abortion [Spirituality & Religion]

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic so only those perfect should be born?
Who decides what perfect is?

@TheWildEcho You're taking my words out of context now due to your personal feelings. I'm saying what I would do for my choice, call me selfish, evil or whatever you want but if I knew that the child I would have would suffer and would not have a normal life I wouldn't have it. You are different, you'd have a child and care for it your whole life if you have to, no matter how disabled and how much constant care it needs.

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic It would be a very difficult decision to make and one that should only be made by the child's parents with Doctor's support. I do know that it's one I wouln't want to have to make and my sympathy goes out to the parents that would.

@spjennifer Well that's all fine and dandy, as you can see I'm not making the choice for anyone.

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic Sorry if you misinterpreted, I wasn't suggesting you were. Like i said, I don't think either way is an easy choice for the parents but it can only be their choice as they are the ones who would have to live with their choice.

@spjennifer That's the hard part, do you go on and give a life at the cost of your own or do you abort

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic More like you mean it be inconvenient to you - ask any Down’s Syndrome person if they would rather have been aborted & I think you’ll see the truth

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic excuse me, my child has down syndrome, is healthy, has no health conditions and is NOT suffering. That's a vast generalisation.

@BalmyNites I'd say it's a lot more than an inconvenience, not talking just about Down's but in general about kids with disabilities who need constant care. I couldn't blame someone who does not want their life to turn into this constant taking care of someone else forever. Let's put this another way, if I had myself tested and found out that I have a very high risk of having offspring with serious disabilities I would consider not having biological children of my own.

@Starsandfire That's very nice, a lot of other Downies don't have that luck and have serious health problems with multiple systems including cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal, endocrine, physical and not to forget mental development. Just because your child was relatively lucky doesn't mean that's how it is for everyone despite advances in medicine.

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic It is not the place of doctors & physicians to play God & decide which human beings get to live or die. I’m assuming (from your statements) that you don’t personally have any interaction with anyone who has Down’s Syndrome & you would not be in the minority there - a lot of people form the general consensus that there is a great deal of negativity around the condition & adopt the attitude that the individual is ‘suffering’ as a means to justify brushing the subject under the carpet & conveniently use routine abortion to deal with the ‘problem’. The truth is however, a different matter & many, many people with Down’s Syndrome grow up to lead a fulfilling & healthy lifestyle, albeit slightly different to the majority idea of what is ‘normal’. I have a friend who has Down’s who celebrated her 50th Birthday this year, she is smart & independent & a very kind & intelligent person who is an absolute joy to know - she NEVER forgets a Birthday or special occasion & although she values her daily routines more than the average person, that is no big deal in the greater scheme of things. You say IF you were married, you would PROBABLY “prefer not to have it” - in reality, when it comes down to it, I imagine if some doctor or the Law dictated to you that you had no choice, that your child’s life wasn’t worth living - then that might be a very different story 💜

@BalmyNites It's not the doctors playing god here, it's the choice of the individual parents. No matter how you feel about it you have to realize that a lot of kids born with Down's have serious health issues, some don't have them as severe but all of them have disadvantages compared to healthy people. No matter how you put it it's definitely harder to raise children with Down's than not.

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic I don’t agree that parents should have the legal option to end their child’s life - END OF

I expect that you yourself have unsavoury health issues, but I bet you’re glad they don’t fall within the remit of deeming you unworthy to live

@BalmyNites You think that the people that create life don't have the right to abort pregnancies? I don't think that's fair, to choose what other people do with situations that affect [b]their[/b] lives. I personally think that people should always have a choice in the matter. And if someone wants to put their opinion on how other people should make their life choices then they should be the ones to take care of unwanted pregnancies/children. Otherwise it's not fair to demand something to satisfy your own moral ideas yet do nothing about it yourself.

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic Are you still here???

@BalmyNites I am here and if I had the choices of either living with disabilities that would make me suffer my whole life or to never have been born I'd choose the latter.

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic Easy to say because you DID have the privilege to have been born & have the gift of life

Now, if you don’t mind, I have to watch some paint dry 😌

@BalmyNites Why are you so judgmental? You think I'm wrong? So be it, you have your reasons for thinking one way I have my own. No need to resort be this way just because I refuse to accept your point of view.

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic ‘Downies’? How utterly repugnant 🤨

@BalmyNites @BalmyNites Yes, please do block me like an utter nincompoop who can't handle a person with different views and hides in their own echo chamber where everyone thinks the same!

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic [quote]as you can see I'm not making the choice for anyone.[/quote]

Except for the little one you've judged un worthy of life.

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic I am in agreement with your initial points.

@Budwick It's a selfish choice, but it would be a choice that affects me.

@DrSunnyTheSkeptic [quote]a choice that affects me.
[/quote]

Ahh, well, the life of another person is after all, 'all about you'.

@Budwick It's the choice to create another person from my own genetic material, so yes.