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From: ray@rochester.UUCP (Ray Frank)
Newsgroups: net.abortion
Subject: Re: Planned Parenthood posting
Message-ID: <10977@rochester.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 10-Aug-85 10:31:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: rocheste.10977
Posted: Sat Aug 10 10:31:33 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 12-Aug-85 06:17:04 EDT
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Organization: U. of Rochester, CS Dept.
Lines: 66

Ken Rossen writes: 
> 
> I expect that it is closer to the mark to say, "PP's standard argument is
> that kids who come to them have already decided to be sexually active, and
> it is in the interest of their safety to help them not to get pregnant."
> 
I don't believe that all kids who go to PP have entirely made the decision one
way or the other.  I've known kids who've gone there out of curiosity or at
the advice of their friends.  What they received was a ten minute discourse on
perhaps one of the most important decisions of their young lives.   

> 
> Sex with contraception at a young age is safer than pregnancy at a young age,
> and abortion at a young age is less fraught with risk (for both mother and 
> child) than carrying the pregnancy to term.  I suspect it is with this in
> 
No sex is even safer.  Too often this is considered an imposible alternative.
Groin control works if you try it.
> 
>>     But here is a respectible organization (on the outside) full of ADULTS
>>     who a child would naturally look up to like they would a teacher or
>>     counselor telling them "Well if you must have sex, here, have some
>>     pills."  This to the mind of a child must make it seem really OK to go
>>     ahead and have sex.
> 
 
> Wrong!  A child entering Planned Parenthood for contraceptives or abortion
> has already decided about sex.  I can hardly believe Ray has thought this
> through.  Planned Parenthood counselors are strangers to these kids.  If
> the real, established authority figures in their lives have failed to
> convince these kids that sex at a young age is a bad idea, why
> assume that a Planned Parenthood counselor will succeed?  Kids don't come
> to Planned Parenthood saying, "Help me decide whether or not I should have
> sex."  They say, "I need some pills so I won't get pregnant while I'm
> having sex,"  or worse yet, "I've been having sex, and now I'm pregnant."
> What is the kid liable to do if the counselor says, "I really don't think
> you should be having sex at all, so I won't give you pills," or "I'm
> calling your mother immediately, young lady." ... what then?
> 
Again, you insist on a non-gray area concerning the preconcieved motives of
a child entering PP.  Too often they are frightened and confused about the
whole issue of early sexuality and have no real idea about the consequences.

Sure the counselors are strangers to these kids, but so are their teachers in
schools, whom they were taught in advance to respect, obey, and look on as
a source of knowledge and wisdom.  This is called respecting your elders.

The parents are the established authority figures but the ideals taught at
home are in a constant state of errosion outside the home.  There is a tide of
parental reinforcement real world erosion that must constantly confuse kids.
Too often the scales are tipped through outside interferance, i.e. peer pres-
ure, or even a misguided PP counselor.

I suggest that PP insist that children come back for several counseling sessionsto give impulse reactions a chance to be filtered out.  Second thoughts are onlygood if you have a chance to use them.
> 
> >     PP must stop putting kids in the drivers seat, they just are not old
> >     enough, PP might respond; "well, kids are going to drive anyway, we're
> >     just giving them the cars."
> 
> They already have the cars.  PP is handing out safety belts.  Your comment
> would be more appropriate if Planned Parenthood were in the practice of
> dispensing genitals.
> 
Yes my anology was rather silly here, PP doesn't give out cars, just a sort of
drivers license.  PPs' saftey belts don't always prevent accidents either,
expecially if they forget to "buckel up."