Capitol Hill Blue Forums Life and Moral Issues Morality & Society Permanent birth control

Sorry - I meant if you were joking about it being my idea.

If it's voluntary, I wouldn't count on a lot of participants.

The following thought will probably not change anyone's mind, but...

COnceptually, I would think that it would be possible to come up with an adapted form of "sterilization" that was nearly 100% reversable by surgery... for men and for women.

I do not see how a reversable sterilization procedure would be inherently more inhumane than punishments that we already apply to convicts.

Now we are comparing pregnant women to convicts??? I'm finding this thread more horrifying every hour. It seems very easy for the men here to toss these ideas around.

EmmaG

Ardy, just clarifying - are you saying that you think it's okay for the state to decide when a woman can become pregnant, as long as it's reversible?

I am trying to make sure I'm not misreading you.

Julia
I am sorry that I conflated many thoughts and issues.

I was not necessarily writing in support of any position on the issues at hand.

As separate thoughts, it occurred to me that if the proposed "sterilization" were reversible it might change the considerations. I personally could imagine reversible sterilization under the circumstances that we have been discussing.

I moved on from the above thought to consider in my mind how something like the above might be applied to men. I do not object to that at all but there would often be many complexities in identifying the father. Not to mention that if the father would agree to an abortion, maybe he would be cheaply off the hook.

And from that thought I moved on to the idea that many of the irresponsible fathers either are, or have been in prison at some time. And that a DNA database could be accumulated that would make it easier to identify such men.

And from there I moved on to the a thought comparable to the three strikes laws... which might mean after two criminal strikes, a person would have to submit to reversible sterilization. And I was thinking that that form of "punishment is certainly no more inhumane that what we already do to people in the prison system.

Again, I am sorry that I was not more specific in these sort of drifting thoughts

Thanks for the clarification. I knew that what I was reading didn't sound like you.

Carrying on with Emma's comment earlier, then, and given your use of the word in your post -- would you consider pregnancy to be, under some circumstances, a punishable offense?

No, pregnancy is obviously not a punishable offense. On the otherhand, I do not think that reversible sterilization is a punishment. I think of it as an enforced restriction on having additional government supported children unless until you have at least minimally taken responsibility for your existing children.

Alternatively, one would always have the choice of opting out by taking no assitance for support of ones children... in which case the state would have no interest other than possible child protection issues.

I definitely would support similar measured directed at fathers who do not support their children.

Count me as never agreeing to any form of forced birth control, under any circumstances. That to me is the ultimate in governmental authority and absolutely inconsistent with any form of liberty or freedom.

Hell, i don't want them to restrict what I can ingest why on earth would I give them the power to snip or even "temporarily" interfere with my stuff.

Are we really discussing this as a possibility? Color me shocked.