Who said we’d assume that? I’d assume there’s a good chance that multiple abortions can be correlated with at-risk behaviour. This would lead me to askto find out what the circumstances are leading to habitual abortions.
It might be a simple difference of opinion, or there might be a lack of education, an abusive relationship, or something else that could be helped.
I was thinking of improper use of hormonal contraceptives.
Your use of the phrase “I keep hearing women say” led me to believe that you were referring to women you had actually spoken to and thus must be acquainted with. I’m sorry I offended you by presuming that when you said you’d heard women say something that you meant you had actually heard them say it, but there is nothing in your OP to indicate that you were referring to things written by strangers on the Internet.
I think it’s much more likely to be caused by lack of information about/access to birth control, but if we imagine a situation where rape was very common then unwanted pregnancies and thus abortion (if available) would also likely be more common.
But you’re not asking them, you’re asking us, and I don’t think anyone here so far has condemned women for having multiple abortions.
The harshest opinions expressed seem to be from people who, like me, think there eventually comes a point where someone should have learned from their mistakes. Anyone can have a careless moment or a run of bad luck, but if the same undesirable situation keeps repeating itself then they should be trying to change their own behavior. I don’t think it’s possible to draw a hard line as to when this should happen, but if a woman has had 40 abortions* then it’s pretty clear that she doesn’t want to be pregnant and yet hasn’t been trying very hard to avoid it.
Maybe this hypothetical woman was in a horrible situation where she was raped many times or could not obtain contraceptives, in which case she deserves nothing but pity. But I don’t have any sympathy for people who dislike being in a particular situation but repeatedly refuse to take simple, obvious steps to avoid it. Abortion isn’t the issue for me, I feel the same way about people who for example are irresponsible with credit cards.
How was I supposed to know what numbers you mostly hear? This is just the sort of thing that irritates me about these “SDMB members, please explain the opinions of non-SDMB members for me” threads. If you want the opinions of people here then fine, but why should any of us be expected to defend posts we haven’t read made by other people on other forums?
If you had a specific number in mind you could have said so before, but I don’t understand why you suddenly care about the number of abortions involved. You say right in your OP that it doesn’t make any difference to you how many abortions a woman has. I don’t see any grounds for you “taking objection” to my 10-20 estimate if the number really doesn’t matter.
*I don’t think you could possibly mean “only an idiot would think that a woman who’s had multiple abortions should have kids” here, but that’s the literal meaning of this convoluted sentence. I point this out because you have already accused me of not reading carefully and criticized me for failing to guess things you hadn’t actually stated. If you’re going to get upset when others don’t know exactly what you mean then you should try a little harder to write clearly.
Good for you, but I’m not sure why you’re telling me this. Maybe my own writing was less than perfectly clear, but I don’t believe anyone should be required to have an abortion. That would be the opposite of pro-choice and morally repulsive to me. I was trying to say that a woman who wants to have multiple abortions should not be prevented from doing so. It might be fair to say that such a woman is irresponsible, but “She’s behaving irresponsibly!” is hardly a reason to force her to bear a child. Having a baby shouldn’t be a punishment for women who’ve behaved in a way that others disapprove of, and a woman who’s already irresponsible is unlikely to be a great mother to a child she doesn’t want.
*I don’t think having an abortion is horrific or anything, but it’s got to be a bit more trouble than breaking a shoelace or running out of milk. Speaking only for myself here, I’d consider any problem that required me to have a surgical procedure to be a bad situation. Heck, I once had a cancer scare that I’d describe as a bad situation even though it turned out to be nothing and I didn’t need any kind of surgery at all.
*I don’t know how many abortions it’s possible for a woman to have; I’d guess that at some point she’d be rendered infertile, but I don’t know.
I find someone who chooses to have multiple abortions rather than use birth control distasteful, probably because deciding to abort is a choice I couldn’t imagine myself making so casually.
I’m not in favour of legislating against things that I wouldn’t personally do, so I’m Pro Choice. I’m even Pro the Choices that I personally wouldn’t make.
Its kinda like getting STDs regularly and having to go to the doctor. You should be able to go get cured of them, but if you’re at the doctor’s office once a month for penicillin you’re very irresponsible and should probably learn to practice safe sex.
Yep. 
But the thing I like about it is that is inconveniences the man as much as the woman, if you want to set it up that way. That feels equitable and right to me. The temperature needs to be taken first thing, before you get up, or even move around in bed a whole lot. Some couples have him wake up to an alarm, pop the thermometer in her mouth, and by the time he’s toddled off to pee and back, the temp has registered and she can get up and write it down for the day.
Cervical fluid is usually checked sometime when she’s done using the toilet - when you’re familiar with the system, no great detective work is needed, just noting what it feels like when you wipe after urination. Cervical position is an optional sign, and one I’ve never been successful with - I can’t find my cervix.
Once you know how, FAM takes less than two minutes a day.
“Abuse” meaning a jerk who refuses to wear a condom, mostly. Those are not uncommon in my experience. Well, in my friends’ experience. I won’t go there. I think she should use something else and/or ditch the guy, but many women are in luuuuurve and they’ll put up with that nonsense and deal with the surgical risks later.
Are you clarifying your original question for the record, or are you still feeling unsatisfied with the answers? It seems like this has been answered from many points of view quite thoroughly at this point.
Enola, as someone who is pro-life without exceptions, I can’t agree with you more.
In fact, I have more respect for pro choicers, than I do for someone who believes abortion is murder, but in some cases, it’s OK
I used to qualify every single thing I say on this board, but then I realized that was dumb. It doesn’t matter if I hear them say it on t.v. or in real life. Doesn’t matter what forums or blogs. I am interested in what SDMB members that share the same position have to say.
If you don’t share the position, you don’t have to respond. There are thousands of members on this board. Why do you keep saying “we” as if I am talking to you directly. That is so weird to me. It’s like you think you are a member of a small intimate family, and I am asking inappropriate questions at the dinner table. Weird.
The rest of your post I don’t really understand that well, so I will write that off as my needing to work on my comprehension skills.
And I definitely agree that I could ‘write a little clearer’, so yeah, I gotta give you that.
But in a feeble attempt to clarify a bit better: I mentioned my freakin’ awesome parenting skills because you said you question if someone that has had multiple abortions should have kids. I would have multiples if I needed them, and I can certainly be pointed to as someone that ‘should have kids’. I have no idea why you don’t know why I brought that up. I fear you and I are speaking two different languages. For instance, I thought I was responding clearly when I said that I don’t believe that most people who condemn multiple abortions mean 10 or 20 like you quoted. I was just guessing that most people don’t mean that many, because 20 sounds extremely high. I didn’t mean for that to really be a big point in the conversation.
But again, I have to confess that I tend to stay out of GD because I am still working on expressing my ideas with more clarity. Much more work to do.
I’m fine with any number of abortions. I do, however, reserve the right to think said woman is an idiot if she has more than one or two. Much in the same way beer is legal, but we think drunks are fools. 
Oh! Yes, WhyNot. I was clarifying for the record, because some of the responses seemed to think my OP was offered in a different tone then I meant it. But yes, I agree my question has been answered quite thoroughly. Not with any answer that I think makes me understand the position, but with answers that I must accept. I appreciate the responses, too.
The problem with this is that you appear to be looking for SDMB members who share a very specific position. Several pro-choice posters have replied who are for one reason or another troubled by the idea of a woman having many abortions. Yet you seemed dissatisfied with these answers and have indicated that the people responding don’t hold the same beliefs that you are looking for.
I think it’s unlikely that anyone here holds exactly the same views for exactly the same reasons as some other person someplace else. That’s why I’ve suggested asking the people you already know about who actually do hold these beliefs. They’re the only ones who can tell you the reasons for their own beliefs.
*I apologize again if I was unclear, but I was not referring to women who want children or to all women who have had more than one abortion. I was specifically referring to women who have already had MANY abortions (like in the double digits), do not want to become pregnant again, but do not take steps to avoid it. I would not have a high opinion of such a woman, but I would not seek to prevent or discourage her from having another abortion just because I think she’s an irresponsible idiot. Quite the contrary.
I brought this up because I have heard people who are uncomfortable with abortion say things like “I understand if a woman is raped or has medical problems, but abortion shouldn’t be used as birth control.” I too wouldn’t think well of a woman who persistently used abortion as her only method of birth control, but if she’s already pregnant again then it’s too late for a condom. It’s either have an abortion or have a baby. “But she’s irresponsible!” is hardly a reason for a woman to become a mother. I can understand feeling that it’s unfair for a chronically irresponsible person to avoid the natural consequences of her actions yet another time, but I see the alternative as even worse.
In other words, although I don’t approve of a woman having many abortions I consider it preferable to a woman having many unwanted babies.
May I assume you are also saying that the abortions (however many as they want) are to paid for by the person getting the abortions?
The situation you are describing is a series of elective surgeries, and most health insurance does not pay for elective surgery, much less multiple elective surgeries.
My insurance policy will pay for abortions. I figure they have run the numbers and are aware that paying for an abortion would be a lot cheaper than paying for prenatal care and childbirth…not to mention the additional person I’d be adding to the policy.
And imo a woman that has 10-20 abortions should not become a mother of even 1, let alone 10-20. That can’t be good for the gene pool.
What about 5-10 abortions? Is 1 kid Ok for that woman?
I’m not sure where you’re leading with this, and which women gets to contribute to the gene pool based on her number of abortions ?
Is 3 enough?
Is 6 too many?
Multiple abortions legal yes, multiple abortions morally ok no. Pro abortionists usually aren’t pro abortion, they are pro choice. They support abortion being a legal option for women. That doesn’t mean they want women to choose to have multiple abortion or that they are ok with that. They just want to keep the option legal because the alternative is abhorrent. Now repeat after me: “legal is not the same as moral…”
Disclaimer–pro-life
Forgive me if you’ve already answered this, but do you feel that " One abortion legal yes, one abortion morally ok no" And if "no’, what is the difference?
As someone wrote earlier, there are multiple reasons for an unwanted pregnancy scenario. Why would abortion be an acceptable (moral) option the first time, but not for subsequent pregnancies?
Let’s see if I can clarify for you: A woman who has 10-20 abortions* for any reason *was most likely holding the door when God doled out the brains. So having 10-20 of her offspring in the gene pool could bring the average IQ of the next generation down a few points. I’d prefer she keep having abortions, rather than having kids…even one.
Well, for me it’s not that I consider the abortions immoral, but that if a woman keeps having a LOT of unwanted pregnancies then there’s something wrong. Now, a woman could have several unwanted pregnancies due to a youthful mistake and then a run of bad luck. I don’t think it’s possible to draw a hard line and say that after this certain number the woman isn’t just unlucky anymore, but if she’s using any form of birth control at all it is very unlikely she’ll manage to get pregnant 10-20 times. If she’s being abused in some way or prevented from using contraceptives then I’d feel very sorry her. But if she knew about different birth control methods, had access to them, did not want to become pregnant, and yet continued to have unprotected sex again and again for years even after getting pregnant and having abortions many times already then she’s a damn fool.
It’s not that I’d think she was doing the wrong thing by having yet another abortion, but that she was doing the wrong thing by not trying a little harder to avoid getting pregnant in the first place. Obviously she doesn’t want to be pregnant, so why isn’t she doing something to reduce her risk? If it’s happened to her many times already then she isn’t just naive, she’s refusing to learn from experience. I do not think well of people like that, no matter how it manifests itself. As I mentioned above, I feel much the same about people who repeatedly make stupid choices with credit cards.
Since a woman can’t get pregnant all by herself, if she’s having many unwanted pregnancies then this isn’t something that affects her alone. She’s either having unprotected sex with a number of different men, or unprotected sex with the same man over a long period of time. If the former, she’s helping to spread STDs around and that is both dangerous and immoral. If the latter, she must be in some sort of long-term relationship with the man and I have to wonder how much he knows about all these abortions she’s been having. I don’t believe a woman’s boyfriend or husband has any right to make her bear a child, but if the man wants kids and the woman is deceiving him then she’s again behaving immorally. Same if she’s told him she’s on the pill when she isn’t. If the man doesn’t want kids but refuses to wear a condom and knows that the woman isn’t using contraceptives either, then they’re both damn fools.
Legal is not the same as moral. Got it.
And I get that. You know, I almost backed out of this thread as I was starting to get some serious bad vibes. I think I naively thought I could have this conversation without too much baggage, but that was not to be.
But now that I reread the thread, I see that despite the suggestion that I am asking for a question to specific to answer, that is not true at all. Many dopers came through and gave me specifically the answer I need. Your answer makes sense to me. I get that they can support choice without condoning multiples.
But the answers that I have to take a bit of extra time to thank the posters for are
appleciders
WhyNot
Cosmic Relief
Enola Gay
Blalron
Malacandra
AHunter3 (Whom I think I can glean from his post, sees the fetus as a person, based on his statement “up to the minute of birth”)
And some others, too. It seems they were able to answer the question quite clearly without deeming it ‘too specific’ to answer. As a matter of fact, the whole idea that something might be ‘too specific’ to answer on a board as popularly read as this, and free to post, seems silly.
One either chooses to participate in a thread on it’s merits, or one chooses not to participate, or one chooses to post, but not to really contribute.
Lamia, I think I have ranted off into your direction, at this point: why not honestly contribute to the OP, or not…but don’t pretend that the OP is not a valid OP. Because it is the kind of thing that makes people hesitate to start threads in GD and causes GD to start to become repetitive, boring and stagnant.
Nzinga, I have answered your OP. You’ve suggested repeatedly that I don’t belong in this thread, but I am pro-choice and am not “ok” with a woman having many abortions. Your thread title invited people like me to respond, and I have explained the reasons for my opinions on the matter at some length. As far as I can tell the only reason my answer isn’t satisfactory to you is that I don’t hold exactly the same viewpoint you were looking for. I don’t think it’s fair or even interesting to start a DEBATE thread where only people with a very specific point of view are allowed to answer. If you’re interesting in GD not being boring and stagnant then you shouldn’t get upset when people don’t provide you with exactly the type of response that you want.
You’re welcome. And, by the way, I think I’m exactly of the mindset you were looking for: I don’t consider the fetus a person in any moral, ethical or legal sense until viability, and yet I’m still uncomfortable (for the reasons already mentioned) with using abortion instead of contraception. Multiple abortions are more likely than single to be attributable to lack of contraception, but that’s a tendency, not a hard and fast rule.