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From: tdn@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA (Thomas Newton)
Newsgroups: net.abortion
Subject: Re: My view on the subject
Message-ID: <432@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 21-Aug-85 19:54:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-s.432
Posted: Wed Aug 21 19:54:26 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 24-Aug-85 18:51:20 EDT
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 32

> ...
> Why??  That's where the simple part comes in.  No funny tricks
> here.  A mere question of freedom and equality.  Here it is:
>
> As  long as MEN have the freedom to engage in activities that are
> biologically reproductive in nature and then refuse to  face  the
> consequences,  equality demands that WOMEN must have this freedom
> also.  The only way this can be accomplished at the present  time
> is by abortion on demand.
> ...
> Warm regards,
> Galen.

Two points:

    (1) Any man who can be identified as the father of a child can be
        made to face the consequences -- have you ever heard of child
	support?  There is the problem of identifying the father, but
        that shouldn't be hard if the potential candidates cooperate.
        If they don't cooperate, it is basically the same situation as
	identifying bank robbers -- and we haven't repealed the laws
	against robbery because some of them get away.

    (2) If equality applies to sex-without-consequences, shouldn't it
        also apply to more basic things such as life?  Using abortion
	to minimize the effect of biological differences between men
	and women imposes horrible inequalities on the young-old axis;
        it seems to me that equality-in-general as opposed to equality-
        between-sexes demands that we prohibit abortion on demand.

                                        -- Thomas Newton
                                           Thomas.Newton@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA