The Abortion Debate... (3 Viewers)

[MoonlightSonata]

Of course accidents happen. When I say they shouldn't be pregnant in the first place, I mean they should never have been put in a situation where it's even Possible to get pregnant.

Ever played football? Basketball? Baseball? Soccer? By your reasoning you should refuse to play these sports at all for the chance of getting injured.

I don't like the idea of sex before marriage, but that is a personal belief (nothing to do with religion). I think that people in today's society are just too horny, and the media's "sex sells" mentality doesn't help one bit.

I agree to some degree that there is a bit too much promiscuity in marketing, etc, But sex is a part of life. You need to wake up to that. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having sex before marriage.

I think the age of 18 is as good as any to define the age of Majority. One is pretty much out of puberty, and has finished high school by this age. Also, an 18 year old must take legal responsibility for their actions, where a 16 year old can still get away with most things.

Tying the age of consent to the age of majority identifies that the act of procreation is not just a form of recreation, but a responsibility over the existance of a new life. I don't see how a 16 year old can make the decision over whether to terminate what could be a life, when that same 16 year old cannot enter into a legal contract.

They CAN enter into a legal contract.

The age of majority isn't just about having the right to do certain things, it's also about having the Responsibility - and a 16 year old is too young to understand this.

I'd like to know when you become Australia's leading expert in teenage psychology

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I didnt know sex and driving were similar things and that running someone over is equal to falling pregnant.

It is conceivable that sexual acts might lead to running people over... if done in a moving car

 

[katie_tully]

I'd like to know when you become Australia's leading expert in teenage psychology

Since it's evident he knows everything, duh.

 

[Phanatical]

Ever played football? Basketball? Baseball? Soccer? By your reasoning you should refuse to play these sports at all for the chance of getting injured.

I agree to some degree that there is a bit too much promiscuity in marketing, etc, But sex is a part of life. You need to wake up to that. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having sex before marriage.

Sports don't result in the creation of new life. And there most definitely IS something wrong with sex before marriage, if the people having sex are 16.

They CAN enter into a legal contract.

I'd like to know when you become Australia's leading expert in teenage psychology

A 16 year old has many avenues of backing out of that legal contract which an adult does not have. With a 16 year old, Contracts are not the legally binding documents they would be if they were signed by adults.

I don't HAVE to be Australia's leading expert in teenage psychology. But as a former teenager myself (technically I still am), I think my point of view is just as valid as anybody else.

 

[ur_inner_child]

In sex ed/driver education classes they really should tell the kids this. Sex in a moving car is a no no

what about in the back seat, the girl's on his lap and going over speed bumps???

Oh right, the seat belt thing...

 

[Phanatical]

The fact is that a 16 year old just doesn't understand what he or she is doing. They do not understand the ramifications of their actions. Instead of society forgiving them for doing wrong, society should be teaching them Not to do it in the first place.

Kids Should Not Have Sex At 16. They don't know what they're doing. Even if they think they do, they don't. Creating new life is a responsibility. Fact is, that most of you have forgotten that the point of sex is to create new life. A 16 year old should not be creating new life.

"give them condoms, you can't stop them" - this is the cry of the morally anointed. Tell me why in the 50's, 60's, 70's, even the 80's - why sexual activity among children is significantly less than it was in the 90's and today? It's because they WERE taught moral values. Abstinence = good.

Having sex has consequences. Consequences which a 16 year old can not understand. Therefore, we should encourage them Not to put themselves in a position where they have to face these consequences, because they won't understand them.

 

[Phanatical]

The 16 year old couple is in the same position as a unmarried 35 year old couple. WHATS THE DIFFERENCE?

The 35 year old couple has the mental maturity to deal with the issue. The 16 year olds don't have that mental maturity.

 

[ur_inner_child]

I thought sex was

1) for creation
2) to express one's love for someone
3) to share pleasure with the other...

I think my parents only ever had sex for the sole purpose of creation.

 

[ur_inner_child]

I'm pretty sure in the 70's it ws at quite a peak.

You know... sexual liberation??

It died down later cuz of the AIDS scare, but definatley 70's.

 

[Phanatical]

Who says?.......What if the 16 year old couple is clever and mature? What if the 35 year old couple is immature and stupid?

If society feels that the 16 year old is responsible enough to vote, and to sign a legal contract, and to take out a mortgage, get a credit card, join the army etc, then sure, they can go fuck each other's brains out and have lots of abortions.

 

[Phanatical]

OPTION 1: Tell kids not to have sex at all...scare them into feeling shame for their acts...tell them that condoms fail all the time and that sex is evil and that god will punish them. No sex education as this according to you encourages kids to have sex

WHAT DOES THIS RESULT IN?

A whole generation of horny kids that dont understand their bodies, many of whom are going to have sex without the knowledge to do it correctly.

OPTION 2:

Education so the person knows what the correct options are. Education so that sexuality isnt something that should been seen as bad. Emphasising informed choice.

I have NEVER said that condoms fail all the time, and that sex is evil and that god would punish them. I AM saying that kids at 16 are not capable of fully understanding the RAMIFICATIONS of their actions. I'm saying that instead of ENCOURAGING our young people to go have sex, our schools, and our media should be saying "Practice Abstinence. Practice non-sex being with each other, but if you must, this is what you MUST do to minimise the risks". Fact is our schools and our media ARE saying "go fuck each other". Hell, at my school, one of my PE teachers ended up fucking one of my classmates. But at least they used protection, or so I assume.

Abstinence is a very real, and very good way of preventing pregnancy among young people. It should at least be an option provided to them, instead of being classed as the evil catholic tool of oppression which most people recognise it as.

 

[waterfowl]

I think age does not measure maturity. Some kids as young as 5 can have a higher level of maturity and understanding of the world than a 35 year old. Maturity definately cannot be measured by age.

I don't believe in having sex before marriage, but I think any 16 year old having sex would in some way know the consequences, and I'm sure that even a 30 year old caught up in the 'heat of the moment' could even forget about the ramifications of their actions.

And sex is not an evil thing and something to feel ashamed for, but (in my beliefs) it should only be shared between a married couple (don't argue this point it is just my belief, and I don't care if you think differently).

 

[ur_inner_child]

my mum thinks i'm not old enough to go to work, go to schoolies, or decide want uni course I want to do.

 

[waterfowl]

my mum thinks i'm not old enough to go to work, go to schoolies, or decide want uni course I want to do.

Thats not good, my parents have supported me working since I was 13, would be fine with me going to schoolies (even though I'm not), and are fine with my post school choices.
I feel sorry for u.

 

[ur_inner_child]

Thats not good, my parents have supported me working since I was 13, would be fine with me going to schoolies (even though I'm not), and are fine with my post school choices.
I feel sorry for u.

im just making a subtle point.

now that i think about it, I'm not so sure it does hahhaaha....

 

[ur_inner_child]

OH YEAH! the punchline.

I'm deciding for myself ANYWAY.

and I admit that I haven't the maturity as my parents, but I think I know what I'm doing, and will handle the ramifications of my actions....

 

[Not-That-Bright]

Yea, and alot of little girls in year 7 think they're grown up too.
The truth is NO ONE fully developes logic/reasoning untill they're around 21.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

Sports don't result in the creation of new life.

The point is there is a risk involved in both situations. It doesn't mean we should take the fun and passion out of our lives simply because there is a chance that something will go wrong. Sex is a part of life.

And there most definitely IS something wrong with sex before marriage, if the people having sex are 16.

That was not what I said. I said that there is nothing wrong with having sex before marriage. And by the way, the law disagrees with you.

A 16 year old has many avenues of backing out of that legal contract which an adult does not have. With a 16 year old, Contracts are not the legally binding documents they would be if they were signed by adults.

lecturing me on contracts... you're tempting my wrath

 

[MoonlightSonata]

The fact is that a 16 year old just doesn't understand what he or she is doing. They do not understand the ramifications of their actions. Instead of society forgiving them for doing wrong, society should be teaching them Not to do it in the first place.

No, society should be teaching them not to get pregnant - ie. sex education.

There is a practical side to this argument that no matter what moral values you adopt, you must deal with, and that is that kids are going to have sex anyway. There is nothing you can do to stop it. Instead of tabooing it, we ought to be making teens aware of how to do it safely.

Kids Should Not Have Sex At 16. They don't know what they're doing. Even if they think they do, they don't. Creating new life is a responsibility. Fact is, that most of you have forgotten that the point of sex is to create new life. A 16 year old should not be creating new life.

The point of sex? I think the point of sex depends on whatever you want the point to be. Some have sex for pleasure, some for intimacy or love, some to have a child. You can't just claim the only reason we should be having sex is to create life. This isn't what you're saying, surely?

Abstinence = good.

Yeah maybe to a Christian. But not to others.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

If society feels that the 16 year old is responsible enough to vote, and to sign a legal contract, and to take out a mortgage, get a credit card, join the army etc, then sure, they can go fuck each other's brains out and have lots of abortions.

Society regulates depending on what it thinks fit. Just because it regulates one thing for drinking, one thing for driving, and one thing for voting - you can't say that sex MUST equate to the legal recognition for everything. It's different, which is why there is a different age cut-off.

 

[Phanatical]

No, society should be teaching them not to get pregnant - ie. sex education.

There is a practical side to this argument that no matter what moral values you adopt, you must deal with, and that is that kids are going to have sex anyway. There is nothing you can do to stop it. Instead of tabooing it, we ought to be making teens aware of how to do it safely.

The point of sex? I think the point of sex depends on whatever you want the point to be. Some have sex for pleasure, some for intimacy or love, some to have a child. You can't just claim the only reason we should be having sex is to create life. This isn't what you're saying, surely?

Yes, society should be teaching them not to get pregnant. And the only sure-fire way to prevent pregnancy is by promoting abstinence as a real alternative, not some fancy schmancy Catholic concept.

I am not saying that the only Reason people have sex is to create life. But ultimately, that's what it results in. It's like taking ecstacy. Sure, death isn't the expected or desired outcome, but it often happens that way. Does this mean that ecstacy should be illegal? Yes, it most certainly does.

Very few of you have actually addressed the point of my argument - and that is that a 16 year old is not ready to deal with the ramifications of sex. Not that sex outside marriage is wrong, or that abortion is wrong. But that a 16 year old is not capable of making an informed decision about either.