I am pro-life, but I would have an abortion if my baby could not survive outside of the womb. I saw a story once where the fetus had a deformity where it's brain was developing outside of it's head. I could not in good conscience give birth to a child who would not and could not survive outside the womb. These are extreme cases. 

I won't even have any test done unless whatever they test for is something that can be treated and made better.  If they are just testing to tell me something is going to be wrong with my child for life (and they usually just want to do this so the motehr will have the "choice" to abort), then that is a test I refuse. 

There is NEVER any justification for aborting a baby.  If you don't want to have a baby then just don't have sex.  Yeah, it's just that simple!

In my mind, it is exactly the same as going into a special needs classroom and killing a 5 year old child with Downs Syndrom.  The reasons are the same: inconvience and hardship for all involved. 
Everyone who reads this comment will find that statement awful, and they should.  That would be considered murder.
So what's the difference?
If God were to place a child in my womb and I knew he/she was going to have Downs, I have no choice but to do my very, very best to care for that child to the best of my ability, with help, if necessary.  If I am unable to care for him/her,  I would feel compelled to give my baby to a family who could.
We refused that test on my son.  If I were blessed enough to deliver a baby with a heartbeat, he was going to be loved and cared for. 
God does not screw up.  If He made a baby with different mental capabilites than myself and personally gave them to me, who am I to say 'No?'  It is a heavenly job.

I know many people disagree with me, and I don't try to help that.  A mind is reared by it's convictions.  This is mine.

@Jessysue@xanga - I totally agree with you and have the same convictions.

@Casbahmaniac@xanga - I completely agree...

@Amyld@xanga - and I agree with this as well.  Only the mother carrying the child can justify whether or not the child should be born, fetal abnormality or no, and the decision is solely hers. People should be able to choose what they will. Part of being an adult is making a decision and dealing with whatever consequences come as a result of the decision that was made. I'm pro-choice and believe that whatever the reason, a woman should be able to terminate an unwanted prenancy.

I have ALWAYS waived the right to the aniosentisi proceedure.  I am pro-choice, but my choice is life.  I would never have an abortion, and so for me to havre this proceedure would just cause undue stress on the fetus and myself if something WAS wrong.  I would rather not know, and have a stress free pregnancy, then find out, carry the baby to term (which I would do regardless opf the results) and then deal with the fact that my life is going to have to change DRASTICALLY.  But that is just how I would handle it.  I can completely understand why parents would want to know!

Just a thought...
Because of the reasons people are giving (that they think people should be able to choose what they want), I have a question:  How far does that belief reach? 
What if someone, who was not able to have children, saw your child walking with you in a store and thought bitterly, "It's not fair that I can't have kids, and she has plenty.  I'll just take one of hers." 
or...
What if your son, forbid it all, drove drunk and crashed into a family van, killing all the children and leaving the parents?  What if then, the outraged father or mother, in their anger and vengence, shot your son to death to pay him back? 

Didn't each of these individuals make their own 'choice?'  Does that make their choice right?  Should there not be laws and rules to protect citizens and lives from the poor choices of others?  When choices people make involve taking the life of another human, there must be laws against and consequences for that choice.
Why is a murderer, who felt like raping and killing a young woman, behind bars and a young woman, whose life would be 'messed up' by giving birth thereby kills the life inside her, any different?  Both were choices.  Both took a life.  Why is there a law against one and not against the other?
There simply MUST be a standard set and followed to have a peaceful, safe and happy society.  Having laws that keep us from making bad choices does not mean we are in bondage.  We are a free country because of these rules. 

I love WonderofTruth's point.

I don't think abortion is ever okay.  I have known 2 seperate cases where the mother was told there was going to be something wrong with the baby and given the chance to choose an abortion.  Luckily both of these women chose life for their baby, and both had perfectly normal, healthy babies.  You just can't always trust tests.  If that baby wasn't meant to live, your body would have miscarried it on it's own, it's a natural process.  Who are we to step in the way of nature and play God?

The pregnant woman knows if she is has the means to care for a child with disabilities, and she knows if she is even capable of giving birth to and giving away a baby with disabilities.

http://uncommonmisconception.typepad.com/home/2005/04/out_of_the_dark.html

Not everything is black and white, and it's a hard decision for anybody to make.

I am 100% Pro-Life. I do not think there is any justifiable reason to have an abortion. I can never figure out pro-abortion thinking, honestly. Some of the prochoice people I've known adamantly claim that life does not begin until birth, and then those same people mourn the loss of a baby via miscarriage for themselves or those close to them. A little contradicting, if you ask me.

As for not wanting a baby to be born and have to go through multiple surgeries, etc, I completely understand that, but still don't think it's reason enough to have an abortion. One of my very best friends from highschool was born with a disability. She is one of the strongest people I've ever known and although her life is filled with surgeries, therapy, pain and discomfort, she would never in a million years wish that she wasn't born. I truly believe that the world is a better place because of her and I can't imagine how many people just like her have been robbed of life simply because parents didn't want to deal with them. How horrible.

My heart goes out to those who have had abortions. I have a friend who works in counseling and she always says that you would be amazed at how many women have to undergo post-abortion couseling because they miss their baby so much and are haunted by their choice. The few women that I have known personally that have had abortions have regretted their choice - one woman had an abortion 25 years ago and still feels the loss of that baby in her life - even though it was her choice. It is sad to me how many women give into the lie that it's just tissue and not a baby and then find themselves dealing with the unexpected emotional issue of losing a baby. I don't think one can have an abortion and just "get on with life" like so many people say.

I'm pro-choice, and (of course) I absolutely believe that you should have the option to terminate a pregnancy in the case of unfortunate medical anomalies.  One of the most horrific things I've heard of recently was a family whose daughter has a severe case of Treacher-Collins syndrome; most of her skull was missing (something like 75%).  The first obstetrician didn't inform the family of this deformity when it showed up on the ultrasound and they didn't find out until it was too late to abort -- although the parents have said they wouldn't have aborted anyway.

I bring this up because the child in question has had over $1.5 million dollars in surgeries and still has a relatively low quality of life, her deformities are not entirely fixed and she will need lots more surgeries and long-term medical care.  Since the father is in the military, all of us taxpayers are paying for this child's medical care (which, as you can see, is extensive).  At what point do we say enough?  If, as someone said to consider, this were the 1800's, this child would not have lived.  Should we have saved her?  I don't have the answer to that, but I know that I would have chosen to abort if I had been informed.

I think it's unconsciousable that the doctor took this matter into his own hands by not informing the parents.  I feel that's unforgivable and a violation of the Hippocratic Oath.

@Jessysue@xanga - When the US government starts taking care of my child, then they can have the right to tell me when and if I have to have a child.  Otherwise, I'm not interested in what they have to say.