July 26, 2005
Women Stepping on Women - Abortion etc.
Uh oh, it looks like Jane Roberts is not in favor of Roe v. Wade and we know how controlling those trial lawyer wives can be, just look at Hillary.
Jane is very active in an organization called "Feminists for Life", about which her friend has said, "Feminists for Life was committed not only to ending abortion, but also to making it "unthinkable" by providing every woman with the assistance she needs. Reversing Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that recognized a constitutional right to abortion, is a goal, she said, but not enough."
"Not enough"? NOT ENOUGH!!! Somehow I don't think that "assistance" to every woman includes readily available, free access to contraception, but I could be wrong.
In addition to the fact that Jane Roberts has always been a strong, practicing Catholic (and seems to be able to ignore the fact that the patriarchy in the church has made a little mess, and needs their moral code reexamined immediately), undoubtedly her anti-abortion stance has been colored by her experience as an adoptive mother. I am certain that Feminists for Life encourage the humane treatment of birthmothers; for example -- good heathcare, plush pregnancy surroundings, perhaps even open adoption, especially for college girls. Respect your breeder, and all that.
However, I have had occasion to carefully examine the long term implications of adoption. Please believe me that it is not a panacea. Post traumatic stress disorder is rife among birthmothers. They are encouraged to relinquish their children when they have no idea what they are giving up, and cannot fathom the long term consequences of this life altering decision. Adoptive children, as well, have been shown in the research to experience more difficulties than other kids, across the board. So adoption, although certainly an alternative, creates it's own set of problems.
In talking intimately to lots of women over the years, individually or in groups, as clients and peers, I have never--- that is never-- come across anyone who has delighted in having an abortion. Although an abortion may bring some modicum of relief to an untenable situation, in my experience, the decision to abort is always a weighty and painful one for the parties involved. Carol Gilligan, the feminist scholar, in studying women's moral decision making, found that women who come to terms with the choice to abort were able to understand that they too have a right to life, as well as their unborn fetus. They include themselves as part of the moral equation.
I cannot imagine that there are many women who use abortion as a birth control method. When that is the case, it may be because of a serious psychological difficulty or, more probably, because birth control was not readily available, or failed at the time of conception. Practicing good birth control could reduce the need for abortion significantly, though I doubt that the Feminists for Life are enthusiastic about making birth control more accessible.
Think of it. It is a rare circumstance that is ideal for the conception of a child-- when a mature man and woman, in a stable, loving relationship, wish to procreate, and feel that they have the emotional, physical and economic resources to do so. With contraception we have increased the possibilities that every child will be born under ideal circumstances, is truly wanted, and can be cared for under optimal conditions.
You will notice that the Robert's kids are both caucasian blondes. I doubt that their birthmother used crack, or that these little ones were in dire need of a home because they were born unwanted. They were probably bred for the family on a contractual basis. There is nothing inherently wrong with this. Research shows that adoptive children who actually look like their adoptive parents have an easier time of it. However, if one is opposed to birth control and abortion, and one is in the market (and today that term is all too accurate) for a child, one could adopt at least one of the unwanted kids who are languishing in foster care. If one is unwilling to contribute in that way, one should not take a moral stand that encourages the birth of unwanted children.
Why might preserving abortion rights be important to us as a society?
"Born Unwanted: Developmental Effects of Denied Abortion" describes a longitudinal study done in the former Czechoslovakia where a pregnant woman had to apply to the state for an abortion. If the local authorities refused an abortion, it could be appealed. This study examined the ongoing development of 120 children; those whose mothers applied twice to authorities for an abortion and were twice denied, and a matched control group of children who were wanted. (Many of the mothers of the unwanted children did not even remember applying for an abortion when interviewed nine years later.)
" The first follow-up was made when the children were age 9. Tests showed that intelligence was about equal, however, the unwanted pregnancy children were not doing as well in school and were described by their mothers as being "naughty, stubborn and bad-tempered." The unwanted pregnancy children were more often rejected as friends by their schoolmates than the control group. They also were considered greater 'cowards,' more 'audacious', more of a "loner" and the more 'clowning and showing off' by their classmates than the wanted pregnancy children.
In 1977 another follow-up study was made when the children were 14 years old. At this time it was found that the children born as a result of unwanted pregnancies perceived their mothers as showing significantly less parental interest in them than the children in the control group. The unwanted pregnancy group also complained of a lack of job satisfaction and had more drug and alcohol abuse problems than the control group."
Furthermore:
"In the Summer of 1999 Steven Levitt, an academic economist (U. of Chicago) and John Donahue III, a law professor (Stanford) published an interesting paper about the subject matter of Born Unwanted. In Legalized Abortion and Crime they argue that legalized abortion might be the reason for the overall crime drop in the U.S. from 1991 to 1997.
It makes a lot of sense to conclude that unwanted children might not be given the love and upbringing in the type of environment they deserve. Unfortunately, the study has been attacked by many as being racist. [In the U. S. up to 40% of all African-American men are between 18 and 25 are in prison, on probation or on parole.] The report's conclusions are therefore called "politically incorrect." In an atmosphere of "correctness" in everything, even pointing out a correlation between two sets of statistics can leave a researcher open to attack. Even if the data points to unwanted pregnancies being a societal evil, we are all expected to keep quiet about that so we won't be called racist.
So it's not just the European studies which show that unwanted children have a higher involvement in crime and were imprisioned at a higher rate than the multi-control group; the problem is in the U.S. also. I dare to say that it is universal."
So it seems that by eliminating abortion and birth control in our society, we increase the possibility of attachment disorders and sociopathic behaviors. I wonder if George W. was unwanted. He is, after all, the oldest. I can't find Barbara and George H.W.'s wedding date anywhere, but we do know that Barbara dropped out of college to marry. Could that account for his lack of conscience and his sociopathic behavior?
Photo note: Technically not great, but a metaphorophoto that I just couldn't pass up.
Posted by Dakota at July 26, 2005 06:24 AM