Abortion Debate Forum - The Abortion Game

HcoBrunette06

replied on June 21st, 2007

Especially eHealthy

jenn_smithson wrote:

Eiri wrote:

Not sure. Well, maybe we should stir something up?

We could play the abortion (like scruples) game!

This is how it works: The person who is "it" picks another player (I'll pick Eiri in this example) and develops/reads a question that deals with abortion, child bearing, birth control, sex - but mostly abortion.

Example:
1) You go out with friends one evening and accept a drink from a good looking man at the bar. He seems quite charming and has what you consider to be an all-.american, honest, johnny appleseed face. You excuse yourself momentarily to tell your friends that you're going to go out to dinner with the guy so that you can get to know him a little better. You go back to the bar, drink the rest of your beverage, and then leave with him to get something to eat. You start to feel woozy in the car and ask to be taken home instead. You wake up the next morning with a splitting headache, lying on a park bench with only one shoe on. Three weeks later you're waking up throwing up each morning, your breasts hurt, your skin has broken out, you have to use the restroom several times during the day, and you're late. You go to your doctor who confirms the pregnancy (but thankfully you are std free). Do you obtain an abortion? Yes or no.

Then, before Eiri can post her decision, I make a guess as to what she would decide and since I can't post it for all to see, (it would defeat the purpose of scoring later on), I would send it in a pm to another player and then send a message to Eiri telling her she can post her answer. After she posts her answer, I reveal my guess in the next post.

If I guessed correctly what Eiri would decide in that situation, I get a point and choose another player with a different question. If I guess incorrectly, Eiri gets the point and she becomes the "it" person, makes up her own question and chooses another player. Ideally, everyone who wants to play should be chosen to answer a question at least once.

Some more examples of questions:
A) You are in your last year of grad/med/law school and become pregnant accidentally. Do you keep the pregnancy? Yes or no? (each question has to be "yes" or "no")

B) You have three children under the age of three and despite trying to prevent another pregnancy, you discover that you're pregnant. Do you keep the pregnancy? Yes or no?

C) You are gay and live with your extremely religious (evangelical) family. You decide to go out with and "hook up" with someone of the opposite sex in a desperate attempt to be straight and be what your family believes is "right." You become pregnant from the encounter. You think that this may be a great way to save face with your family and still go out and live a double life after you give birth. Do you keep the pregnancy? Yes or no?

D) You work for a prochoice organization and the daughter of an extremely vocal prolife activist comes to you because she is pregnant and wants an abortion without her parent knowing. The prolife activist is running for city council. Do you use the knowledge of their daughter's abortion as a political tactic to make sure they are defeated? Yes or no.

E) You've been dating a guy for six months when you discover that you're pregnant. Your initial decision is to obtain an abortion but when you tell him that, he tells you that he wants you to keep it, that you can raise the baby together, and that he will help you. You believe him, rethink your initial reaction, and decide to keep the pregnancy. Everything is going great, at first, and you can't believe your good luck in finding a guy like him. When you're about 12 weeks along, he stops returning your calls and voicemails. You call his mother who always said that he is "out." After another two weeks, his mother stops taking your calls and hangs up on you. A week later, his cell phone number has been disconnected or changed. A week after that you call his friends who refuse to help you locate him. You are now 16 weeks pregnant, abandoned, alone, and rethinking your decision to keep the pregnancy knowing that you won't get any help or support from him. You decide to have an abortion but must pay the hefty amounts for a second trimester abortion which leaves you with some credit card debt. Do you track him down in order to extract half the cost of the abortion from him? Yes or no.

F) Your friend approaches you and asks you to borrow some money to pay for an abortion. Your friend is an honest and hardworking woman who has just had a run of bad luck recently and you know that she will pay you back. Do you loan her the money? Yes or no.

G) You have been trying to leave your husband for six months because he is violent and abusive. You have just saved up enough money, located a good shelter, and have packed up a few things when you discover that you are pregnant. You do not want to be attached to this man in the future and also fear that he would abuse any child he had access to. Do you keep the pregnancy? Yes or no.

And these are just some examples. You can make your own up, the more creative and detailed, the better.

Does anyone want to play the game? If we get a few people, I will volunteer to be "it" first.
Peace,
Jenn

wow, you're really good at that lol i'd play but i'm nervous that i wouldn't make up very good stories.

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Tylanas

replied on June 21st, 2007

Especially eHealthy

Sure I'll play ^^

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Birch

replied on June 21st, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

*snicker*

This is pretty funny stuff. I'm in, if you'll have me.

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sillyakchick

replied on June 21st, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

OK

*jumps on bandwagon*

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jenn_smithson

replied on June 21st, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

Hurray! My friend's and I play this game, a lot, but i'll make sure it remains a bit more tame than their version, at least until you all get the hang of it.

Ok. I pick .Eiri for this scenario and I will send my guess to .sillyakchick in a pm.

Scenario:
.You and your partner have been trying to conceive for quite some time and finally find that you were successful. You go to your doctor regularly, eat nutritiously, and take your prenatal vitamins as directed. You're into your second trimester, grateful that the morning sickness has passed, and you go to your doctor for your first ultrasound at 16 weeks. Your doctor begins the ultrasound and you soon realize that she is looking and acting very pensively. You begin to get anxious yourself. She tells you that she believes the fetus has a genetic deformity but at this stage she cannot tell you how extensive the damage is or whether it can be corrected or not. She advises you to seek an abortion before it's too late. Do you keep the pregnancy? Yes or no.

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Tylanas

replied on June 21st, 2007

Especially eHealthy

jenn_smithson wrote:

Hurray! My friend's and I play this game, a lot, but i'll make sure it remains a bit more tame than their version, at least until you all get the hang of it.

Ok. I pick .Eiri for this scenario and I will send my guess to .sillyakchick in a pm.

Scenario:
.You and your partner have been trying to conceive for quite some time and finally find that you were successful. You go to your doctor regularly, eat nutritiously, and take your prenatal vitamins as directed. You're into your second trimester, grateful that the morning sickness has passed, and you go to your doctor for your first ultrasound at 16 weeks. Your doctor begins the ultrasound and you soon realize that she is looking and acting very pensively. You begin to get anxious yourself. She tells you that she believes the fetus has a genetic deformity but at this stage she cannot tell you how extensive the damage is or whether it can be corrected or not. She advises you to seek an abortion before it's too late. Do you keep the pregnancy? Yes or no.

I'd certainly keep the pregnancy at that stage. This is a child I clearly want, and would love. At this point, I don't know how bad the deformity is. So, it could be a very survivable thing, and I have no qualms with bringing a mildly deformed or debilitated child into this world. Many things like that can be worked through and the child can have a normal life just like every other child: attend school, play sports, get good grades, grow up, marry, and have children of their own.

Because I just plain don't know at this stage, I'd wait. If it came to be later on, they could tell better, and then I could make a more-informed decision. A baby with one leg missing or twelve fingers is not cause for abortion in my book. I wouldn't abort a hermaphrodite either - I'd also not have any operation done on the genitals, and raise the child like any other gendered baby, and let him/her decide when they were old enough what they wanted to be.

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jenn_smithson

replied on June 21st, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

Eiri wrote:

jenn_smithson wrote:

Hurray! My friend's and I play this game, a lot, but i'll make sure it remains a bit more tame than their version, at least until you all get the hang of it.

Ok. I pick .Eiri for this scenario and I will send my guess to .sillyakchick in a pm.

Scenario:
.You and your partner have been trying to conceive for quite some time and finally find that you were successful. You go to your doctor regularly, eat nutritiously, and take your prenatal vitamins as directed. You're into your second trimester, grateful that the morning sickness has passed, and you go to your doctor for your first ultrasound at 16 weeks. Your doctor begins the ultrasound and you soon realize that she is looking and acting very pensively. You begin to get anxious yourself. She tells you that she believes the fetus has a genetic deformity but at this stage she cannot tell you how extensive the damage is or whether it can be corrected or not. She advises you to seek an abortion before it's too late. Do you keep the pregnancy? Yes or no.

I'd certainly keep the pregnancy at that stage. This is a child I clearly want, and would love. At this point, I don't know how bad the deformity is. So, it could be a very survivable thing, and I have no qualms with bringing a mildly deformed or debilitated child into this world. Many things like that can be worked through and the child can have a normal life just like every other child: attend school, play sports, get good grades, grow up, marry, and have children of their own.

Because I just plain don't know at this stage, I'd wait. If it came to be later on, they could tell better, and then I could make a more-informed decision. A baby with one leg missing or twelve fingers is not cause for abortion in my book. I wouldn't abort a hermaphrodite either - I'd also not have any operation done on the genitals, and raise the child like any other gendered baby, and let him/her decide when they were old enough what they wanted to be.

I guessed that you would say "yes", that you would keep the pregnancy so I get a point and I'll pick someone else.

I pick .sillyakchick and I'll pm my guess to .birch.

Scenario:

You had children when you were young and every single day has been a momentous struggle just to keep food on the table, a roof overhead, and you and your children safe. Your children are pretty much grown and are striking out to live their own lives leaving you with the luxury of more time than you've known in quite a long while and some extra income. You and your partner are actually discussing the option of retirement which had before seemed like a fantasy that would never happen. You have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and you experienced gestational diabetes with all of your previous pregnancies. You are also beginning to experience late or missed periods which you attribute to the beginnings of menopause. You are shocked to discover that you are pregnant. Do you keep the pregnancy? Yes or no.

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sillyakchick

replied on June 21st, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

your scenario makes me dizzy. Let's see, we are comfortable, financially, and have no other children to look after, as they are grown and getting off on their own. However, college is expensive, and so are weddings. I would have plenty of time to care for a newborn, but in my physical condition, and being that I am much older, is it wise to jeopardize my health for the sake of another baby? Knowing that diabetes gets worse with subsequent pregnancies, and due to the fact that I am a much older mom, eagerly anticipating retirement and menopause (at last), I would have to say that I would probably abort to save my financial future, sanity and health. My children and partner wold probably like to have me around a bit longer.

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Birch

replied on June 21st, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

ding ding ding! Point for jenn.

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jenn_smithson

replied on June 22nd, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

Birch wrote:

ding ding ding! Point for jenn.

Okay. For this one, I am going to choose .birch and pm my guess to .hcoBrunette06, if she wants to play, and to .eiri, if she doesn't. We need to encourage some of the plers to play the game because it's usually much more interesting to see where they would justify it for themselves and where they would not.

And for this one, I'm going to borrow one of the examples above because I think it's a fascinating question and tweak it a bit.

Scenario:
.you work for a prochoice organization and most of the people in your community and at your place of worship/gathering know that. You are routinely approached to answer medical health questions as well as questions directly related to abortion, social welfare programs for those who keep their pregnancies, and (because you are also a feminist) the status of .women, in your estimation, both here and abroad. The daughter of an extremely vocal prolife activist, who regularly protests outside of the local birth control clinic (the clinic does not perform abortions), comes to you because she is pregnant and wants an abortion without her parent knowing. The daughter who wants the abortion has also spent many afternoons outside of the local birth control and pap smear clinic protesting abortion and she tells you that even though she doesn't believe in abortion ("and I never will either"), her situation is "unique." After speaking with her about her situation, you realize that the sex was consensual and is, in fact, ongoing despite a lack of protection being utilized .and that her partner is her same age. Since she is a minor, she will need to obtain a judicial bypass in your state in order to obtain an abortion. Without you supplying this information, she may not know where to turn to get this information until it is too late and she is too far gone. Do you tell her how to access a judicial bypass? Yes or no.

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Birch

replied on June 22nd, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

jenn_smithson wrote:

Birch wrote:

ding ding ding! Point for jenn.

Okay. For this one, I am going to choose .birch and pm my guess to .hcoBrunette06, if she wants to play, and to .eiri, if she doesn't. We need to encourage some of the plers to play the game because it's usually much more interesting to see where they would justify it for themselves and where they would not.

And for this one, I'm going to borrow one of the examples above because I think it's a fascinating question and tweak it a bit.

Scenario:
.you work for a prochoice organization and most of the people in your community and at your place of worship/gathering know that. You are routinely approached to answer medical health questions as well as questions directly related to abortion, social welfare programs for those who keep their pregnancies, and (because you are also a feminist) the status of .women, in your estimation, both here and abroad. The daughter of an extremely vocal prolife activist, who regularly protests outside of the local birth control clinic (the clinic does not perform abortions), comes to you because she is pregnant and wants an abortion without her parent knowing. The daughter who wants the abortion has also spent many afternoons outside of the local birth control and pap smear clinic protesting abortion and she tells you that even though she doesn't believe in abortion ("and I never will either"), her situation is "unique." After speaking with her about her situation, you realize that the sex was consensual and is, in fact, ongoing despite a lack of protection being utilized .and that her partner is her same age. Since she is a minor, she will need to obtain a judicial bypass in your state in order to obtain an abortion. Without you supplying this information, she may not know where to turn to get this information until it is too late and she is too far gone. Do you tell her how to access a judicial bypass? Yes or no.

*Yes*

One less kid born to a family of fools in the world is a good thing.

Is that harsh?

Okay, *yes* because she is a minor most definately influenced by her activist mother, and deserves the treatment she wants, even though her logic and reasoning is screwy.

I would give her the info, but I would also have alot of counseling sessions with her discussing why she wants an abortion, why her situation is "unique", what her options are, what she will do if she regrets this, what she will do if her mother finds out, her reasons why she believes abortion is wrong, how birth control is a good thing, etc.

I'm tempted to not help her of course, but if she doesn't get the info from me she will find it somewhere, and then she might not get the counseling and it might blow up in her face later.

You know, I think I would try to talk her out of having an abortion, too... her mother being such a bigmouth about it is bound to cause some kind of guilt.

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Jules

replied on June 22nd, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Can I play please? Smile

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HcoBrunette06

replied on June 22nd, 2007

Especially eHealthy

PurestGreen wrote:

Can I play please? Smile

of course!

& ok... so jenn said "no" Laughing

so now who makes up the next story? im guessing birch?

im so nervous to be it lol

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Birch

replied on June 22nd, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

[The Abortion Game!?! Why does that sound so...wrong? Wink

]

jenn said 'no'? Get out! I wonder why?

Okay, next scenario... hcobrunette06 (is your name terra?) answers and I'll pm to purestgreen (jules?).

You are married, 41, and you and your Christian husband have been trying to conceive for two years. Deciding that God's will must surely include fertility drugs, you started taking them for the past month, and just found out you were pregnant! Hooray!

However, the test results came back just after you found out you were pregnant. Your husband has a very, very low sperm count while you are as fertile as a bunny.

"It must be a miracle!" your pious husband proclaims. "Praise the Lord! He worketh in mysterious ways!"

You know otherwise- it wasn't the lord worketh-ing in mysterious ways, it was you. Tired of unamourous sex, you had an affair six weeks ago. Thinking you were infertile you did not use protection and your gentleman escort did not withdraw.

And...

The person you had an affair with is of a different race than you are. You get in touch with him. He wants no part of a child. You and your husband have discussed affairs and he feels strongly that if someone has an affair, the sanctity of the marriage is split asunder and he will leave.

Do you have an abortion?

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Jules

replied on June 22nd, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Not got a pm from ya .Birchie - you trying to cheat or what? Mr. Green

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HcoBrunette06

replied on June 22nd, 2007

Especially eHealthy

yes my name is terra!

and... no i wouldn't have an abortion. that's a scary situation to think of myself in (the affair) Laughing

i wouldn't have an abortion because

a. if i cheated then i obviously did not love the man (because i would never have an affair unless i didn't love the man i was with. and

b. because i've been trying to get pregnant for 2 years!!!

did i do it right? lol

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Jules

replied on June 22nd, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Well i don't know what .Birch predicted for you .Terra cos she didn't pm me - she must have a life or something! Rolling Eyes

Do you ask me a question now? Confused

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Jules

replied on June 22nd, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Ah just got her pm and she hadn't seen your answer but she correctly guessed no!

Huzzah! Smile

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Birch

replied on June 22nd, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

I just sent you a guess and I guessed no. Sorry it took me so long; a friend sent me a youtube video of "You're my best friend" by Queen, who led me to wikipedia to look up Freddie Mercury, and then I started reading about english royalty on there, and I got all distracted. Sorry! Not trying to cheat!!!

Man, I need a job. Not!

I think I have to come up with another scenario. Right?

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