huh? What convoluted rationale do you employ? I never said only 'real women' should make these decisions, nor did I insinuate that only women who've been pregnant are 'real women'. In fact, I am very opposed to the usage of 'real women' and any other label that might categorize women. (Ie. a married woman is a Mrs. and the rest is a Miss and the common 'now you're a woman since you are not a virign anymore' makes me want to go into convulsions.

Perhaps you want to re-read the last sentence of my post - I know it wasn't a literal phrase, so I looked it up for you:

"Never judge a man till you've walked a mile in his moccasins."

Unfortunately, kindness isn't an attribute high on the list of competencies when signing law and/or enforcing it. It's a good thing and good for you to have a kind girlfriend, unfortunately it doesn't make anybody or anyone more or less credible in their experiences. :S

As far as decision making: I wouldn't make decisions at my job about issues I had no experience in .. I'd never find that an oddity and I have never met anybody who would find that 'bizarre'. I am too a very kind person, yet I still lack experiences in many areas and wouldn't want to be put in a position to preside over life or death in matters I have no experience in.

I do not like headlines and throw outs like "somebody aborted a baby at 7 months pregnant" because it suggests a certain carelessnes and ignorance. I would like to believe that there were extraordinary circumstances at hand and it wasn't a 'oops changed my mind on this one...'. Though of course as a matter of statistics, bad decisions are part of reality.



"Never judge a man till you've walked a mile in his moccasins."



(how dare you lump my girlfriend, without doubt the kindest person I have ever met, in with "other mentally-obstructed individuals"?), and robbing a voice from many of those who will be affected by the decisions made.

Like it or not, the issue needs to be discussed in both moral and practical terms and has impacts across the whole of society. As long as there is a process in place (public debate, freedom of information, legislative checks and balances etc.) to ensure every non-insane voice is heard and measured accordingly, it should be of no concern that men have some role in the process. Even a significant one.

As for individual cases - As has been said before, no one has the right to take the decision away from prospective parents themselves before such an age as the foetus could survive and thrive outside the womb. I would feel uncomfortable if I were certain that the foetus were sentient and feeling pain even if if dependent on the mother, but the choice should still, where possible reside with the parents to be.

And yes, i know there are cases where a father would be unfit to play a role in the decision, but this does apply equally to women.[/QUOTE]