# Should abortion be legal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 17, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-abortion-be-legal/539828 "2010-05-17T22:34:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-abortion-be-legal/539828/101 "2010-06-01T23:08:57Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > Nope. Sorry. No vote. Not yours. Because you say so, eh? Well, there you go. Toss another definition in while you’re at it. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-abortion-be-legal/539828/102 "2010-06-02T01:54:18Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > No, it’s not. First because killing a blob of tissue either isn’t murder; or if you define it as murder then you’ve just created a category of murder it is OK to commit. Labeling it murder makes it no more significant. > > And second, even if it WAS murder, forbidding a woman an abortion is worse as far as I’m concerned. As I said; it is the equivalent of a nine month rape. Utterly evil. I doubt you are being serious. If you were a woman would you prefer an unwanted pregnancy or being murdered? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-abortion-be-legal/539828/103 "2010-06-02T01:58:26Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > I doubt you are being serious. If you were a woman would you prefer an unwanted pregnancy or being murdered? Not being a woman I don’t know. But it doesn’t really matter since I was speaking from a moral perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-abortion-be-legal/539828/104 "2010-06-02T08:24:03Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > I doubt you are being serious. If you were a woman would you prefer an unwanted pregnancy or being murdered? That’s not the situation being proposed. Rather, give the woman a choice between an unwanted pregnancy or murdering (if that term is going to be applied) someone else. I gather that if that someone _is_ the unwanted pregnancy, the “murder” label won’t make that must difference. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-abortion-be-legal/539828/105 "2010-06-02T12:35:34Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Because you say so, eh? Well, there you go. Toss another definition in while you’re at it. Silly… It’s not because I say so, it’s because the dictionary says so. You want me to agree with you because _you_ say so, apparently, since you’re the one trying to redefine words so they fit your own conclusions. What’s that about rubber and glue? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-abortion-be-legal/539828/106 "2010-06-02T14:13:25Z")
Yes. In a perfect world, there would be no need for abortion. However… ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-abortion-be-legal/539828/107 "2010-06-02T22:26:38Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > Silly… It’s not because I say so, it’s because the dictionary says so. > > You want me to agree with you because _you_ say so, apparently, since you’re the one trying to redefine words so they fit your own conclusions. > > What’s that about rubber and glue? The dictionary proves that abortions are a decision between a woman and her doctor, nobody else gets a vote? Wow. That’s a powerful book. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-abortion-be-legal/539828/108 "2010-06-03T02:43:22Z")
I’d be interested in seeing a copy of the dictionary that you used. It’s truly remarkable. Do you own a copy, and if so, how much did you pay for it? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-abortion-be-legal/539828/109 "2010-06-03T04:00:00Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > The dictionary proves that abortions are a decision between a woman and her doctor, nobody else gets a vote? Wow. That’s a powerful book. It is for those who know how to read. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-abortion-be-legal/539828/110 "2010-06-03T10:35:40Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > It is for those who know how to read. Won’t you help a poor illiterate brother out? What page of your dictionary proves the point that only the mother and doctor should be part of the decision? I’ll get somebody to read it to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-abortion-be-legal/539828.md?page=5)