kew@burdvax.UUCP (Karen Wieckert) (11/06/84)
> Every woman who decides to have an abortion has made a very difficult > decision based on what she as a human being believes to be right. Bravo Don Stryker! I cannot praise you enough for your sensitive article among the many inhuman I have read in this discussion. Yet, I cannot agree with the above statement completely. Some women do have abortions without understanding their choice until it is too late. I have known women who have been coerced by boyfriends who did not want to take the responsibility, by parents who preferred the "secret operation" to the "public display", and by their own self-centered ideas of expediency. On the other hand, I also know women, blinded by rhetoric similar to that of the anti-abortion articles in this newsgroup, who have carried a pregnancy to term and regretted it. I have counseled women on birth control and abortion decisions. I FIRMLY BELIEVE IT IS A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE. But the choice should be based upon a clear understanding of herself, developed by an empathetic educational community - broadly defined as church, home, school, and peers. Mr. Styker, your article helps put the decision into perspective for those who cannot get beyond strident "moral" positions that they have not thought through. Yet, let us not forget that we can abuse the rights we enjoy. ka:ren