# Will abortion be obsolete someday? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 18, 2001, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-abortion-be-obsolete-someday/69231 "2001-06-18T16:45:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-abortion-be-obsolete-someday/69231/61 "2001-07-01T17:39:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by choosybeggar \* > \*\*I think abortion will be in less demand in the future but not for the reason described in the OP. > > The technology to reduce elective terminations of pregnancy is here today. It’s implementation largely depends on social factors. > > The technology is emergency contraception. Within 72 hours of unprotected sex a woman may take a large dose of the same mediaction used in oral contraceptives. This prevents implantation of a fertilized zygote into the uterine wall (Note-this is not the abortion pill). Since the definition of pregnancy is _implantation_ of a zygote into the uterine wall, and abortion is the termination of a _pregnancy_, use of emergency contraception does not constitute abortion. > > I understand the the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is encouraging health care providers to offer emergency contraception to their sexually active female patients. The idea is that if people have this medication at home, they’ll use it. If this becomes standard practice, expect a drastic falloff in abortion rates. > > Would Pro-lifers be happy about this or no? \*\* I think having a supply of emergency contraception in one’s medicine cabinet would be a VERY good idea for all women and girls, starting as soon they become vulnerable to pregnancy, even if they’re not sexually active. It could also be used in case of rape. I’m all for it. I strongly suspect that many pro-lifers would be very much opposed to this. They won’t care if emergency contraception is or is not abortion; they’ll be against it either way. Some (not all, but a significant percentage, IMO) pro-lifers are opposed to anything that they see as making it “too easy” for unmarried women to be sexually active. They want to bring about a situation in which unmarried woman will be afraid to have sex because they will have no possible way to end – OR to avoid – an unwanted pregnancy. They would permit no abortion, no contraception; no knowledge of contraception. ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-abortion-be-obsolete-someday/69231/62 "2001-07-01T17:51:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > \*\*Sounds like the ‘Embryadopt’ program in ‘The California Voodoo Game’ by Larry Niven and Steve Barnes. I’m sure it will be practical at some time in the future, but I too agree that there aren’t enough people wanting to adopt to handle the number of abortions - especially since this would be a lot more popular than abortion, a lot of women who have moral problems with aborting their embryo would be willing to have it removed and planted in someone else. > > Other thoughts: If removed early enough, the embryos could probably be frozen and saved for later. I can easily imagine vaults filled with millions of catalogued embryos waiting for mothers, with the ones from parents with less-than-desirable traits accumulating while all the embryos from blond-haired blue-eyed athletic college girls are snatched up like the cute puppies at the animal shelter. \*\* But just think, a woman or girl faced with an unwanted pregnancy could have the embryo removed and saved for later use BY HERSELF! One of the frustrating things about unwanted pregnancies is that in most cases, the woman or girl does want to have children. Just not right now. The pregnancy occurs at a time in her life when she isn’t in a position to have and raise a child: still in school, perhaps, and not yet self supporting. A few years later, she can have the embryo re-implanted. The same might often be true of the man or boy who cooperated in causing the pregnancy. When the pregnancy occurs, he may be a young student in no position to provide any child support. Five or ten years later, he may well be in a position to do so. ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-abortion-be-obsolete-someday/69231/63 "2001-07-01T18:02:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hazel \* > \*\* > > I think having a supply of emergency contraception in one’s medicine cabinet would be a VERY good idea for all women and girls, starting as soon they become vulnerable to pregnancy, even if they’re not sexually active. It could also be used in case of rape. I’m all for it. > > I strongly suspect that many pro-lifers would be very much opposed to this. They won’t care if emergency contraception is or is not abortion; they’ll be against it either way. Some (not all, but a significant percentage, IMO) pro-lifers are opposed to anything that they see as making it “too easy” for unmarried women to be sexually active. They want to bring about a situation in which unmarried woman will be afraid to have sex because they will have no possible way to end – OR to avoid – an unwanted pregnancy. They would permit no abortion, no contraception; no knowledge of contraception. \*\* However, wouldn’t a shift from elective abortion toward emergency contraception (EC) be grudgingly accepted as a step in the right direction? And think of the rhetorical advantage. This ain’t no abortion pill, it prevents pregnancy before pregnancy has a chance to start. Moreover, since EC is used so soon after fertilization, it is not even possible to detect if a pregnancy would have occurred. I imagine that mainstream pro-life (oxymoron?) politicians would take a more favorable view of emergency contraception than they do of abortion. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2001, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-abortion-be-obsolete-someday/69231/64 "2001-07-02T22:06:29Z")
I’ve found Pyrrhonist and Weird Al’s debate about Botchy and Baby Doe to be interesting. I’d like to know, though, what you’d think of the addition of a third entity, Baby DOA. Unforunately, Baby DOA strangled on his umblicial cord, and was brought into the world dead- a stillborn. How does his personhood compare to Baby Doe’s and Botchy’s? ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c67d28/32.png) [@Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_AL_Einstein)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2001, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-abortion-be-obsolete-someday/69231/65 "2001-07-14T05:03:17Z")
_Bump_, as a courtey to **Pyrrhonist** , and **elfkin477** , I’m very sorry, I didn’t see your post: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > \*\*I’ve found Pyrrhonist and Weird Al’s debate about Botchy and Baby Doe to be interesting. I’d like to know, though, what you’d think of the addition of a third entity, Baby DOA. Unforunately, Baby DOA strangled on his umblicial cord, and was brought into the world dead- a stillborn. How does his personhood compare to Baby Doe’s and Botchy’s? > \*\* I would say, Baby DOA is a _dead_ person. Like any other dead person. Like each of us will be someday…hopefully, not for a really long time, tho. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-abortion-be-obsolete-someday/69231.md?page=3)