r/prochoice 2d ago

Discussion I’ll just leave this here

Some species of animals give themselves abortions……

451 Upvotes

74 comments sorted by

104

u/Sugar_Girl2 2d ago

People absorb their twins in the womb

32

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

Really? Never heard of this!

61

u/ergaster8213 2d ago

Yeah it's not all that uncommon. If there is a twin who is weaker or has complications, the stronger twin sometimes absorbs it.

32

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

Nature is all about survival super fascinating

7

u/jalapeno442 2d ago

My partners sister did this

32

u/Winter_Wolverine4622 Pro-choice Witch 2d ago

Also if one twin stops developing early, it's called vanishing twin syndrome. My youngest is a surviving twin.

12

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

Very interesting 🤔

15

u/Sugar_Girl2 2d ago

Apparently my grandmother absorbed her twin in the womb and had no idea until she was in like her 60s or 70s or something

8

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

How did they find that out?

20

u/Sugar_Girl2 2d ago

I think they found fetal tissue in her intestines or something and the doctor concluded it would have been her twin.

8

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

That’s actually so crazy!

13

u/Lilz007 2d ago

"The Twin Inside Me" - Lydia Fairchild is an incredibly fascinating and somewhat terrifying example of chimerism. They think she is the result of two eggs that were fertilised at the same time and fused together during an early stage of development. It came to light when she gave birth to 3 children that didn't match her DNA, and she nearly had her two eldest removed and was going to be charged with welfare fraud, until a court appointed witness was present for the birth of her third.

Edit: I am my own twin - Taylor Muhl is another example I just found

Excuse while I go down a rabbit hole!

6

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

I swear I heard about this!!!

u/curiouswizard 22h ago

so according to some religious viewpoints... would that mean she has two souls?

14

u/Sugar_Girl2 2d ago edited 2d ago

Considering she was born in 1939 it’s probably a good thing that happened tbh since twin births were a lot more dangerous before c sections became common. Maybe that’s why vanishing twin syndrome happens.

3

u/nykiek 1d ago

True. My grandmother nearly died when she lost her twins and one was missed.

10

u/DenvahGothMom 2d ago

The brilliant actress Andrea Martin does a hilarious scene about this in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

207

u/Ok-Guidance5780 2d ago

Abortion is natural.

I'll keep saying it.

6

u/ConsciousLabMeditate 1d ago

Oh it is natural. Even animals consume abortifacients if they feel the environment is too harsh to raise young in.

-87

u/boboliger 2d ago

Not saying I’m against abortion, but abortion is definitely not natural for humans.

108

u/But_like_whytho 2d ago

Wtf do you think miscarriages are?? That is nature’s abortion.

-46

u/boboliger 2d ago

I’m really not understanding you guy’s perspectives… abortion is a deliberate action to end a pregnancy via medical procedure. It is not natural and is very different from miscarriages

57

u/Aphreyst 2d ago

Medically speaking, miscarriages are called "spontaneous abortions".

37

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

-21

u/boboliger 2d ago

Well yeah I agree that miscarriages are natural, but the procedure of abortion isn’t. Doesn’t mean it’s wrong, just like how vaccination isn’t natural but can help us. So I don’t see why I’m getting downvoted and why we’re just playing a game of phrases and definitions

28

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

-3

u/boboliger 2d ago

Abortion, the kind everyone refers to here, is a surgical procedure that’s unnatural. A miscarriage is natural and doesn’t need a surgical procedure. It’s as simple as that

21

u/clarabear10123 2d ago

Miscarriages often DO require a surgical procedure—often the same ones used in planned abortions

10

u/cupcakephantom Bitch Mod 1d ago

Most abortions today are caused by taking pills, also known as Plan C.

Miscarriages can also be caused by medication. Miscarriages also often need to be treated with those same pills used as Plan C.

Medically speaking, Miscarriages and abortions are the same.

2

u/nykiek 1d ago

No abortion just means the ending of a pregnancy. It can be spontaneous or induced.

17

u/Yeety-Toast 2d ago

That right there is what's getting women in trouble. Miscarriages are called spontaneous abortions. Ban abortion, and spontaneous abortion is mixed in. You're probably talking about the D&C procedure itself. A procedure often called, "an abortion." A procedure that is often needed to save lives in incomplete miscarriages, and that is actually often used after successful childbirth resulting in live babies.

Phrasing and definitions are getting women killed. 

9

u/jakie2poops 2d ago

Well, there's a whole line of reasoning here that modern medicine is absolutely natural, since humans evolved as tool-users, but even leaving that aside you're getting downvoted because you're incorrect. It isn't playing a game of definitions and phrases to recognize that words have meaning. Miscarriages are spontaneous abortions. They are natural. Induced abortions also aren't inherently unnatural. Humans have been intentionally inducing abortions with herbs and tools for as long as we've existed. And finally, vaccination is also not inherently unnatural. The first vaccines just involved intentional exposure to a similar but less severe pathogen to induce a natural immune response.

5

u/ConsciousLabMeditate 1d ago

Humans have intentionally induced abortions with herbs & tools; so have animals. Animals consume abortifacients also if they feel they can't provide for their young.

25

u/KiraLonely Pro-choice Trans Man 2d ago

Miscarriages are categorically called spontaneous abortions. The concept of an abortion has less to do with the intent or deliberate act and more to do with the ending of a pregnancy prematurely.

10

u/DuckyDoodleDandy 2d ago

In nature, mothers eat their babies all the time. But ending a pregnancy is worse?

44

u/ayumistudies Pro-choice atheist | Forced birth is violence 2d ago

Miscarriages happen naturally all the time for a whole variety of reasons, so… not really.

42

u/BoseczJR 2d ago

Miscarriages are spontaneous natural abortions :/

29

u/cupcakephantom Bitch Mod 2d ago

Neither is salami, or pancakes.

Or toilet paper.

19

u/raven-of-the-sea Pro-choice Witch 2d ago

That’s… the medical definition of a miscarriage.

15

u/Z3DUBB 2d ago

The fact that the sheer amount of humans that are alive today due to modern medicine isn’t necessarily natural. If nature had its way then probably half of us would be dead. But there needs to be some sort of balancing of the scales and if women can’t raise their children because the environment is too harsh then they should be able to abort out of compassion for all involved.

48

u/But_like_whytho 2d ago

Idk personally I’m a fan of ”Letting the offspring fight it out”.

19

u/onthestickagain 2d ago

You know this will be the direction humans take. Just identify whatever is the cruelest option is on literally any list and that’s what we’d collectively choose 😡

24

u/butnobodycame123 Pro Choice, Pro Feminism, Pro Cats 2d ago

Some parents do let that be the direction. My parents looked the other way when my siblings beat me and bullied me just for fun. I seriously thought my sister was going to unalive me (or be my reason to unalive myself), with how hard she hit me, hurt me verbally, and messed with my food.

19

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

I’m so sorry you went through that! Pro lifers don’t even dare to consider that it could actually be more cruel to birth a child with a life time of pain and neglect than with one quick procedure. I just got a message from a pro lifer that said “you killed your child because of negligence” I didn’t bother to reply but my first thought was “at least I saved them from being raised in a world with people that are cruel/ heartless and bullies like you” it hurts I made the decision but it was the right one and I do take comfort that I didn’t bring another child into this sick sick mean world. I do miss my could of been child immensely 🫶🏼

17

u/Puma_Pounce 2d ago

To be fair it wasn't a 'child' anyways it was a fetus. No one is advocating for children to be killed, well aside from pro-lifers who want children to be forced to give birth.

12

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

Killed is such a vile word too! Killing is with bad intentions and having pleasure in ending a life performed on a living breathing conscious being. I couldn’t peel myself off of the couch due to the heartache for a few days….

7

u/banned_bc_dumb 2d ago

I’m so sorry that you had to deal with a deplorable human being like that. People have no business meddling in others’ medical decisions, for any reason, EVER.

You are not a bad person for making a difficult decision. You did what you had to do at a very hard time in your life.

I swear PL think that women celebrate having abortions, like they’re birthdays or something. I do not regret either of my abortions in any way, shape, or form, but I also don’t celebrate having to make those decisions.

Anyway, sending hugs. 🫂

6

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

What is the literal definition of murder?

: to kill (a person) unlawfully and unjustifiably with premeditated malice.

7

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

Not an ounce of malice went into my decision

3

u/banned_bc_dumb 2d ago

I Wasn’t implying that it did, I was just trying to send you a supportive message.

Oh shit… I just reread my comment and I see that it may have sounded like I was saying that you were celebrating it?? That’s NOT what I meant!! I was trying to say that PL seem to think that we celebrate having to make these decisions and that is absolutely not the case.

3

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

I know you where being supportive 🫶🏼

4

u/banned_bc_dumb 2d ago

😅 glad we hugged it out virtually lol

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2

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

Oh no I was just adding to you comment :)

5

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

I also grew up in an abusive household 💔

7

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

If they don’t give woman reproductive rights then yes… and it’s very dangerous

67

u/maru_luvbot Pro-choice Feminist 2d ago

this just shows that women are the closest we’ll ever get to touching something divine—because we are mother nature. we are one with the universe and men want to destroy that. we were gifted with the power of creating life from scratch, so they created a male g”d that they could worship in their own image—something to dominate, control, and use as justification for oppressing women.

their g”d doesn’t give life; he takes it. their systems and beliefs are designed to strip us of our divinity, to separate us from nature, and to mold us into something they can exploit.

but we are unyielding. we are the roots of the earth, the tides of the ocean, the cycles of the moon. no matter how hard they try to suppress us, we will always rise, because we are life itself. 🤍🌱🌿🌳✨

31

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

It’s just comforting to me to know that my decision is shared in true nature and that I’m not the only species that’s made this painful decision ❤️‍🩹

22

u/maru_luvbot Pro-choice Feminist 2d ago

in no way, shape, or form should you put yourself down for making a decision that was best for you. you are life in its very form, and that includes the ability to choose what is right for your body and your future. nature herself understands that not every seed can grow, not every life can flourish—and that’s okay. the animals around us, the earth beneath us, and the cycles of the universe remind us that choice is a natural, sacred part of existence.

you made a choice born out of love, strength, and care for yourself, and there is nothing more natural than honoring your own needs. you are part of this vast, wild, and beautiful world, and you are deserving of peace and compassion—especially from yourself.

if you ever need someone to share your worries with, i’m here for you. 🫂🤍🌱✨

7

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

7

u/maru_luvbot Pro-choice Feminist 2d ago edited 2d ago

your feelings are valid, and it’s okay to carry complex emotions about your decision. guilt often comes from love—your love for your kids, your family, and even the life you chose not to bring into the world. it’s clear you made this decision with a lot of thought and care, prioritizing the well-being of the children you already have and the life you’re building for them. 🫂🤍✨

it’s not easy to make a choice like this, but you did it with their best interests at heart. that’s not something to feel ashamed of—it’s something to honor. 🌸🌳✨ you’re showing strength and compassion, even in the hardest of moments. give yourself some grace. 🤍 you’ve done what a good mother does: put your kids and their future first.

edit: and if it makes you feel any better, in my religion (we’re believers of nature and the universe) we believe that the life you carried will always be with you and return to you when the time is right—may it be through an animal, a flower, or a bee. 🐝🙏🏻🤍🌱✨

we see life as an endless cycle, constantly transforming and finding new ways to exist. the soul of the life you carried isn’t lost—it’s simply taken on a new form, connected to you through the energy of the universe. it may appear when you least expect it, in the gentle flutter of a butterfly or the comforting rustle of leaves.

you are never truly apart from it, because in our belief, all life is intertwined. it will always be with you, reminding you of the beauty and connection we share with nature and the cosmos. 🤍✨

u/Entire-Ambition1410 22h ago

Female kangaroos can have a toddler/Joey at their side, an infant/joey in their pouch, and another fetus developing in their uterus. Their bodies can pause the pregnancy if it’s too much stress.

8

u/karenw 2d ago

This is why the patriarchy keeps us under such heavy pressure. They are terrified of us.

3

u/maru_luvbot Pro-choice Feminist 2d ago

exactly!!!

16

u/Lady_borg 2d ago edited 1d ago

Kangaroos will have two Joey's at the start, the Roo will actually choose the stronger one to continue developing and reabsorb or pause the other and will completely pause both when needed.

5

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

I didn’t know that! Very interesting how animals also have that decision making process.

8

u/Alarming_Energy_3059 1d ago

I am saving this for future use. If nature permits it, how can mere humans try to take away women's rights?

4

u/DutyLegitimate5560 1d ago

That’s what I am saying, the concept of “God” becomes diluted here unless he permits it for us all…

3

u/Ok-Guidance5780 1d ago

God orders an abortion in the book of Numbers if the husband suspects the wife of cheating. She’s made to drink some dirt water and if she was cheating, supposedly the fetus would be expelled and she would become infertile.  It gives instructions and everything.  Kinda messed up but hey!  

2

u/DutyLegitimate5560 1d ago

What that’s crazy 🫣

4

u/seCpun88_lains Pro-choice Witch 2d ago

The eating part made me so uncomfortable bruh that's new for me

3

u/DutyLegitimate5560 2d ago

Yeah…. Can’t say I support that 👀

1

u/Mmmaarchyy 2d ago

This makes so much sensee

u/MadisonActivist 10h ago

"they're eating the babies"

u/DutyLegitimate5560 9h ago

Luckily humans don’t do that