sam@phs.UUCP (03/08/84)
Although I am active in the abortion rights movement as a member of the National Abortion Rights Action League, I am NOT pro-abortion. This is not a pedantic matter of semantics. I am doing my best not to become pregnant, but should my efforts fail, I'm not certain that I would choose to have an abortion. I am grateful to Mr. Ardnt and his colleagues at Birthright for providing an intelligent and workable alternative to abortion for women who desire such an alternative. (There is another alternatve. The Farm, a commune in rural Tennesee founded by Stephen Gaskins and his followers, will provide prenatal care, perform the delivery, and will keep and care for the child of any woman who is considering an abortion. They will return the child to is biological mother should she change her mind at any time in the future.) I am active with NARAL because I am pro-choice. I believe that the decision concerning whether or not to have a child should be left up to the woman. I believe that the philosophical and religious questions surrounding the decision cannot and should not be settled by legislation or constitutional changes. Rather than working to restrict women's rights , the anti-choice minority might direct their energy and considerable financial resources towards convincing women to make what they(the anti-choice people) see as the correct decision. Consider this analogy. I have several friends who are vegetarians because they consider it immoral to kill animals for meat. These individuals are certainly in the minority. What if they decided that EVERYONE should abide by their standards and tried to pass a constitutional amendment banning the slaughter of innocent animals for food? I can't remember who first said this: "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament". Sorry this got posted in incomplete form. Sherry Marts duke!phs!sam