Letters to the Editor
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To jg re Equal Rights: Mother 'with child' --> mass of cells and foetus
Hi jg
I am not a doctor and I can't answer your question as to a mass of cells which may or may not have a survival instinct as opposed to a formed, recognisable foetus/human that resists termination.
I have no answers and I see both sides.
It's interesting that you are asking these questions, given that you know I am a lay person and have no expertise.
Where do you stand on this issue?
One other thing I wanted to add: I think perhaps some women who have had abortions may be offended by my stance.
If I were a woman who was anti abortion and had to undergo an abortion I think it would be awful.
And then I might dig my heels in and argue the pro abortion debate so loudly because, fundamentally, I wouldn't be able to face the alternative.
And then again there are women who simply see it as right and proper to be able to abort.
I am trying to see both sides.
The women I feel for, are the women who would have the child if circumstances were different (ie economics).
How do they feel?
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jg here with a response
Okay, so I'll rephrase. Do you object to abortion if the fetus is at a stage when it does not resist termination?
You say that you have no answers, yet you do have opinions. I'm merely asking for more information to try to understand your position and the possible reasons why you may or may not believe what you believe. I'm not a doctor either but I do know how to read, and anyone can do research on viability, termination methods, etc, and form opinions from there. Or not. Maybe people hold a certain position because of their religious beliefs. Whatever. Just because you are not an expert does not mean that you haven't done a fair amount of research to support your opinions, or not, so I'm merely asking.
You ask where I stand on the issue. I support a woman's right to choose. Period. I generally do not enter into arguments or discussions about viability, termination procedures, or any of the particulars because I feel they cloud the issue, and the right wing has used these things to erode choice in this country. I also think it is stupid when people, especially politicians, say that they support choice, but that abortion "should" be rare, or that it is a "difficult" choice. IMO, those types of judgement calls are downright arrogant.
I do not want to be pregnant. I have been faithfully practicing birth control for many, many years. I have had two pregnancy scares and both times I immediately contacted my obgyn for an abortion referral because she does not do terminations. Luckily, both times the tests were negative but there was no doubt in my mind, and there still is no doubt, that if I were to become pregnant I would have an abortion. And I can tell you that the sheer panic I felt at maybe being pregnant, both times, could have only been alleviated by termination. It would *not* have been a "difficult" choice that I would have agonized over and I would not have had the emotional fallout that the right wing tries to scare women with. And anyone who tries to tell me different, about my own body and my feelings, can shove it.
Sorry, I'm getting worked up here, but I really REALLY resent someone telling me how I "should" feel, or that they themselves don't agree with abortion but that it's a necessary "evil" and should be there as an option of last resort. Personally, I'd rather have someone say flat-out that they are against abortion, as opposed to the patronizing attitude of so many people who supposedly support choice. I think it was Clinton (Bill) who always said that abortions should be legal, safe, and rare. Legal and safe, great. Rare? Who is anybody to put limits on it? Either it's legal or it isn't. How many are too many then? How many abortions is one woman allowed? See, you can't legislate this. It gets messy and as I stated above, it only helps the anti-choice folks gain ground with putting limitations on it.
I think people are kidding themselves when they try to say that it's okay if it's within the first X weeks, or it's okay if X procedure is performed but not the other types of procedures because of X reason. We pro-choicers have allowed the anti-choicers to frame the debate for too long. I say we pro-choicers stand up and loudly say that we support choice. Period.
I think the petition is great. I think t-shirts are great. I'm glad there are women out there who aren't afraid or ashamed to say that they had an abortion. We need to stop treating it as if it is something shameful, IMO. On the other hand, I realize that it is a private matter, so no woman should be pressured to speak out about it if she doesn't want to.
"Against abortion? Don't have one."
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jg
“I think people are kidding themselves when they try to say that it's okay if it's within the first X weeks, or it's okay if X procedure is performed but not the other types of procedures because of X reason. We pro-choicers have allowed the anti-choicers to frame the debate for too long. I say we pro-choicers stand up and loudly say that we support choice. Period.”
Oh my God, you foolish little twit, when will you just shut the hell up? From your childish rantings, you appear to be no more than 18, and a profoundly immature 18 year old at that. I am asking, as a vehement pro-choicer, to please, for the love of God, just stop yammering. People like you absolutely undermine us from within. I am pro choice because I cannot bear the thought of another unwanted child in this world – but my God, you think that makes it okay , if your X represents 30 weeks, to just abort with no thought to the fetus’s potential for pain? How dare you tell me, tell any of us, that we’re kidding ourselves when we try to examine this situation for all its complexities? That’s what makes us not just human, but thinking, compassionate humans.
Your take on this is frighteningly simplistic, and your letters are just plain embarrassing. You're doing nothing to help our cause, and I am horrified that we have people like you on our side.