[lbo-talk] RE: abortion

joanna bujes jbujes at covad.net
Wed Jan 14 15:38:00 PST 2004


Doug writes:

"Oh, yes, by all means, let's keep it secret, because it's shameful, just like sex! And public discourse has nothing to do with private feelings because private feelings are just, you know, private. Privates are private and let's keep 'em that way!"

Arguing against a march under the banner "I'm not sorry" is not the same thing as encouraging women to keep their abortions secret. Surely, there's a middle ground between secrecy and public marches.

I have already mentioned that the sentiment (which I thought Thomas characterized aptly as pubescent defiance) behind this slogan is not one I share or condone. In addition, I think it is a tactical mistake to divorce "choice" from the larger issue of women's civil rights. Many abortions happen because people are uneducated about other forms of birth control or because women cannot afford to support another child. There are things we can do, to put an end to these abortions; I would argue, that if it's possible to prevent the need for abortion, one should try and do that.

I'm saying that arguing for/against abortion is an inadequate response to the issues that are comprehended/hidden by the "abortion" issue. In deciding for/against abortion, the mother is considering the viability of the child and the viability of the mother -- and seemingly unrelated issues like subsidized child care, health care, family wage etc. may play a large part in that decision. But if you come out with a slogan like "I'm not sorry," then how can you argue for the need/desirability to create/expand such programs and to minimize abortions?

There are other circumstances under which many women would tend to choose to abort: as the result of rape, when facing ill-health, when the foetus is damaged, when the woman cannot psychologically support a pregnancy, etc. About some of these, not much can be done except to go ahead and have the abortion.

In responding to this, please keep in mind that I 1) Totally support the position that a woman should decide what happens to her own body and the foetus she is carrying 2) Completely oppose the notion that abortion is problematic due simply to ideological/cultural conditioning and should therefore be subject to a woman's "whimsy" 3) Argue that putting 1 + 2 together does not result in guilt tripping anyone --just taking something seriously that deserves to be taken seriously. In the last forty years I personally have not met ANY ONE who was happy to have had an abortion. No matter what the reason for the procedure (rape was never involved for those I knew), the women I've known who experienced this found it a sobering experience, sometimes ending in relief, sometimes ending in grief, sometimes in depression, but nobody was in much of a party mood, though drinks were often called for.

Joanna



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