Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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<9 Wednesday si Dehatina tht A woman's choice By Karen Addy Staff Writer Every woman has a fundamental right to control her bodj in the way she chooses, especially concerning childbearing. This right includes the option of terminating a pregnanc> when she feels it is the best option she has. The decision of whether or not to have an abortion when uiiwuiucu pi eguaucy u^cuid id une ui uic uiuai (tguuuiug dint painful decisions a woman may ever be forced to make. No woman wants to have an abortion, but it is a necessary alternative. So called "pro-life" groups like to paint a picture of women who have abortions as callous, selfish individuals. These same groups call physicians and counselors connected with abortion services murderers. They are undeniably wrong, however, in their criticism. Many people argue that with all the available methods of birth control on the market, there is no need for abortion services. They say there is no excuse for a woman to become pregnant if precautions are taken. Unfortunately, this is not so. As advanced as our society is, there is still not a totally safe and totally effective method of birth control available to women or men. More popular methods are the IUD, the diaphram and the pill, all of which involve some type of risk. Often, because of social attitudes toward sex education and sexuality in general, it is very difficult for some women, especially the young and poor, to choose and obtain a method of birth control. A spokeswoman with the Carolina Women's Services said a large number of the abortions performed during the last few years could have been prevented had the public school system in South Carolina provided more useful information to students. Until birth control methods are perfected and made available to all women, safe, legal abortion facilities should be an option. Of course, abstinence is a safe, fail-proof method of prevenung unwameu pregnancy, uui in our present uay society it is an unrealistic method. No matter how one feels concerning sexual morality, the fact is that sex inside and outside of marriage is accepted in our society. Nothing in this world is black and white when making critical decisions. When a woman decides to have an abortion, she does so only after weighing the pros and cons of the situation. Even then, she is usually haunted by uncertainty o twUiito Krvi i An rPU o r?n o nir rfrntr unu diiiuivaiciiLC auuui nci ucv,ioiuu. i uuic uiu muujr 51 ?j areas surrounding her choice. "It was really the hardest decision I've ever made, and it'll stay with me the rest of my life. But I can't be sorry. I mean, what kind of life could I have given a child ? no job, no home, no nothing...It would have ruined my life, and his (the mi baby's) would have been miserable," said one woman who we has had an abortion. m< Lizz Todd, the head counselor at Southern Women's Ser- j vices, said most of the women who have abortions at the ca th< 'It was really the hardest decision I've en ever made, and it'll stay with me the C;' rest of my life. But / can't be sorry. / mean what kind of life could / have fa given a child ? no job, no home, no ^ nothing.' hl' clinic are single. Most of them are in their late teens or early foi twenties. m, Todd says many young girls and women are not prepared all for the responsibility of raising a child, financially or emotionally. pa "One of the first questions I ask a girl is how she will th provide for the child, how she will feed it and clothe it. And if ab she is unmarried, what will she do about a father figure in the ba child's life," Todd said. Having a child is expensive, and some women, especially ah those who haven't completed their educations, have no lej source of adequate income. The cost of delivery alone runs ex flosp tn $9 00ft And that's iust the beginning ab "When I'm financially prepared, I would love to have a sa baby. That is, when I can give her quality of life, not just life," another woman said concerning her abortion. mi Most child-rearing experts, including doctors, psychologists and mothers, agree that a woman should be Ac emotionally mature and stable before having a child. th< I Pregnancy brings profound, unexpected changes to a ac woman's life, even to those women who plan their Cv, pregnancies. Some women are not prepared to cope with wi these eh^(i^esA^0 Jhf* (J^njd iift'Jfljd''abtf!j$# j0 J cases, severe depression and even suicide. v i .Just because a girl or woman is physically capable of becoming pregnant doesn't mean she is capable of being a He mother. foi 'nast vi?nr I've worked with four twelve-vear-old I girls, children really, who were pregnant," Todd said'. H? The spokeswoman at Carolina Women's Services said most th of the women who come to the clinic are scared and lonely. w( One IJSC student who has had an abortion said the worst part tri was the loneliness and the feeling that nobody could un- 1 if derstand the emotions or the uncertainty she felt. One of the most effective weapons pro-life groups use wl against abortion are photographs of a tiny fetus, with human ch features already formed. Todd said the pictures are an A e abortion < 4 weeks... 8 weeks... 12 weeks... ??? ? isleading because they were taken around the 16th !ek of a pregnancy, not during the first two months wnen jst abortions are performed. she said during the first eight weeks, the pregnant woman rries an embryo, instead of a fetus. While the embryo has e potential to become a human life, it is not yet developed ough to be considered a person. Counselors at both Southern Women's Services and irolina Women's Services said the most important conieration was the feelings and the situation of the pregnant >man. They said women are sometimes pressured by mily, husbands and boyfriends to have the baby. But cause it is the pregnant woman's body and she is most >selv involved, she must ultimately make the decision rself. The woman is the one who has to carry the child in her body r nine months and endure the pain of childbirth. The aternal destiny of each woman should be in her hands [)ne. Anti-abortion groups are working to get an amendment ssed banning legal abortions. They scored a major victory is summer when Congress cut off Medicaid funding of lortions for poor women. That decision was a major setck for women collectively. History has proven that a woman who wishes to have an lortion can get one whether they are legal or not. Outlawing 4al abortions is not the answer and would only serve to pose women to unregulated, unsterile and unprofessional ortionists. Society onlv controlswhether or not to condone fe, sanitary conditions for the operation. Tragically, many women have died at the hands of nonedical practitioners and from self induced abortions. Abortion is not a newly developed procedure or practice, cording to "Our Bodies, Our Selves," a book published by v Boston Women's Health Book Collective, abortion was an cepted practice as far back as the Kith century. Even the itholic Church accepted abortions provided it took place thin one to two months after conception. In the Kith century r?r Aoortion wasn't outlawed in this country until 18(>9. cause abortion methods were crude and very dangerous r women this ban was legitimate. Not until the late IMOs were abortion laws reformed, and en only moderately. In 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled at the 14th Amendment applied - to a )inan's right to terminate a pregnancy throughout the first imester and afterward if necessary to save the woman's e. Women are now faced with well-funded opposition groups io are seeking to take away a basic right ? the freedom of ioice. Mandatory motherhood is a powerful form of slavery, id women must fight to retain their rights. rlilprm A human m ByTomCoyn? t Staff Wr?t?r r "I will give no deadly drug \ to any, though it may be < asked of me, nor will I I counsel such, and I es- f pecially will not aid a woman i to nrnoiirp an ahnrtinn " < This is an excerpt of the i Hippocratic Oath taken by ] all doctors. Yet over ten 1 thousand abortions were I performed in South Carolina I alone last year. < The rights of the fetus have been ; debated for years. Even I most pro-abortionists will < concede that abortion in- I volves the taking of a life i although they claim it is not a human life because the ] fetus is not able to survive outside the womb. Every , year devices that make i viability possible at earlier stages are being developed. It is conceivable that someday the fetus will be able to survive outside the womb at the earliest stages. This raises the question not whether human life is being prevented by an abortion, but if a human life is being destroyed. Hn lonlinmr OO 1 fV"7 0 tlin vyii uanuui y ia# o 111c U.S. Supreme Court decided that "abortion may not be forbidden, nor may it be regulated on the basis of any rights of the fetus. Only in the late stages of pregnancy, when the fetus might survive outside the womb, may the state forbid abortion." The court did not answer the question of when an unborn child becomes a human being with rights. Hypothetically, their decision could allow a child to be killed moments before its delivery. 7 will give no dt though it may be as / counsel such, an not aid a woma> abortion.' The court said, "We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respected disciplines of medicine, philosophy and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer." This question must be resolved before abortion is allowed. This policy of "we're not sure if it is murder so it is all right until we can decide" can not. be accepted. A society that accepts death as the ceasing {ofArfcinwaves kbouW^ctapt, Mife a^TO^CTyfVmAwFtri^nFof these brainwaves. Twenty days after conception a heartbeat is detectable, at 40 days brainwaves begin and at 45 days the fetus will respond to a stimulus. Abortion is the violent destruction of a fetus in the process of development. In the suction curettage procedure the suction machinery rips the fetus from the uterus. It travels bbbhbk na urder hrough a long plastic tube ind is cast away in a gauze >ag. Sharp curettage uses a :urette to scrape the em)ryo, fetus and placenta rom the uterus. The intraiterine solutions burns the >kin off the fetus, and it goes nto convulsions that cause jremature labor. A lysterectomy is similar to a Oaesprean section but the "ptiiq ... tnrn from th*> ?itp?rnc vail. Pro-abortionists cla-m abortion is better flan bringing another unwarned child into the world. A study by Lai ry Bum pi s and Charles Westhoff shower) that 20 percent of all pregnancies are unwanted. Would they like to eliminate a fifth of the population? Do they claim that this fifth of the population all lead unproductive, meaningless lives? Another frequent claim is that if abortion were AlilVt innfn/'l if tirrvulrl rtnf n cuiuiuaicu it wuuiu put a great strain on the welfare system. It is ironic that a society that is willing to spend over $21,000 a year keeping alive a convicted killer, who has little chance of ever being released, is unwilling to give an innocent unborn an opportunity to experience life. "Many people are quick to rvnint tn Iho fo1111c nf ahnrfinn pvini. vv niv 1UU110 v/* caiurwE uwii but give little alternative to the girl," said Hank Chardos, director of Birthright. "This is where organizations like Birthright come in. We want them to know that we want to go through the pregnancy with them, that there is someone who cares." Birthright was founded on ladly drug to any, ked of me, nor will d / especially will n to procure an -Hippocratic Oath the principle that it is every pregnant women's right to give birth and the right of every child to be born. "Whatever kinds of help a pregnant woman might need we provide," Chardos said. The group's assistance includes pregnancy testing, counseling, clothing for both the mother and child, a shelter home and help with school problems. All these services are offered at no cost "The biggest problem is that women don't know where they can turn," said Sister Elaine Johnson of Catholic Social Services. "When the women realize itfarej < jire oafiCns, most iWidvMO trXMr children. Some puf-vHieOfc up U>r adoption, but to date only two have ODted for abor tion." Chardos said. There is definitely a want for children. Sister Elaine said couples have to wait four to five years before a child is available. "There are many more people looking for children than there are children available."