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From: ray@rochester.UUCP (Ray Frank)
Newsgroups: net.abortion
Subject: Re: Can we make progress?
Message-ID: <11440@rochester.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 7-Sep-85 11:46:47 EDT
Article-I.D.: rocheste.11440
Posted: Sat Sep  7 11:46:47 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 9-Sep-85 03:52:47 EDT
References: <30381@lanl.ARPA> <265@bcsaic.UUCP>
Organization: U. of Rochester, CS Dept.
Lines: 57

> In article <30381@lanl.ARPA> sas@lanl.ARPA writes:
> >	Abortion is not the problem, it is the symptom of a problem.  
> 
> AMEN!!!!!
> >
> >	A lot of discussion has occured recently about moral issues
> >surrounding sex.  Unfortunately this is an important issue in the
> >abortion debate.  What attitudes about sex, if globally held, might
> >yeild a society without abortion?
> 
> If one looks at the societies where abortion is significantly
> lower than here, the one fact that stands out is not the
> depression of sex or sexual attitudes --BUT AN INFORMED SEXUAL
> ATTITUDE. Meaning there is a wealth of information available
> and a emphasis on the responsibilities it entails. There is also
> birth control methods available to anyone requesting it.
> In short sex is not hidden, nor is its responsibilities taken
> lightly. Our society in the US still has a lot to learn along
> those lines.
> >
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> 				P.M.Pincha-Wagener
> 				(bcsaic!pamp)
> (usual disclaimer)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------

You started your posting mentioning the moral issues surrounding sex, and then
avoided the subject like the plague.  It is certainly typical to avoid the issue
of sexuality and promiscuity,  after all, bottom line, isn't sexuality the
reason for abortions, VD, etc?  Does it hurt to much to discuss the reasons
why our society feels it must have as much sex as possible with many partners?
America has gone sex crazy in the past 15 years.  Sex is used on TV to sell
geans to kids.  Open up a computer magazine and you'll likely find a scantily
clad female holding a memory chip that she thinks you should buy.  Could 
someone explain to me concerning the excercise show called The 20 Minute Workout
how showing a 2 inch close up of the sweating buttocks of a female promotes
physical fittness?  They should call it the 20 minute foreplay.
You feel that all we need is more information and everything will be alright.
I think this is a cop out.  Kids know more about sexuality today then ever
before.  You say that countries with more information about sex has fewer
abortions, would you please expound on this.  Do those countries also have
similar abortion laws as the U.S.? I'll give you a counter point concerning some
'enlightened' countries.  In Denmark and Sweden, they have the highest 
teen suicide rate in the world.  These particular countries happen to be 
very sexually liberated.  In this country since the middle 60's, the teen
suicide rate has tripled.  I've read where some authorities on the phenomena of
teen suicide have in part connected it with the phenomena of the sexual revolut-ion.  This may or may not be true, all the evidence is not in yet.  But if it
is true, how will we then deal with sexuality?  More information?  People do
have sex, they do fall in some sort of love with each other and want full
physical gratification, but it seems more prevelent today, that the word
'love' is so overly used as a means to an end that it has been relegated to
the level of a cliche.  Slam bam thank ya mame, isn't 'love' wonderful uh, uh,
what did you say your name was again?  Somehow I cannot believe that a lot
of people don't walk away from these spontaneous 'love' encounters feeling 
like a sack of shit, you know, kind of used and worthless.  Like the lyrics to
the song says: "Is that all there is?"