From: kristyp@coos.dartmouth.edu (Kristy Patterson)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.bush,alt.politics.clinton,talk.abortion
Subject: Re: Feminists for Life (was Controlling Women, etc.)
Date: 15 Sep 92 18:30:40 GMT
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

In article <1992Sep15.161756.26529@u.washington.edu> cbrand@cac.washington.edu (Carol Brand) writes:
>In article <1992Sep15.002526.19597@s1.gov> lip@s1.gov (Loren I. Petrich) writes:
>>	And may I ask why the only three champions of FFL here,
>>namely, Martin Guerrero, Ron Graham, and Stephen Chaney, are male? As
>>one pro-choice chant goes:
>>
>>	4-6-8-10, why are all your leaders men?
>>
>>	Well, the numbers are clear. Of those who post in
>>talk.abortion, there is a sizable fraction of women, while there is
>>only one woman on the other side with any longevity, our good friend
>>Suzanne Forgach. So there go the "Feminists for Life". They do not
>>represent the interests of any significant group of professional
>>women. I wonder why they call themselves that. Do they just like the
>>sound of the word?
>>
>>/Loren
>
>Thank God we have real MEN out there to tell us poor, brainwashed,
>uneducated women what a REAL feminist would think.  Loren could you please
>send me an outline of the views a real woman should have.

I thought Loren was a woman, but maybe I'm just ignorant. :-)

>As for not representing the views of a significant group of
>professional women (oh only professionals count now...)  WAKE UP!!  Just
>'cause it's not on the net, doesn't mean it aint so.
>
>My feminist friends and I are tired of you portraying pregnancy as a
>weekness and liabilities that should be disposed of.  You and others like
>you have made us ashamed of our pregnancies in the past.  You have made us
>have to choose between children and career or education.  We are tired of it!
>
>And by the way, the reason you don't see more of us in talk.abortion, is
>because we are tired of you men bickering back and forth about an issue
>which none of you really has any understanding.

Um, I don't intend to flame, but I think you make some pretty sweeping
generalizations here. I don't know of anyone who thinks that only the opinions
of professional woman matter in the abortion debate; in fact, a large amount
of the objection to proposed restrictions on abortion (waiting periods, etc.)
stems from the impact these would have on the poor and the young. Professional
women, by and large, could afford a waiting period.

Second, I don't know who you're referring to that portray "pregnancy as a
weekness [sic] and liabilities that should be disposed of." It's my impression
that a large number of the pro-choice women who post to this group, and of
pro-choice women in general, are mothers or plan to be someday. Most of them
who post here seem to have a career and an education. They don't seem to me
to be trying to shame anyone or force them to choose EITHER children OR a
career. Pro-choice seems to me to allow EVERY WOMAN to make the decision FOR
HERSELF whether or not she wants to be pregnant at a given time. I admit I
don't understand the mindset of Feminists for Life, because I can't imagine
a feminist NOT wanting to be allowed to make her own decision should she find
herself in the unfortunate situation of an accidental pregnancy.

Last, you say that the reason more of you don't read/post to this group is
because you're tired of listening to men bicker about "an issue which none
of [them] really has any understanding." First of all, talk.abortion isn't
entirely composed of men, and among the female posters, several have had
abortions and talk about them openly. Second, I don't think it's fair to
generalize about all the male posters. While they can't get pregnant and
experience an abortion firsthand, some of them have helped female lovers or
friends in this situation and understand the thought process that a woman
might go through; some of them have had a child they fathered aborted. This
is at least as much firsthand experience as I've had with the issue, never
having been pregnant or had an abortion myself.

>-Carol

-Kristy


-- 
 +==========================+================================================+
 |Kristy Patterson          | Nothing really rocks, and nothing really rolls,|
 |kristyp@mac.dartmouth.edu | & nothing's ever worth the cost.      -Meatloaf|
 +==========================+=================================Bat Out of Hell+
Newsgroups: alt.politics.bush,alt.politics.clinton,alt.politics.elections