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From: carole@rosevax.UUCP (Carole Ashmore)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc,talk.abortion
Subject: Re: Best for Others?
Message-ID: <655@rosevax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 8-Oct-86 11:41:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: rosevax.655
Posted: Wed Oct  8 11:41:40 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 16-Oct-86 05:12:43 EDT
References: <2710@burdvax.UUCP> <5833@ut-sally.UUCP> <311@isieng.UUCP> <2617@watdcsu.UUCP>
Organization: Rosemount Inc., Eden Prairie, MN
Lines: 49
Xref: linus talk.religion.misc:485 talk.abortion:122
Summary: Consequences of abortion.

In article <2617@watdcsu.UUCP>, mberkley@watdcsu.UUCP (J.M.Berkley - Computing Services) writes:
                            . . .  If she decides to abort her baby,
> then she chooses another set of consequences, far worse than carrying
> the baby to term.  I'm not talking about "Eternal" consequences, but
> consequences right now: guilt and remorse, sterility, etc.,etc.
> 

Lord only knows what your qualifications are for telling the world
what consequences women have from abortions, particularly since you
seem to think that all women are alike and have the same reactions.

My qualifications include personal experience with both an
intentionally aborted pregnancy and a planned child carried to term.
Also, I spent two years as a volunteer for Planned Parenthood.  During
that time I talked to more than one hundred women who were
considering abortions, most of whom later had the abortions and came
back to tell us about the experience.

On the basis of these experiences and on the basis of my extensive
reading in the field I can say that:

	1. Sterility, and indeed, any bad physical consequence, is more
	likely to result from carrying a pregnancy to term than from
	a legal first trimester abortion.  (The situation gets
	statistically more complicated for second trimester abortions 
	because many of them are done *because* of physical complications 
	of the pregnancy  --because the woman's life or health is in danger.)
             The horror stories we have all heard of the awful physical 
	consequences of abortion (infection, sterility, haemorraging, etc.) 
	are leftovers from the bad old days when abortions were illegal and 
	usually done under poor conditions by badly trained practitioners.  
	Today, while it is slightly more dangerous to have an abortion
	than it is to never become pregnant, it is no more dangerous
	than carrying the pregnancy to term.

	2. Some women do suffer guilt, remorse, and other mental
	problems following an abortion; most women do not.  
	The women who suffered guilt were nearly always  
	women who felt that abortion was wrong, but felt forced into
	it by difficult social or economic circumstances.  Such women
	could be greatly helped by programs designed to help pregnant
	women choose alternatives to abortion.  On the other hand, the
	majority of women who did not feel abortion to be wrong reported
	feelings of liberation, strength, independence, and being in
	control of their lives.  These women would not be dissuaded
	from having abortions no matter how easy or attractive the
	alternative.

						Carole Ashmore