Is abortion ever justified? Last on 15 Nov 2010

Rachel Bass [more...]

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Lynsey 15 Nov 2010 20:00

This makes me feel sad. It reinforced what I already believed.

mary 15 Nov 2010 20:01

This makes me feel sad. I learned something from it.

Dave 15 Nov 2010 20:06

Reading the selfish reasons why many women decide to "terminate" their unborn child makes your story even harder to hear. You are a very brave person and I hope your dreams are realised in the future.

Triphazard 15 Nov 2010 20:15

This makes me feel understanding.

I cannot begin to imagine being in that position

John Airey 15 Nov 2010 20:19

Rachel's story is a tragic one, however it seems to me that she was misinformed by the hospital. Since she had to be induced she must have been in her final trimester. So instead of giving birth to a live child who probably would not have survived she had to give birth to a dead child instead. I would have to say that this made a bad situation worse.

The current legislation allows for termination for suspicion of disability right up till birth. I agree that God does not condemn Rachel for her choice, but it was the wrong choice nonetheless.

Christian Mac 15 Nov 2010 20:38

This makes clear that these are rarely easy decisions, even for the person of Christian faith. It is not our position to judge but to draw alongside with compassion. This was no easy decision based on convenience but clearly one following the agonising realisation that the child had absolutely no prospect of living outside of the womb. Very moving.

Jane Frajbis 15 Nov 2010 20:34

This makes me feel humbled. It helped me understand the speaker's point of view.

I felt very sad for the lady. It must have been a very difficult choice to make. I hope she had support through making the decision, and afterwards, got further support should she have needed it.

susie 15 Nov 2010 20:28

my heart goes out to rachel - i can't imagine how difficult that must have been. the issue of abortion seems to be so taboo here in the UK - i am glad that 4thought is bringing it into the open this week. rachel talked at the start about people judging her - i don't think women should have to live in secret shame if they have had an abortion and be unable to talk about it, we should all be more compassionate and less judgemental.

clairet 15 Nov 2010 20:47

This makes me feel humbled. It helped me understand the speaker's point of view.

What a remarkably brave decision to make. I have no doubt that God understands exactly why you made your choice. To do otherwise would have been cruel.

Elizabeth 15 Nov 2010 21:26

There are no easy answers when you are given the news that your baby has life threatening problems. Unless you have been in that position nobody can fully understand. Your child will always have a special place in your heart. May you know God's comfort and peace.

Josephine Lee 16 Nov 2010 00:15

This makes me feel sad.

Claire 16 Nov 2010 11:45

This makes me feel sad.

What a heart wrenching decision to have to make. It's so unfair that millions of women around the world go through with abortions for all the wrong reasons when women like Rachel are faced with circumstances likes these. A brave lady, thank you for sharing and hopefully this will be a wake-up call for people who go though with abortions for "convenience" sake...

Sheelagh Clarke 16 Nov 2010 12:19

Rachel was very brave to share her story and the painful decision she and her husband took. I don't believe anyone has the right to judge, but only to empathise with this very distressing experience. The organisation called Careconfidential is there to help those who are trying to think through this decision, or who struggle after an abortion.

Laurence England 16 Nov 2010 17:52

'Rachel Bass decided to have an abortion after discovering her baby was severely disabled, but believes that God understands the difficult decision she had to make'. Upon watching it, I have to say that the idea of arguing that 'God understands the difficult decision', despite having commanded us not to destroy innocent human life, is morally and theologically, extremely problematic. I'd like to say it is the result of protestantism, which defies the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, but I am quite sure that it is an argument employed by ill-informed or publicly defiant Catholic politicians and other Catholics as well.

It is sad that a Christian, albeit not a Catholic Christian, publicly espouses this moral relativism, but how very common it is nowadays. Rachel doesn't say that God 'agrees' with her decision but that God 'understands'. How does she know that God 'understands' her decision? What presumption!? It is possible that He understands, because He sees that even Christians are being deceived into procuring abortions against their own sacred Consciences, but does He agree with it? Does He condone it? I don't mean to be personal with this young lady, but she has come out publicly and said it and we are free to respond. She then dresses abortion up as compassion on the unborn baby who would have suffered were the baby born alive, dismissing any notion that actually the abortion may not have been a very pleasant experience for the unborn baby who could have been delivered and baptised. Clearly, Bible believing Christians nowadays have problems believing the Bible, hence, as Pope Benedict XVI says in Verbum Dei, 'Consequently the Scripture is to be proclaimed, heard, read, received and experienced as the word of God, in the stream of the apostolic Tradition from which it is inseparable.'

Susan Harriott 16 Nov 2010 20:59

Rachel, you are amazing. You are not someone who made a career choice or took the easy way out. You made an informed decision, knowing that your loss could never be as painful as the agony your child would suffer if born. Speaking as someone who generally doesn't support abortion, I fully support you and your choice because I think changes to the law to allow women to have abortions were initially made for people like you. Women with genuine medical or psychological reasons to terminate. Not for just someone who forgot to take the pill. I truly hope that you can find peace because you did what was best for your baby, the most important person in this equation. x x

FJ 16 Nov 2010 20:09

This makes me feel sad and understanding.

A very brave decision to make that i completely agree with.

Edward Martin 16 Nov 2010 20:08

Rachel is such a strong woman. This choice can not be taken lightly, and the assumption that abortion is simply a conveniant, extended form of contraception is SO damaging. Abortion, for some people (like Rachel), is a heart breaking decision and is not without religious searching. Thank you for Rachel for sharing your story, and my prayers are with you, because it never gets easier... thank the Lord that His love overshadows all pain.

Jen Fox 16 Nov 2010 20:19

This makes me feel humbled.

Hey Rachel, this is a very moving story. I felt I should write to you to tell you about Rachel's Vinyard. I went there after an abortion recently. It is a healing retreat for anyone who has experienced abortion. There is a wonderful retreat in Leeds that may be of help to you. lots of love to you. Jen

David 17 Nov 2010 12:48

I don't agree with your views on abortion Rachel. Life has an innate value...your life, my life, all life. But you are right, God does love you. He loves you regardless of what you have done, because to him you have an innate value. And it is the duty of all Christians to see the innate value in every life and to show God's love to you and to one another. God bless you and your family.

caitriona 17 Nov 2010 20:10

It reinforced what I already believed.

I'm saddened that anyone would have to go through such a traumatic event, but I hope that people will understand that termination is never black and white and that women should be able to choose what happens to their body. No government or individuals should ever force their beliefs on anyone.

Alicia 17 Nov 2010 20:50

This makes me feel angry. It reinforced what I already believed.

Its hard for people to understand until u suffer something traumatic yourself as me and my boyfriend. We have just lost our baby girl Lilly after 11 hours with her, as she had bad heart and and kidney problems, we were told from the 1st scan she was very ill and her chances didn't look good but we chose never to abort but to give her a chance of life! Never ever to take that hope of living away from her! personally I don't think that should be an option. It makes me cross to think anyone could do that. My beautiful angel Lilly lives on in our thoughts and we know we did the right thing.

Pete 19 Nov 2010 16:09

This makes me feel humbled, sad and compassionate.

I just can't imagine what it's like to go through this.

Al 20 Nov 2010 11:50

Good on you. You had the sense to stop the suffering of someone you truly loved and you have my deepest respect for that

Becky 21 Nov 2010 22:04

I can see that this must have been an unbearable situation. I don't think Rachel would have been selfish to continue with the pregnancy, personally I would have continued to term even though medically the baby could not possibly survive. There is always the chance that God may work a miracle, and if not at least I would know I had done everything possible for my baby. It must have been incredibly traumatic to go for two days before being induce, and I hope Rachel got some proper support afterwards.

Shaun Grogan 23 Nov 2010 17:15

This makes me feel compassionate and sad. It helped me understand the speaker's point of view.

Samuel James 07 Dec 2010 23:22

This makes me feel compassionate, humbled, sad and understanding. It helped me understand the speaker's point of view.

rosie 29 Dec 2010 11:02

This makes me feel compassionate, humbled, sad and understanding. It reinforced what I already believed.

Jane 11 Apr 2011 17:41

This makes me feel compassionate, humbled and sad. It reinforced what I already believed.

Auntie Lizzie 19 Feb 2012 23:04

Horrific!