Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site umcp-cs.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!rlgvax!cvl!umcp-cs!liz From: liz@umcp-cs.UUCP Newsgroups: net.women,net.politics Subject: Re: CHOICE and the Senate Message-ID: <415@umcp-cs.UUCP> Date: Sat, 2-Jul-83 14:59:01 EDT Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.415 Posted: Sat Jul 2 14:59:01 1983 Date-Received: Sun, 3-Jul-83 04:27:40 EDT References: <192@ihnp1.UUCP>, <470@grkermit.UUCP> Organization: Univ. of Maryland, Computer Science Dept. Lines: 59 From grkermit!jim when considering Dolan's points, also bear these in mind: 1) should a child that is NOT WANTED be brought into this world and go through hell and back, beating, disregard, abandonment, etc...?? It turns out that child-abuse has gone >up< not down since abortion was legalized. And there are many couples that want to adopt and can't. (Although it is true that adoption is not an acceptable option for many women with unwanted pregnancies.) 2) why shouldn't a women have legal control over her own body? She should -- up to the point that it interferes with someone else's rights -- the fetus's right to live. 3) why should we make abortion illegal and inflict (possibly permanent) trauma on young girls and their parents? I work for a place called the Pregnancy Aid Center which is near the Univ of Maryland in College Park. We've found that abortion itself is a traumatic experience, and that it can cause psychological suffering years down the road. 4) what's going to happen to these unwanted births when the parents have enough income to just barely scrape by for themselves, let alone a child. I've met couples in just this situation at the PAC. It's not that they don't want the child... We try to help them by trying to find them jobs, teaching them about birth control for the future, pointing them towards reduced fee maternity programs... 5) how would YOU like to have been an unwanted birth?? Think about your outlook on the world... How would YOU like to have been aborted? You wouldn't have an outlook on the world... There are a lot of problems, and I do sympathize, but I don't think abortion is really the best answer. At the PAC, we are pro-life which means not only being for the life of the child but also the woman or girl the unwanted pregnancy. This means counseling and helping her through a very difficult time in her life. This includes helping her decide what she will do (abort the child, keep the child, or give the child up for adoption), helping her to relate to her parents and her boyfriend or husband... This is all very hard, very emotional and can be very traumatic. just a few points to ponder, I'm sure we could all pound this one into the ground (and disk[s]) around the country... Yes, I'm sure we could... It's not an easy question to answer, and there's lots of problems to solve. -Liz Allen