From: misdeva@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu (Devjani Mishra)
Subject: Re: Socialism for Women (was Re: Child Support)
Followup-To: alt.feminism
Organization: Yale University
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 01:45:33 GMT

In article <Bxo11L.9yp@cs.psu.edu>, beaver@castor.cs.psu.edu (Don Beaver)
wrote:
> 
> >In article <misdeva-111192175853@morse-college-kstar-node.net.yale.edu> misdeva@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu (Devjani Mishra) writes:
> >>In article <BxJ8rF.J63@cs.psu.edu>, beaver@castor.cs.psu.edu (Don Beaver)
> >>wrote:

> >> Do you have any trouble extending "protections"'s iron fist
> >> into the public treasury to "protect" the womb rather than
> >> what's in it -- ie., to pay for abortions?
> >
> >Abortion is a medical procedure.  If I have to pay for appendectomies, I
> >should have to pay for abortions.
> 
> Abortion is, in general, an elective medical procedure.

What about those abortions that are not elective?  Generally, those aren't
covered either.

> 
> Do people have a right to demand that the government pay for face-lifts?
> 
> Is the government responsible for paying for appendectomies
> or are the insurance companies responsible?

Medicare and Medicaid are government structures.  The insurance companies
(and I have dealt extensively with health insurance as a clinical
bookkeeper, so I'm sure about this) don't have to pay things if they decide
they don't want to.  They especially don't have to pay if you are not
insured.  

> 
> >   I didn't get to keep my tax dollars
> >from being used to kill Iraqis, did I?
> 
> No, I assume you didn't.
> 
> And you also weren't able to stop your tax dollars from paying for
> draft-registration to enable sacrificing men quickly in time of need.
> 
> It seems like this is precisely an example of your "iron fist" metaphor.
> 
> You object to an "iron fist" on a woman's womb, but do you object
> to an "iron fist" on a man's balls?
> 
> Is it wrong to object, period?

In a society as pluralistic as ours, I don't think it's plausible to allow
objections.  If each taxpayer were given the chance to make a laundry list
of everything he/she did not wish to pay for, there would be no federal and
potentially no state gov't.  (That may not be such a bad thing - hmmm...:)
)


> >> I'd be happier with your socialism if it meant I, a man,
> >> could retire to raise my children if I felt like it -- and
> >> you'd foot the bill for my "freedom to choose."
> >
> >Look carefully.  I didn't say "let's socialize child care".
> 
> You said, "Someone has to pay for it, all of it."
> 
> You implied that "people, parents, taxpayers, all" are responsible
> for children.
> 
> Don
> -- 
> beaver@cs.psu.edu                       Opinions from the PC-challenged

Just as we are responsible for the rest of society.  Or don't we need to
worry about children's welfare?



       /-                   Devjani Mishra, Yale University
      /   /                 misdeva@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu
  ___/  _  _   _  ___       diva@minerva.cs.yale.edu    
 /  /   /   | /  /  /
/__/_  /_   |/  /__/_       "What's right is what's left when everything
                            else is wrong." - Robin Williams
Xref: sparky alt.feminism:4712 alt.folklore.urban:29080