Deborah Davies, the reporter, Karen Edwards, the Producer and Eamonn Matthews, the Executive Producer, will be on the forum from around 10.45 tonight to join in the debate and respond to viewers' reactions and questions. I hope you will join us then! Paula
yes its great to see how this but as a single mum of 4 struggling cause biological fathers dont have to pay through the CSA, we live with what we have... and never lied i have aborted 2.. we need 2 know that foetus breath, live etc... but why make us maybe mothers feel so bad for what we did when rhw biological fathers feel nothing..is it because programe people are men??????????? we women make a choice that lives with us forever and hurts/kills forever.. channel 4 give a balance sometime PLEASE.. we hurt enough making it worse!
Never seen such an upsetting sight as the footage of aborted children ... because thats what they are! It would be a very hard person who is not moved by that sight! Thank God there are good medical people (as well as the heartless evil ones) who are willing to fight for the child. There are so many good people out there who would love and care for these little ones who don't have the choice!
What an unbalanced documentary. It's very clear what the reporter feels regarding the gestational age debate and very little effort is made to offer the alternative view. At every turn she has sought to prejudice the viewers opinion and one can only hope that the MPs who will decide this, being neither mothers nor doctors and yet apparently able to make this decision, will be better informed.
Of particular annoyance to me was the ineptitude shown when addressing the care of the extreme pre-term infant. The reporter managed to gloss over the neonatal care of these babies as though it were some trivial undertaking. Instead it is a process that requires intensive care and involves the risk of longterm damage to numerous body systems. Care for these children rarely stops at discharge and yet after several MONTHS on a unit that's all parents can think about. Instead after discharge they will need to attend numerous appointments, worry about bowel and lung problems and watch their child drop behind its peers in terms of development. All the while this places phenomenal amounts of stress on the relationship between the parents and also with their other children if they have them. It wouldn't surprise me if this same presenter went off to complain about Animal Testing after she neglected to mention that the 'wonder drug' that keeps these babies alive is derived from piglets.
Presenting 4D images as somehow indicative of emotional states in the baby as demonstrated by a private clinician who undoubtedly rakes money in selling pre-birth pictures to new parents added nothing.
It's little wonder that Channel 4 is now seen as the channel that spews out rubbish like Big Brother and can not be relied upon for anything remotely close to an impartial documentary. A great way to celebrate 25 years on TV. Why not stick to showing Friends repeats, it's what you are good at!
yes - propaganda parading as documentary. You should be ashamed of yourselves. James (previous post) should have been commissioned to do a programme instead. Apparently women aren't yet human.
Sorry still watching we are still made 2 feel so bad... but OK u want a baby so bad??? not made easy if i had kept my babies i would have gone through what I nearly did...give birth c baby for 3 days ..before that pick a family. baby goes 2 a family for 6 weeks near me I can visit, then adopted parents see them 2 , go to court after 6 weeks say yes give it away or no want it..hurt yourself or adoptive parents.... I live all the time don't give my daughter what they could horses/ riding etc... so hey hate me cause i did have abortions... but i hate myself enough.......
Always thought i wouldn't have a problem with abortion if it came down to it. But after seeing those images it made me think twice about it, especially if i was so far gone that the foetus was distinguishable. Would probably haunt me for life
Thank you to everyone who watched. Just to let you know that Karen Edwards, the producer, Eamonn Matthews, the executive producer and I are all here and happy to respond to points.
Originally posted by jenny74: yes - propaganda parading as documentary. You should be ashamed of yourselves. James (previous post) should have been commissioned to do a programme instead. Apparently women aren't yet human.
Hi - which side of the argument is it meant to be propaganda for? Best Eamonn
one of the most biased documentaries I have ever seen. This seems to be little more than anti-choice propaganda. One point the 'journalist' failed to mention was that the shortage of doctors specializing in Obstetrics and Gynecology has more to do with the high risk of litigation.
Originally posted by Eamonn M.: Hi It's Eamonn Matthews here. If you want to comment on the film I'd be interested in hearing from you....
Just curious as to whether you are embarrassed to put your name to that nonsense. Was it supposed to present a balanced analysis of the issues? I missed the beginning so if there was a disclaimer pointing out that Channel 4 were about to make a one-sided attack on the abortion law I didn't get to hear it.
While I found this program very emotive and upsetting, particularly after what I've been through, I noticed that women who require to make the decision of termination due to abnormalty in their baby were not represented.
I fully support that social terminations should have the limit dropped, especially after such disturbing viewing, but where would that leave women who have to wait for the 20 week scan? Can the medical profession now check our children for problems before 20 weeks? Is the 20 week scan not at 20 weeks for a reason?
I realise termination for abnormaility is the minority at 2% of pregnancy's, but do we not deserve representation too? Particularly as so many people are not aware of how much can actually go wrong with the development of a baby. The decision we made to end the pregnancy was not an easy one and we took as long as we were allowed to to make it.
I would also like to make the point that many women who have late terminations must have an injection into the baby's umbilical cord before going ahead. This obviously prevents the baby feeling pain? Also, certainly in my area, the hospital will not conduct terminations for social reasons after a certain amount of weeks (18) which is obviously less than the legal limit. Would this not be the better step to take across the country?
why not interview a woman who has done it lives with it... so picture made people respond what about what is does to women who abort or give up to adoption or live with child no help from fathers but feel guilty everytime they say no to something but fathers don't care moved on with life...
what a disturbing programme, i strongly believe its WRONG to abort babies after 16 weeks never mind 26 weeks! How disgusting that this is allowed by law!! I think abortion should be banned FULL STOP! If women are going to be careless then they should accept the responsibility! ITS MURDER
Originally posted by Eamonn M.: Hi It's Eamonn Matthews here. If you want to comment on the film I'd be interested in hearing from you....
I had a termination 24 years ago when i was 18, the doctors just guessed i was about 20-22 weeks, you didnt get a scan. I had to go through it all on my own in a hospital room, you didnt have counselling before or after them days, 1983. I felt down and felt he baby coming out, either an arm and hand, or leg and foot! It will haunt me forever! Sometimes i think it gave me a better start to my life, job, house etc and children when i was ready, but i think about it at least 4 times a week still and wonder what if? And its really shocked me seeing all the little body parts and the whole baby that was aborted. I do stil agree with abortion, but maybe now the limit should be dropped. Never spoke about this before! Thankyou.
Originally posted by Eamonn M.: Hi It's Eamonn Matthews here. If you want to comment on the film I'd be interested in hearing from you....
Just curious as to whether you are embarrassed to put your name to that nonsense. Was it supposed to present a balanced analysis of the issues? I missed the beginning so if there was a disclaimer pointing out that Channel 4 were about to make a one-sided attack on the abortion law I didn't get to hear it.
Hi James No, I'm delighted to put my name to the film but I utterly dispute it's a one-sdied attack on the abortion law. What it did do was lay out a lot of issues that doctors talk about - as you saw - but which don't tend to reach the general public. Why shouldn't an intelligent C4 audience hear these arguments? Best Eamonn
Sleeper789. Currently termination on the grounds of significant medical abnormality is in theory legal up until the point that the fetus is delivered (ie even in the birth canal). English law doesn't recognise the rights of the fetus so this is legal when justified. As I understand this puts us at odds with European law although that has yet to be tested.
However, why would they bother recognising the very legitimate need for terminations on the grounds of abnormality when that might ruin a great propaganda piece.
I always thought it was the womans right to choose,and in some respects I do depending on the situation.that has arisen , ie. rape, serious harm to the mother with the continuation of the pregnancy, but having just watched your program I am very definatley against abortion on demand on account of gender. it does happen. contraception. that does too. and just not being the right time to have a baby.
