Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site cmu-cs-spice.ARPA Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!rochester!cmu-cs-pt!cmu-cs-spice!tdn From: tdn@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA (Thomas Newton) Newsgroups: net.abortion Subject: Re: Suffering Message-ID: <428@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA> Date: Tue, 13-Aug-85 20:52:46 EDT Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-s.428 Posted: Tue Aug 13 20:52:46 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 15-Aug-85 08:36:40 EDT Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI Lines: 37 > > I suppose comments could be made about many "pro-choicers" whose attitude > > is "copulate and make the baby suffer". But if 'suffering' results from > > an activity, who should bear its costs: the people who decided to engage > > in that activity, or another person who didn't exist before the start of > > the activity and therefore had no control over it? > > > > -- Thomas Newton > The problem with your line of reasonnning is that you assume that things are > binary: either the parents suffer or the child suffers. I think it is > probably fair to say that no matter what, in this business of unwanted > children, children suffer. If they are aborted, they suffer some physical > pain for a short while; if they are brought up by parents who hate them, > they suffer for most of their childhood; if they are given up for adoption, > there's a fair chance that they might suffer some trauma as a result > (although this is not as clear cut as the other kinds of suffering). > But the parents (mother actually) usually suffer too except in the case of > early abortions. When you have unwanted pregnancies, there is a fair chance > that both the mother and the child will end up suffering. So what's your > point? > -- > Sophie Quigley First of all, I don't see how you can claim that the children always suffer. There's always the alternative of adoption. Speaking from personal experience, I can definitely say that adopted children don't always suffer trauma -- both my sister and I were adopted and that fact has never meant a thing to either one of us. Considering the screening process, I wouldn't be surprised at all if adopted children got better homes on average than wanted natural children. Secondly, you can't assume that everyone who undergoes suffering wants to curl up and die. A lot of times, when faced with adversity, people get stronger in order to cope with it. Who are you to tell someone, "I've decided that you're going to suffer unless I kill you now, so I'm going to kill you now"? -- Thomas Newton Thomas.Newton@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA