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From: barb@oliven.UUCP (Barbara Jernigan)
Newsgroups: net.abortion
Subject: Re: "The child of a fiend"
Message-ID: <427@oliven.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 7-Oct-85 12:19:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: oliven.427
Posted: Mon Oct  7 12:19:01 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 9-Oct-85 05:32:34 EDT
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> Who *is* psychologically prepared to handle the trauma associated with
> being the victim of rape?  Does abortion really lessen the trauma?[PAUL DUBUC]

Does carrying the reminder of that rape to term lessen the trauma, either?
Yes, Paul, the 'innocent fetus' *IS* stigmatized, 'justly' or 'injustly.'
But the lines of 'Justice' get blurred when there's so much [violent]
emotion involved.

> >If you could overcome those feelings and not
> >let that affect the way you treat the child then you are a good man. 
> >Probably, most people are not that good.
> 
> Should most people not try to be that "good"?

Are most people capable of being that "good"?  I'm not so sure I am.

> Because rape is so often used as a club to beat our pro-life views into
> submission, my wife and I *have* thought about this possibility.  We do not
> want it to happen, of course, but if it did we both realize that would be
> inconsistent to deprive the child of life or in anyway associate feelings
> of hatred with her because of the crime of her father.  These things are
> wrong and because they are wrong we recognize that they should be overcome.
> That wrongness, and the necessity of overcoming wrong, has nothing to do with
> how "good" we are.

But it does, Paul -- if you're equating "good" to personal strength in your
beliefs.

> I can somewhat imagine my own daughter in this light.  I think that as
> she grew and I got to know her more for who she *is, herself*--seeing
> her run and play, laugh and cry, etc.--I would become more convinced that
> any such association of hate with her would be totally unfounded.  

But how many people REALLY have the emotional fortitude to [let her]
survive that long?

Paul, your point is valid -- there is an injustice in transferring the
guilt of the father onto the fetus.  A terrible injustice.  But the issue
of abortion or not hinges upon the well-being of the mother.  For many
women pregnancy [especially the early months] is NOT a very pleasant
experience.  When the child is planned -- or at least a product of the
woman's chosen actions -- the miracle of life outweighs the 'inconvenience.'
But, on top of the trauma of being raped -- a fate 'worse than death,' to
quote the Victorians [and most women would be inclined to agree] -- many,
if not *most* women, are not emotionally equipped to put up with these
changes.  For some, it might be a lesser trauma to abort the fetus than
to be reminded of the crime for nine months [assuming the baby is placed
up for adoption].  For some, carrying the child to term would be to make
*THEM*, the victim, pay for the crime.  And what of the rape victims who 
are little more than children themselves?  

You and your wife have discussed the possibility, imagining the outcome.
But -- 1. -- does imagining the emotional horror and experiencing it 
directly equate?  I know we would all like to think so, but . . . . And --
2. -- what of the women who DON'T have the loving support group you 
apparently enjoy?  Many times the *rape victim* is as stigmatized as the
offspring she might produce.  This is why there MUST be choice.  

You speak correctly of justice and injustice [to the fetus], Paul, of 
rightness and wrongness.  But, so often, our NATURAL sense of emotional
and physical self-preservation outweighs those considerations.  I am glad 
you have the fortitude to stand by your principles; but there are many more 
in the world who, when pushed against the wall by such a terrible emotional 
and physical violation, cannot.  God forgive me, though I would *LIKE* to 
be as strong as you espouse yourself, I fear, when shove comes to full 
fisticuffs, my strength would crumple and I would seek the 'quick' way of 
erasing my body of the crime -- I cannot say for certain, unless faced with 
the reality.  And THAT, I pray, will never arise.

Barb Jernigan

                                      ("If you will practice being fictional
                                        for a while, you will understand that
                                        fictional characters are sometimes 
                                        more real than people with bodies
                                        and heartbeats."
                                                          R.Bach             )