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From: ix192@sdccs6.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.abortion
Subject: Re: Avoiding hasty abortion decisions
Message-ID: <1276@sdccs6.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 21-Mar-84 23:47:20 EST
Article-I.D.: sdccs6.1276
Posted: Wed Mar 21 23:47:20 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 23-Mar-84 20:39:04 EST
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Organization: Hacker's Haven, U.C. San Diego
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<]

>From sdcsvax!dcdwest!ittvax!decvax!harpo!seismo!ut-sally!ut-ngp!watkins Tue Mar 20 18:00:19 1984 (Morgan Watkins)

> In many states, there are what I shall call "Smoking Gun" laws.
> These laws require that after a gun (handgun?) is purchased, a
> waiting period of days is required so that the gun cannot be bought
> and used immediately (I imagine it also allows for police record
> checks.)  By forcing what may be a cooling off period, more intelligent
> decisions can be made.  I propose we do the same with abortions.

> Abortion is one of those times when strong emotions are involved.  Very
> few people want to make poor decisions, but when faced with an unwanted
> child, and an immediately solution like abortion available, few or none
> of the options are explored.

Well, I'd hate to be picky, but getting an abortion isn't something one does
on impulse.  I had a friend Tanya who had an abortion, a very big decision
for her and her parents.  The potential father was a total jerk and neither 
Tanya nor her Catholic parents wanted her to be married to him, nor have an 
unwed child.  So, they decided that an abortion was the best thing to do.  
They didn't just decide this in a bar after several stiff drinks - it took 
almost two weeks of very heavy, emotional debates.  The "Smoking Abortion" law 
wouldn't be very useful.  All it would do is stop the few timid souls that 
managed to get their confidences up to go through with the thing, and with your
proposal they'd have to boost it up twice, with days of possible low periods 
where the women could call in and cancel.  And try again, and again, until it 
becomes either too late or too dangerous.

> How about this?  A woman finds out she is pregnant.  Instead of being able
> to get the abortion immediately, she goes by the abortion clinic and makes
> her intent known.  She is then given a government booklet or asked to visit
> a government information official who will present a package with materials
> supplied by numerous agencies that explain options also available to her.  In
> this way, she can base her decision on all the facts available.  She may find
>that solutions besides the trauma of abortion are available.  Many groups exist
>that will help with the costs and emotions of pregnancy and many pregnant women
> might find these solutions easier to live with.  Others may proceed with their
> original plan.  A waiting period of at least several days seems good.

Several days may be the difference between a relatively safe suction abortion 
and the much more dangerous saline-solution abortion.  To put this time limit
on, you are potentially endangering the life of the women who will discover
their pregnancies around the third or so month.  Also, you are leaving out
the people who have already prepared themselves with the decision, either by
being with/hearing from a friend who went through one, or by already having 
had one in the past.  Should they go through the same harassment and 
intimidation from government officials who feel it is their duty to stop the
abortion?  I doubt civil servants can hold back from voicing any of their 
opinions, and a few sadistic anti-abortionist ones can spread a lot of mental 
and emotional damage.  Best to eliminate all need for a past record, so 
eliminate everything a second-timer would want to skip after her first time.
No delays, no government or moral-majority-BS propaganda.  The clinics should
be a clean, safe place where an anonymous woman could walk in, ask any questions
she feels need to, get what she wants, and leave. 

				   Kenn the Kenf
				...!sdcsvax!kenn
				...!sdcsvax!sdccs6!ix192
				...!sdcsvax!sdccsu3!kenn