From: margoli@watson.ibm.com (Larry Margolis)
Subject: Re: rights and responsibilities
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 03:55:53 GMT
Distribution: usa
News-Software: IBM OS/2 PM RN (NR/2) v0.15 by O. Vishnepolsky and R. Rogers
Reply-To: margoli@watson.IBM.com
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Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
Followup-To: talk.abortion

Why do you keep directing followups to alt.rush-limbaugh?  Either direct them
to talk.abortion, which is where abortion discussion is supposed to go, or
don't add a followup line at all.  (Note that lots of people who read
alt.rush-limbaugh don't want to see the abortion discussion.)

In <1ek8ffINNagj@agate.berkeley.edu> don@ocf.berkeley.edu (Don Bromley) writes:
>[text deleted]
>
>>>  This is classic liberal intellectual dishonesty. What fraction of
>>>  women who get abortions are married?  Maybe 1%??
>>
>>This is classic ignorant stupidity.  More like 20 - 30%, depending on
>>what year you look at.  And of what relevance is that, anyway?  Saying
>>that people who don't want to have [any more] children should refrain from
>>sex *is* including *all* the married couples who don't want [more] kids.
>
>  Oh REALLY?  I notice you didn't cite any sources.

I don't have the latest figures handy, but perhaps this will help.

#Try _The World Almanac_; there's a nice chart there.  I won't type in
#the whole thing (wouldn't fit), but the figures for 1972, 1976, 1980,
#and 1985 in the 1990 World Almanac (page 846; they also have figures
#for 1981, 1982, 1983, & 1984) are:
#
#                                 1972      1976     1980      1985
#Reported # of legal abortions  586,760   988,267  1,297,606  1,328,570
#Ratio per 1000 live births      180.1     312.0    359.2      353.8
#Rate per 1000 women aged          13        21       25         24
#     15-44 years
#                 Percentage distribution (excludes unknowns)
#  Age (years)
#19 and under                     32.6      32.1     29.2       26.3
#20-24                            32.5      33.3     35.3       34.7
#25 and over                      34.9      34.6     35.3       39.0
#  Race
#White                            77.0      66.6     69.6       66.6
#Black and other                  23.0      33.4     30.1       33.4
#  Marital status
#Married                          29.7      24.6     23.1       19.3
#Unmarried                        70.3      75.4     76.9       80.7

>  And even if 20%
>  were the actual figure, it is certainly the minority of cases, and
>  should be referred to as the exception, not the rule.

As I said, majority or minority is of no relevance anyway.

>  Did I say that people who don't want kids shouldn't have sex?

No, you jumped into the middle of a thread to show your ignorance.
It was eg1o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Elizabeth Cornelia Green) who suggested
that, and who was being addressed.

>  There IS a thing called birth control,

Is this supposed to be news?

>  and an unexpected pregnancy doesn't necessitate abortion.

Of course it doesn't *necessitate* it; did anyone claim that it did?

>  I would say that people who CAN'T have pregnancies for one reason
>  or another shouldn't have sex, yes...

You're entitled to your opinion.  Of course, the people who you'd
deny a sex life might not agree with it...

>  Please do tell me where you got that 20-30% figure, because that
>  figure seems ridiculous.

Why does it seem ridiculous?  Do you think people only have sex for
procreation after they're married?
--
Larry Margolis, MARGOLI@YKTVMV (Bitnet), margoli@watson.IBM.com (Internet)
Newsgroups: alt.rush-limbaugh