Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site watmath.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!saquigley From: saquigley@watmath.UUCP (Sophie Quigley) Newsgroups: net.abortion Subject: Re: Avoiding hasty abortion decisions Message-ID: <7331@watmath.UUCP> Date: Wed, 21-Mar-84 21:06:16 EST Article-I.D.: watmath.7331 Posted: Wed Mar 21 21:06:16 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 22-Mar-84 02:16:07 EST References: <411@ut-ngp.UUCP> Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 40 I don't understand the point of this article. In most cases of abortion I have heard of, there is a waiting period. This period is between the time a woman finds out she is pregnant and the time she gets an abortion. This usually takes at least a few days. One thing that should be mentioned though. Throughout the article the author assumes that the woman will make the decision not to have an abortion. What if she does decide to have an abortion? then the longer she waits the more dangerous the abortion will be and the more "criminal" it will be as it will happen later in the fetus' development. I think enforcing a thinking period would be criminal in this case. I realise that the author is only thinking of a few days thinking period so this period hardly makes a difference in terms of risk and/or killing, but longer periods have been suggested by other people and I think those are dangerous for the reasons I just mentioned. I find the suggestion of an "enforced" period very detestable because it assumes that the woman is incapable of making her mind up in a quick period of time. I do not think this is necessarily the case. I for one have had many "false alerts" and have had the opportunity to feel pregnant many times and to react to it and I have a pretty good idea of whether I would like to continue my pregnancy or not. I know that at the time there was NO WAY I could ever have gone through those pregnancies and I knew that straight from the start. Whenever I am a few days late on my period I also start wondering about whether I am pregnant or not and I do know each time whether I could carry the child or not, so what may seem to you like a rushed decision is not necessarily so. Many of us do consider the possibility of being pregnant and have thought about it in a reasonnable way beforehand and I would be very insulted to be told that I have to think longer about whether I want an abortion or not. All the women I know are like me and I see no reason to believe that the majority of women are different from me (their final decision might be different, but their ability to know when they've made their decision is just as good) In a few words I find the suggestion of an inforced waiting time paternalistic and VERY insulting!!!! Now, I am aware that this was not what the original poster suggested, so please don't flame at me for misinterpreting what he said. I didn't. Sophie Quigley ...!{decvax,allegra}!watmath!saquigley