Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,alt.politics.bush,talk.abortion
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 16:19:06 -0400 
From: Alison Rebecca Colman <ac10+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: DATELINE: Bush fucks up!
	<4657@news.duke.edu>

>!Chris Lyman
>Emil Chuck

>!Amen and preach it sister!  Some time ago in talk.abortion, I read a 
>!harrowing narrative by a woman who had given herself an abortion with
>!a sterilized knitting needle.  She described the pain as 'excruciating,'
>!and said that she bled for days.  Her reason?  Her father had stated that 
>!he would kill any daughter of his who became pregnant before marriage
>!and she had every reason to believe him.  I wish I'd saved the article;
>!it's very worthwhile reading.
>!
>!I wish even more that, before they glibly spout their fetus worship, pro-
>!forced-birthers would take the time to reflect on what circumstances would
>!cause a woman to risk her life in order not to be pregnant.
> 
>I assume that the pregnancy was the result of consentual sex. Otherwise
>I don't think she should have had that much to fear from her father.

How well did you read this story, Emil? I don't think it would be too
much of a stretch to say that her father would have done her physical
harm if she had obtained an abortion, regardless of how she got
pregnant.  If Stella had been raped, I would be confident to assume that
he would have still tried to force her to bear that child.

> 
>On the other hand if her father were really that serious about killing
>his daughter over premarital pregnancy, then I am very grieved over the
>situation. His statement certainly is not indicative of a very healthy
>family relationship. If he cannot accept that sometimes threatening to
>kill someone doesn't help, then the father truly does not understand
>how to encourage trust and love in the family. Besides, if he did kill
>her, he'd be charged with TWO counts of murder. 
>	I submit though that this stance is not taken by all fathers to
>their daughters. This story is very tough to swallow, as I'm sure there
>are equally emotional stories that the pro-lifers ("forced-birthers")
>can write up and submit to the net.

I have yet to see any. 

>No side wins in the above story: she
>did not need to have performed a self-induced abortion,

Says who? By your standards, maybe, she did not "need" to have an
abortion. However, she felt differently. This was her life, and she felt
she had no other option. Who are you to judge her actions? Maybe you
think she would have been better off having the child, but your opinion
and 50 cents would buy her a soda pop, if you get my drift.  

>and if she had a
>legal abortion, I doubt this action could have helped her relationship
>with her father. Making abortion available to this woman I doubt would have 
>helped her family be more closer and more trusting.

You are missing the point *entirely*.  Stella's family would not have
been close and trusting no matter WHAT she chose to do. The whole point
of the post was to demonstrate that illegalizing abortion puts women at
a higher risk, especially if they are young, have dysfunctional
families, etc.  Your reaction (which I found to be rather cold and
callous) to the posting of Stella's story illustrates to me a
stereotypical pro-"life" attitude: the woman must give birth to the
baby, regardless of the damage it would do to her life and health, and
the quality of life her baby would have.

Alison Colman