anderson@ittvax.UUCP (Scott Anderson) (03/29/84)
[Eat this line! Think of all the starving mailers in India!] Many times in abortion discussions, the following will be argued: If we allow the killing of embryos/fetuses, we might allow the killing of the terminally comatose, or the mentally retarded, or the very old and infirm, or the very young and infirm, or just the young and unwanted, and eventually the unwanted of any kind. WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE? I don't mean to give the argument short shrift by compressing it into two sentences, but I think this is an faithful summary. It IS hard to draw lines, especially in the case of abortion. Personally, I am persuaded by the "<darn, I forgot the name>" argument that it is as hard to decide when a developing human becomes actually human as it is to decide when a darkening gray becomes actually black. I believe that it may be ultimately unknowable as to when something becomes human. Putting my personal beliefs aside, how will we draw the lines? Typically, arguments like the one I presented above will be ended thus: "we'd better err on the safe side; the lines ought to be drawn to save the developing human." I disagree; for the drawing of difficult lines, such as whether or not to abort a fetus, I think a "triage" system must be employed. Triage was invented on the battlefield. Injured soldiers are divided into three groups by severity of wounds: the lightly wounded would have to wait for medical aid, the heavily wounded would be treated immediately, and the very heavily wounded would be left to die. Harsh and cruel, isn't it? But more people would benefit under a triage system (Utilitarianism rears its ugly head!), because the scarce resources of the field hospital wouldn't be wasted on those who would probably die despite the best efforts. How are the lines drawn in triage? The doctors in the field, on a case by case basis, decide. Naturally, the decisions are made quickly, with little information, and the doctors sometimes make mistakes, and sometimes someone dies unnecessarily. But err on the side of saving someone? Surely, the doctors try (it's in their oath), but they know the costs to other lives if they err towards saving everyone. They know they have to give the edge to the soldier who is more likely to live. No doubt you've guessed that I'm leading up to an extended metaphor. We don't want to have unnecessary abortions any more than we want to have unnecessary battlefield deaths. But we can't have a blanket law that all fetuses will be saved, any more than that would work for wounded soldiers. The resources of individuals are as finite as those of a field hospital: it's HARD and EXPENSIVE to raise a child properly. (I won't entertain the argument that the child be brought to term and then abandoned to the whim of fate: we want to create happy, well-adjusted adult humans. If we can't give the helpless infant a decent shot at a happy life, then we are in effect bringing someone into the world only to suffer. I can't accept that.) Many parents are eager and willing to bear this burden, and for them the nine-pound bundle really is a miracle and a joy. But when it's an unwanted pregnancy, the costs are clear: the mother's life will be ruined until she delivers. If she is forced to raise the child, then the lives of both she and the child will be ruined. If she gives the child up and it is raised in an institution, the child's life will probably be ruined. If she gives up the child, and it is adopted, then there's a chance of limiting the losses (remember, the mother has already suffered 8-9 months of ruination), but this solution means we must rely on a continuing supply of quality adoptive parents. We already hear appeals for blood when hospitals are running out of this precious resource (remember my triage metaphor?), can you imagine appeals for PARENTS? [Give now! this darling son-of-a-rape to feed, clothe, love, and send to college! Only $100,000, not-including college. No return, No refund.] [:-) :-) :-) Please, forgive me. I'm only kidding.] Yes, I know I was a bit hyperbolic in that last paragraph. Maybe the woman's life wouldn't be ruined. Maybe she'd come to love the child. Maybe the child raised in an institution would turn out fine. We can't know. When we can't know, we have to guess. The best guess is based on knowledge of history and probabilities, and therefore I am assuming that dreadful deleterious damage would be done. Legal abortion allows for triage. It allows a mother (and whomever she wishes to consult) to decide (obviously, on a case basis) whether the costs to her, her family, and the child are bearable. Yes, she'll think of the child. Women do not casually get abortions; they know it's a potential human; it's NOT easy. (Any woman who would casually get an abortion would make a lousy mother anyhow.) It's as hard as the decision a field doctor makes about whether to try to save someone or not, and will always be so. I think the argument that legalizing abortion will engender a callous attitude toward human life is wrong. As hard as it is to draw lines, lines will be drawn. I think more wrong decisions will be made if ONE GREAT LINE is drawn by the government, affecting all pregnancies, than if lots of little lines are drawn, each by the woman it affects. Thanks for reading, Scott D. Anderson decvax!ittvax!anderson PS So no more references to Nazism, hunh?
rcd@opus.UUCP (03/30/84)
> ...I think a "triage" system must be employed. > > Triage was invented on the battlefield. Injured soldiers are divided > into three groups by severity of wounds: the lightly wounded would > have to wait for medical aid, the heavily wounded would be treated > immediately, and the very heavily wounded would be left to die. Harsh > and cruel, isn't it?... Does anyone else see the obvious analogy between the triage system of multiple groups with different treatments and the US Supreme Court ruling which divides the term of pregnancy into three trimesters, each with different treatment for the developing human? I think they already applied the concept, if we'd just look at it carefully... -- Relax - don't worry - have a homebrew. {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd