From: andy@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Andrew Hackard)
Newsgroups: talk.abortion
Subject: Re: J Price answers questions
Date: 23 Nov 92 02:29:14 GMT
     <1992Nov17.170257.10999@ncsu.edu>
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX

Jeff, you remember our email conversation?  Well, you're crossing the
line here.

jjprice@eos.ncsu.edu (JEFFREY JAMES PRICE) writes:
> lalford@fsu1.cc.fsu.edu (LYNN ALFORD) writes:

>Have you ever heard a pregnant woman mention that her fetus is kicking or when
>she talks about her pregnancy how many times does she say fetus instead of
>baby? What is the difference between a fetus and baby?

Precision.

Perception.

Women who are pregnant and WANT to be so no doubt think of their fetus as
a baby.  Women who are ignorant of the distinction also think so.  That
doesn't make it proper, any more than "I wish I was Bill Clinton" is
proper grammar.  We're discussing abortions here, and precise terminology
is more important.

>>Ok, Jeff, let's get down to cases.  I had a friend who is married.  She was 
>>on the Pill, because she didn't want to be pregnant.  Now you say that if 
>>this married woman, had sex with her husband, then she must bring any 
>>pregnancy to term?
>
>YESSSSS!!!!!! (sorry fo caps)

Fine...we'll agree to disagree.  It's a moot point, since it's neither of
our non-existent uteri that's being inhabited.

>>Well, there is a small problem in this case.  This person is trying to 
>>avoid children for good reason.  She was on several medications for major 
>>allergies and for chronic depression.  Now, before getting pregnant, she 
>>should be off these drugs for a couple of months, to avoid any potential 
>>fetal damage (read possible minor to major birth defects.)  If she did get 
>>pregnant due to birth control failure, she was going to have an abortion, 
>>because it was very unlikely that she would have a healthy baby.
>
>She knew there was a chance and she took and messed up PAY THE PRICE !!!

That's an awfully cruel attitude, Jeff.  Not every pregnancy, even
unwanted ones, are someone's fault.  Sometimes the contraception fails
even when used properly.  It just happens.  Blaming the woman is a way to
dodge the issue, and I'd hope you'd use more pointful tactics.

>Please quit spouting minority cases at me I can think of exceptions all day
>long but lets deal with the majority.

Whoa...I think you may have pulled this argument from our discussion, and
I want to disclaim the way you're using it. (Even if NOT, I want to
comment.  So there.  :-) )

I don't believe in making legislation for minority cases, especially for
vanishingly small minorities.  That doesn't mean by any stretch that I
feel they shouldn't be discussed.  It *does* mean that there are better
uses of our legislators' time, IMO.

Saying that you don't want to discuss this case dodges the fact that
there's a definite issue here.  How would you deal with it?

>>Now, would you force this woman to continue an unplanned pregnancy? 

>Yes.. 

>>Knowing that it was very likely that any baby would have some sort of birth 
>>defect due to medication the mother was taking?
>
>Is There a question mark here for a reason.

Yes.  She's qualifying the original question, and English allows the
continuation of the interrogative mark in that case.  It's perhaps looser
usage than Strunk and White would prefer, but it's certainly correct. (I
don't have _The Well-Tempered Sentence_ with me, or I'd check to see what
Fowler says.)

>>I had an opinion just a moment ago.  Now where did I put it?

>Who knows? but try looking in Space..oops I mean your head its the same thing.

Jeff, this was completely uncalled for.  I certainly hope you have
apologized or will shortly.

>OK I answered all the questions (somewhat rudely) but I answered them.

No, you skipped a couple, both in the deleted text and in what I quoted.
(I certainly have no quarrels with the parenthetical, however; I'd
expected better from you.)

--
--Andrew Hackard                                 If I spoke for UT, this post
  andy@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu                        would make even less sense.
Newsgroups: talk.abortion