From: usglkrx@gsusgi2.gsu.edu (Lori K. Rothman)
Subject: Re: Observations
Organization: Georgia State University
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 20:23:46 GMT

serafin@epcot.spdc.ti.com (Mike Serafin) writes:

>In article <usglkrx.714260356@gsusgi1.gsu.edu> usglkrx@gsusgi2.gsu.edu (Lori K. Rothman) writes:
>>serafin@epcot.spdc.ti.com (Mike Serafin) writes:
>>
>>>	I do not agree that a woman has a right to an abortion in the case
>>>of consensual sex.  Men and women both must take responsibility for their 
>>>actions.  If you are going to have sex you must take whatever precautions are
>>>necessary to prevent pregnancy, however, you must also be willing to accept the
>>>consequences if such precautions fail and a pregnancy occurs.  Abortion is NOT
>>>a valid method of birth control.  If neither the man nor the woman has the
>>>emotional or financial ability or desire to raise a child then one must take
>>>the only alternative available, DON'T HAVE SEX!  Who gave us the right to
>>>have sex regardless of the cost?  
>>
>>   So, in other words, my husband and I should have been celibate up until
>>now (the first 2 years of our marriage), and should remain celibate for the
>>next 4 or 5?  We have been taking turns finishing up college degrees, and
>>are unable, finacially, to support a child (heck, there are times we can
>>barely support *ourselves*).  Maybe it works for some people, but I really
>>don't think that 7 years of celibacy would be the best thing for a marriage.

>  If you are not willing to accept responsibility for the possible failure
>  of contraception, then yes, you should consider celibacy.  From your reply
>  I assume that you plan on having children some time.  Is it right then, to 
>  abort an unplanned pregnancy because it is convenient?  

If our several forms of birth control failed, and I became pregnant, my 
husband would have to quit school and work full-time.  I would have to work
full-time until the last possible minute.  We would have to move into a 
smaller apartment, and one which is considerably cheaper (we only $275 now).
This would mean the place we found would probably be in a fairly high crime
area, with roaches and rats.  After I had the child, I would have to try to
find *someone* to take care of my child as soon as possible so I could go
back to work.  Since we wouldn't have much money, it would probably be 
a less than desirable person (ie: my child would be one of a half dozen
and wouldn't get the attention, and intellectual stimulation that I would
want him/her to have).  This would continue until the child started school,
when I would only need to find someone for afternoons.  In the meantime, my
husband would be working at a fairly low-paying job (he has no degree), as
would I (I am a certified teacher).  When the child began school, we *might*
be saving enough money in child-care that my husband could return to school.
Of course, by then, most of his coursework would be obselete (he's a computer
major), and it would take him twice as long to get his degree.  Of, course,
he would only be able to take classes nights, as he would have to keep a 
full-time job.  By the time he graduated anand started making "real" money,
our child would be in Junior High School.  By the time our child would be
ready for college, we would be making "too much" for him/her to get any 
financial aid, but we would not have been able to save any money for his/her
college tuition. This would mean s/he would have to go to a cheap, public
school. I could continu with this, but I'm going to stop (I'm starting
to rant, and I hate ranting)
I'm sorry, but I use contraception for a *reason*.  If I were to get 
pregnant, I would consider an abortion a ***responsible*** thing to do.
I would consider having a child an irresponsible act.  We can barely take
care of ourselves.  
I do not consider several years of celibacy within marriage an option.  Maybe
you do.  That is *your* choice.  Mine is to use several forms of contra-
ception, and hope that in the event they all fail, a safe, legal abortion
will be an alternative.


Lori Kent Rothman
usglkrx@gsusgi2.gsu.edu

I speak only for myself (and sometime my cats.)

Newsgroups: talk.abortion