mn@dscvax2.UUCP (Matt Noah) (03/09/85)
Please do not be misled by the fallacy that abortion clinics are concerned about a woman's emotional trauma. The clinicians are concerned in part about the woman's physical reaction to the abortion - mainly out of fear of lawsuit. Since I have never heard of an abortion clinic being sued for emotional traumatization - even though an abortion is terribly traumatic - you and I can surmise they are not concerned about a woman's mental health. It is doubtful a court of law would give credence to the lawsuit anyway since it was obviously the choice of the woman. Where to turn to for emotional help??? One idea is to seek religous counseling. As adoption is an excellent alternative to abortion, contact an adoption agency. It is without much doubt that a an expactant woman who wants to give up her child will be met with open arms as there are waiting lines for babies [ unfortunately this is not true for babies of black mothers ]. Picketing is now established as a resounding success in the pro-life movement and has resulted in the diminished activity of many abortion clinics. Pro-choicers are hostile to picketing because it is so successful and so American. Picketing has also made the pro-life movement resemble civil rights movements of past decades. Pro-life groups will probably never work with abortion clinics in discussing alternatives since pro-life groups do not consider abortion as an alternative. Pickled fetuses are a reality and a scare tactic and are exactly the type of thing needed to educate people. Some people still think a fetus is a blob of protoplasm when in reality a 10-week-old fetus is fully distinguishable as a human being. Also, consider the fact that abortion is legal on a 39-week-old fetus! Many babies do not spend that much time in the womb. If a mother's abdominal wall were transparent the abortion rate would probably be orders of magnitude lower than what it is today. Although woman today have a choice, the vast majority do not make an informed choice. Evidence this by the latest Gallup Poll Survey which show that many women believe that the pill ... Read it for yourself to find out how ignorant the people making the choices are. The situation is no different than people's idea of the economy. People who constantly complain about the terrible state of the economy don't even know the concept behind the GNP or the Dow, what an acceptable unemployment rate is or what the current inflation rate. The vast majority of people don't even know their vital signs - what they are and what an acceptable measure of them is! America is a land of choices - freedom - but when one person's choice infringes on the rights of another it is time to make a change. Abortion on demand is usually an uninformed choice which infringes upon the rights of an unborn baby. Matt Noah
barry@mit-eddie.UUCP (Mikki Barry) (03/16/85)
It is the kind of hysteria such as yours that makes it impossible for any compromise in the abortion issue. I HAVE had friend go to abortion clinics, and I HAVE gone with them. I will tell you that the clinics I have been to are VERY concerned with the woman involved. They ask her over and over again if she is sure she wants the abortion, and if she would like to be referred to a mental health pro if she wants to clarify her own choice to herself. Most clinics also offer many gynecological services besides abortion, so believe me, they don't live on abortion money. They don't need to talk anyone into abortions because the vast majority of women who go there are prefectly aware of their choice. It sickens me that some think that women are people who have to be protected because they can't make their own choices and are so easily persuaded to do something they consider horrible by unscupulous people who just want money. Women are perfectly intellegent enough to make their own decisions. They dont need help from you. As for picketing clinics with pickled fetuses, I have SEEN a 12 week miscarriage. It was approximately 1 and a half inches long, and NOT EVEN CLOSE to fully formed. By picketing a clinic in NH, pro-lifers harrassed women who were deciding whether to participate in an FDA experimental program with cervical caps as contracteption. They defeated their own purpose of stopping unwanted pregnancies. (Or is it only the aftermath that they are concerned with?) When a woman who has decided that an abortion is the best thing for her (and sometimes for the fetus as well), does she need to have farcical pictures shoved in her face and be called a murderer? She is already traumatized enough. What if the same woman was approached by someone offering a realistic alternative. What if she was told of a free program whereby she would be taken care of, and receive adoption help, or help taking care of the baby? Wouldn't that be more productive than the lies being pushed in her face now? PLEASE, for the sake of all women, stop the hysterical reaction to abortion and work on something to benefit everyone - prevention of unwanted pregnancy? Stop spending money on picketing, farcical films, and insulting women's intellegence and put it into group homes, financial aid for pregnant women and birth control information. Isn't that better than raising everyone's blood pressure? Mikki Barry