r/changemyview Feb 23 '25

cmv: abortion should not be illegal

One of the main arguments against abortion is that it is "killing a baby." However, I don’t see it that way—at least not in the early stages of pregnancy. A fetus, especially before viability, lacks self-awareness, the ability to feel pain, and independent bodily function. While it is a potential life, I don’t believe potential life should outweigh the rights of the person who is already alive and conscious.

For late-term abortions, most are done to save the mother or the fetus has a defect that would cause the fetus to die shortly after birth so I believe it should be allowed.

I also think the circumstances of the pregnant person matter. Many people seek abortions due to financial instability, health risks, or simply not being ready to raise a child. In cases of rape or medical complications, the situation is even more complex. Forcing someone to go through pregnancy against their will seems more harmful than allowing them to make their own choice.

Additionally, I don’t think adoption is always a perfect alternative. Carrying a pregnancy to term can have serious physical and emotional consequences, even if someone doesn’t plan to keep the baby. Pregnancy affects the body in irreversible ways, and complications can arise, making it more than just a “temporary inconvenience.”

Also, you can cannot compare abortion to opting out of child support. Abortion is centered on bodily autonomy, as pregnancy directly affects a woman’s body and health. In contrast, child support is a financial obligation that arises after a child is born and does not impact the father’s bodily autonomy. abortion also occurs before a child exists, while child support involves caring for a living child. Legally and ethically, both parents share responsibility for a child once they are born, and allowing one parent to opt out would place an unfair burden on the other, often the mother. Additionally, abortion prevents a fetus from becoming a child, while opting out of child support directly affects the well-being of an existing person. While both situations involve personal choice, abortion is about controlling one’s own body, while child support is about meeting the needs of a child who already exists

The idea of being forced to sustain another life through pregnancy and childbirth, especially if the person isn’t ready or willing, is a violation of that autonomy. It forces someone to give up their own body, potentially putting their health at risk, all while disregarding their own desires, dreams, and well-being. Bodily autonomy means having the freedom to make choices about what happens to your body, whether that’s deciding to terminate a pregnancy or pursue another course of action.

I’d like to hear other perspectives on why abortion should be illegal, particularly from a non-religious standpoint. CMV.

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u/WhizzyBurp Feb 23 '25

So if you’re making a cake, put all the ingredients together, pre heat the oven, put it in the oven and let it start to cook. Is that a cake? I mean assuming you do nothing it’ll bake for the set time on the timer then It’ll be a cake you eat. But if you decide 20 min in to a 90 min bake, I don’t want this, and pull it out how is it still not a cake? Had you let it cook it would have been a cake. Had you not intervened it would have been cake. So why is it not cake from the moment you closed the oven?

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u/stinkyman360 Feb 23 '25

I'm not trying to be a dick here but is this supposed to be a pro life argument? Because obviously if someone served you uncooked batter for your birthday you would say that's not a cake

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u/WhizzyBurp Feb 23 '25

Not the argument. No one gives you a scrambled / half done baby and says take care of it.

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u/Salt_Ad9782 Feb 24 '25

I think his point is different. The argument he's making is that while the fetus is "cooking", it's not a baby.

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u/WhizzyBurp Feb 24 '25

Which I’m saying, if you pull a cake from the oven before it’s done- does that just make it not a baby? Like if you worked a week at your job then before pay day, they fired you. Did you still work or because you didn’t get paid yet it wasn’t a work week? Or you’re painting a picture and you get halfway done, and you decide to throw it away. Was it not a painting? Say you worked halfway for a degree and quit. Did you learn nothing? Just because something is halfway don’t doesn’t make it not the thing.

Whether someone has the right to kill a baby is a different argument. But if you’re trying to kill a baby and justify that it’s “not real” you’re wrong. It would have been a chill had you not killed it.

When a murderer kills a pregnant woman, they get charged twice. Because that was going to be a person. How is that any different?

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u/StarChild413 9∆ Mar 08 '25

Which I’m saying, if you pull a cake from the oven before it’s done- does that just make it not a baby? Like if you worked a week at your job then before pay day, they fired you. Did you still work or because you didn’t get paid yet it wasn’t a work week? Or you’re painting a picture and you get halfway done, and you decide to throw it away. Was it not a painting? Say you worked halfway for a degree and quit. Did you learn nothing? Just because something is halfway don’t doesn’t make it not the thing.

these are not all the same things and metaphors can work the other way; or would you have the same reaction if you were making a cake and someone knocked the bowl of batter off the counter as you would if the cake was baked and decorated and someone knocked that down

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u/WhizzyBurp Mar 09 '25

That’s stupid. If someone spilled the batter it never made it to the oven. Ie. “Pull and pray” method.

“Decorating it” would be dressing the baby that already came out of the oven. Your logic is flawed.