Abortion decision has
obligation to all involved
In the midst of the current struggle over
the issue of legalized abortion, the Right to
Life coalition would have us believe that
respect for life is a moral characteristic
possessed only by those who oppose abor
tion. There are, however, many of us who
have not forgotten the horror stories of
countless women who desperately sought il
legal abortions prior to legalization.
The following quote from a recent New
York Times article should serve to jog our
Commentary
By Sharon Ellison
memories: “He was far more concerned
about the carnage he saw in the hospital
most evenings: the women — primarily
poor, black and Hispanic — who came into
the emergency room bleeding from the
vagina, running high fevers, in severe pain,
the victims of hacks and coat hangers. The
danger wasn’t confined to the poor
either. .. ‘The hypocrisy of this situation
was staggering, not to mention the potential
danger.’ ”
Carnage is defined as “extensive and
bloody slaughter or massacre.” The situa
tion is described as staggering and fraught
with potential dangers. The man interview
ed by the Times was Dr. Bernard Nathenson.
While Nathenson is now a supporter of the
Right to Life movement, his concerns and
his words have not lost either their impact
or their validity.
Concern for life must include a balanc
ed and compassionate view of the whole
picture when considering the issue of abor
tion. Advocating legalized abortion is not
like suggesting a good movie. It is done with
the serious recognition of the moral need to
consider the health of all parties potentially
involved: the woman, her existing children,
and the unborn fetus.
There are a number of issues to be con
sidered. First, abortion has been with us for
centuries. Making it illegal will not
eliminate it, only drive it underground. This
will create a desperate and dangerous situa
tion for millions of women; some are
children themselves and too young to be
mothers; some too old to start again; some
too poor to feed the children to whom they
have already given birth.
The level of desperateness felt by
women in need of an abortion can be further
exemplified by Nathenson’s experiences in
the first legal abortion clinic in New York in
1970. “We were getting women from every
state east of Mississippi, California was get
ting the ones from the west. There was
chaos in the waiting rooms. Women sitting
on suitcases with no place to go, and in
some cases, two and three week delays
before the operations could be performed.”
Such women would certainly consider more
drastic and unsafe methods of abortion if
safe, legal abortions were not available.
Second, the most drastic effect would
fall on the young and the poor. They would
be the most likely to attempt unsafe, illegal
abortions. Of those who failed to obtain one,
the child-mothers would have little prospect
for a stable home and the education needed
to support a family. The poor families
would become larger and poorer. Women
and children already comprise 63 percent of
the poverty-stricken human beings in the
United States. Their ranks would increase
by the millions. The wealthy would have
more resources for obtaining safe abortions
and would not suffer to the same extent.
Third, much of the legislation proposed
to ban safe, legal abortions would even
eliminate abortions in cases of rape, incest,
and medical problems expected to result in
a brain damaged or deformed child at birth.
The life long traumas which would result
for both mother and child would be
devastating.
Fourth, while the Right to Life coalition
proclaims that adoption is an alternative to
abortion, it frequently does not fall in the
realm of a woman’s choice. To abort an
undeveloped fetus is difficult but still the
most reasonable and healthy choice for
many women; to give away a living child is
often not within the realm of acceptable
choice.
The ultimate result of anti-abortion
legislation would leave millions of women
to return to dangerous methods of abortion,
bringing back the “carnage” of the past.
The fate of many of the millions of un
wanted children who would be bom also
strikes a terrifying cord.
In response to the need to publicly jog
the memory of the American people to
remember the compassionate effort which
created safe abortions for women 15 years
ago, the Nation Abortion Rights League is
holding nationwide SPEAK OUTS. NARAL
is collecting letters written by individuals
who are willing to share personal stories
about abortion.
Women who have had an abortion ex
perience are asked to write letters describing
their own need for a safe abortion. Relatives
and friends may also write. The letters may
be signed with full names, first names, or
assumed names. They should be addressed
to President Reagan care of Oregon NARAL,
P.O. Box 40472, Portland, Ore., 97240. The
letters will be read in Oregon and then
delivered with letters from all states in the
union to Washington, D.C., for a national
SPEAK OUT event.
Through these letters we can speak in a
voice loud enough for all Americans to hear.
We must protect our women and children
from the destruction of the past, at the hands
of what we commonly called “the butchers”
before the era of safe and legal abortions.
Ellison is a private counselor and consultant in
Eugene.
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