Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site mit-eddie.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!barry From: barry@mit-eddie.UUCP (Mikki Barry) Newsgroups: net.abortion Subject: Re: To Barry Shein Message-ID: <3716@mit-eddie.UUCP> Date: Thu, 28-Feb-85 09:55:25 EST Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.3716 Posted: Thu Feb 28 09:55:25 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 2-Mar-85 04:20:46 EST References: <791@decwrl.UUCP> Organization: MIT, Cambridge, MA Lines: 66 Welcome again, Barry. Nice to see that BU (the old alma mater) is finally on the net. Did the put ye'ol 370 on, or did they finally get a computer? One thing you will have to contend with on this newsgroup are assumptions made by pro-life: 1. The woman must be "responsible" for her naughty action of having sex. The "punishment", have the baby. Note, that even though the "famous" rape/incest victim is allowed to have the abortion because it isn't her fault she is pregnant. 2. The want for the fetus to be carried to term overides any wants of the mother. Many statistics will be brought up (some bogus), many moral arguments will be brought up, some religious arguments will be brought up, and the whole thing will be repeated over and over again. Then will come the assumption by pro-choice: 1. Abortion on demand is a right (usually modified to "in the first trimester") Even if it is only for convenience. More statistics, arguments against using morality or religion to make laws, and the whole thing will repeat. And this, in a nutshell, is net.abortion. By the way, I agree with you that abortion is not a very nice thing. Believe it or not, I have seen many women who don't sing all the way to the clinic when they needed an abortion. And you know, of those I knew (6), ALL had used contraceptives. And of those 6, only 5's boyfriend came to be with them through the ordeal, even though all 6's boyfriends thought abortion was the right thing to do at the time. I also agree with you that pregnant women are sometimes abandoned by society, their families, and the man that helped them to get pregnant. AND, in some cases, by state funding to have the same rights as those more well off (abortions, proper medical care if the decision is to carry the fetus to term). And some are ignorant of the care provided by some pro-life groups. In case you haven't realized by now, I am pro abortion on demand (so are 76% of Boston's catholics by the way). However, I also believe that there are many women who wouldn't have abortions if there was adequate birth control information available, AND if pro-lifers and pro-choicers could work together WITHOUT trying to convince the pregnant woman whether or not to have an abortion, and just lay out ALL the options. I know that many clinics do not have access to information concerning group homes and financial aid, and adoption assistance available to pregnant women. And I know that many pro- life groups do not have the medical information necessary to make an informed decision as to whether or not to have an abortion. It sounds naive, but if the two warring factions could get together, drop the hysteria and name calling, and work together for the common goals of: 1. Eliminating unwanted pregnancies in the first place 2. If an accidental pregnancy occurs, making ALL information available to the pregnant woman so that an intellegent, informed decision can be made about what is best for everyone involved. I think there would be much fewer abortions, and the ones that would occur would be safe, and the woman would be sure that that's what she wanted. Abortions have been done for thousands of years. There will always be those women who will have them. Wouldn't it be better to lose only one life than two? And better still to provide the education to prevent the pregnancy in the first place? Mikki Barry