Melanie is currently hosting Truthful Tuesday while Frank takes a break. These questions are a hot topic not only in the USA but around the world at the moment.

Should an individual have autonomy over their own bodies and the decisions made about their own body?

I believe that in most cases an individual should have autonomy over their own bodies. I say most cases because I believe that a child or a person without the mental capacity to understand the decision they are making needs some guidance from a responsible adult. This subject came up recently when we were discussing whether children should be allowed to change their gender surgically. However, in the case of abortion I say that the person who is carrying the child should have the final decision on terminating a pregnancy. If the girl/woman in question has a partner then certainly they should be involved but I don’t think that anyone, even a partner, has the right to tell a person whether they should have a baby or not.

Of course, this would be a horrible situation for a couple in a relationship. There is no good answer to that one. Situations involving rape or health issues are much clearer cut. Many people have made the point that bringing a child into the world if you don’t have the means to care for one is a good reason to consider termination. I can’t disagree with that. It is often the same people who talk about all life being sacred who look down on and refuse to help women and children living in poverty.

I’ve never had children myself so I can only imagine how difficult a decision it would be to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. I don’t think anyone would choose abortion lightly.

Ought the government be allowed to get involved in such personal decisions?

No, I don’t think that the government should be involved in such decisions. They are personal and every case is different. The government should be there to ensure that everyone receives adequate healthcare and that has to include abortions because banning them is not going to stop people from having them. It’s just going to make it a whole lot harder and riskier. We older bloggers can probably remember reading cases of botched backyard abortions and the suffering they caused. Do we really want to go back to that?