ntt@dciem.UUCP (Mark Brader) (03/07/84)
Timothy Kerwin (charm(!)!tpkq) disagrees loudly with "those who would move the abortion debate out of net.women": The "pro-lifers" always present the issue as ... "when life begins," or "what constitutes human life." ... From the pro-choice point of view, abortion is a WOMEN'S RIGHTS issue. No. One of the issues is of course what the issue really is. It is probably true that if you believe it is women's rights then you are pro-abortion* ... but the converse is wrong. Factor it this way: Potential axiom 1: It is immoral and should be illegal to abort any fetus/embryo that constitutes human life. Potential axiom 2: Any fetus/embryo constitutes human life. Potential axiom 3: A fetus/embryo constitutes human life only after a certain stage of development. An anti-abortion* person of the type Timothy mentions obviously believes in #1 and #2. But there is nothing inconsistent in believing in #1 and #3. That kind of person will NOT believe that abortion is a women's rights issue but will be pro-, not anti-abortion. Me? I believe in axiom #1, and that's all I'll say on the net. But I don't like people that tell people what they ought to believe. *I also don't like euphemisms. "Pro-choice"? --The choice to kill! "Pro-life"? --Including cells? Then cosmetic surgery is murder? No matter whether you believe abortion is a women's rights issue or not, you should understand that net.abortion was created so that people who like to read net.women generally, but DON'T want to read one more repetition of the standard pro- or anti- views, can unsubscribe to it. I have. Respect this attitude, please. Stay out of net.women on this. I must rebut one other point of Timothy's. He also feels that: [Pro-lifers would have the whole question] ... left to the jurists and the priests. From the pro-choice point of view ... It's the ->woman<- who should decide... In other words, jurists are anti-abortion, therefore it is all right for a woman who wants an abortion to ignore them. This amounts to what we had some decades ago, as far as that woman is concerned. Surely what most pro-abortionists want is for the jurists to rule in their favor! Mark Brader