To: gordgekko
This article makes a lot of sense in one way:
Abortion will not be eliminated or significantly reduced in one fell swoop. Therefore a incremental (albeit comprehensive in scope) approach is the only way to significanly reduce abortions. The extremists on each side will fight incrementalism.
"The perfect is the enemy of the good" If we can even reduce 1/2 of the annual number of abortions in this country we can call that a victory. This is not saying that the other half is acceptable, NO WAY. It is acknowledging a huge and complex social problem.
I can see several approaches to get the numbers significantly down:
1. Advocate for children's rights to be supported by BOTH parents. We must end the presumptive position of the mother being the only one responsible after a conception occurs. This is what pro-Choice wants and too many pro-Life people fall right in line with this thinking of the women "owning" the fetus and the subsequent child and being 100% responsible for the child after birth. Emphasize the parental obligations of BOTH parents in procreation.
2. People need to feel unsettled about abortion. Keep those pictures and peaceful protests coming. It makes people think, even if they don't agree with you, they can't be complacent on abortion. The opposing view is present and visible and IN THE FACE. Not violently but every present, steady, and unrelenting. The constancy of the message is what is important.
3. Advocate full disclosure before this "medical procedure" can take place. Laws could be enacted that require full disclosure to the person seeking an abortion about all possible risks, both physical and psycholgical.
Also, a new technology is now becoming available which provides better more revealing ultrasound images of the fetus/baby. They show a very realistic portrait, much clearer than ultrasounds of old. We should legislate viewing the ultrasound "live" be included as part of "informed consent." The woman should be required to see the fetus in real time and if it moves, all the more compelling. Right now as it stands the gestational age of the fetus is not even reliably verified. Gestational age is often low-balled so that it seems of lesser gestational age or is not discussed at all past the initial inquiry into when was her last know menstrual period. All emphasis on the fetal development is downplayed. This is not consent with "full disclosure".
There is presently little oversight in this area. We should have objective observers in abortion clinics making sure they abide by the existin rules, including full disclosure by minors about the father.
4. Shame on our country. We have the highest per capital income in the world and the highest abortion rate in the world. We should publically expose this fact and shame ourselves into askingy Why? Why? Why? We need more whys. The more we can get people thinking about the inconsistencies and inequites in our social system and ask to ponder these questions then we can motivate even pro-Choice people to question the disgustingly high number of abortions.
_________________
There are many other "incremental" approaches that could be very effective in reducing the number of abortions per year. Every life saved is a victory. We should not sacrifice so many lives while waiting for the "perfect" solution.
44 posted on
06/19/2002 1:54:40 PM PDT by
Lorianne
To: Lorianne
People need to feel unsettled about abortion. They already do. That is the abortion lobby's Achilles heel. No matter how strident they are about "the woman's right", they have this nagging feeling which they cannot admit having, that they are committing murder.
It's ironic that an abortion, supposedly performed to secure the health of the mother, particularly her mental well-being, actually destroys it because the abortion culture disallows her attempt to face the reality of what has happened. Instead, they demand that she buy into the collective lie, and become "twofold more the child of hell than themselves."
That way madness lies....
63 posted on
06/19/2002 4:56:21 PM PDT by
thulldud
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