Show t m f fIt It Seems To Me MeBy By Joseph R H. H Roberts m 1 Abortion decision I Co COPYRIGHT 1977 j Contemporary Features t i Syndicate Inc In 1973 when the US U.S. Supreme Court declared that no government could deny a woman the choice to have an abortion during her first three months of pregnancy I l thought I understood the Courts Court's position on this delicate subject In fact it seemed fairly simple and straightforward It said a woman may elect to rid herself of a child she doesn't want during the early stages of pregnancy and that nobody could legally interfere with her choice Considering the various reasons a woman might have for not wanting to give birth to a the child most persuasive being pregnancy as the result of rape or incest I thought the ruling of the Court was humane I J could understand that neither the mother nor the cl child ld would would benefit if the mother was forced to give birth to a child she did not want could not love and m most t likely would not be able to care for properly The shocking revolting cases of child abuse that have been publicized lately seemed to confirm the wisdom of the Court Of course the people who advocated right to life saw nothing ng humane in the ruling and worked very hard to have it overturned I J must say their spokesmen made a strong highly moving appeal for the right of the fetus to live develop b be born and find its own destiny in this uncertain world Albeit they argued more from emotion than from reason they showed that the issue was not clear cut on either side Nor for that matter are the issues dealing with birth control sterilization capital punishment punish ment or the right to die with dignity Such sensitive packed emotion-packed issues will probably never be resolved resolve to the satisfaction of everyone everyone I think I understand the absolutist absolutist absolutist ab ab- ab- ab po position taken by some som right life advocates however They are convinced because of religious us beliefs or simply compassion for all mankind that nobody under any circumstances should be permitted to prevent conception con birth or one living out his t s normal life span To them life is sacred and must be preserved What I dont don't understand however is the joy expressed in inthe inthe inthe the right life camp over the Supreme Courts Court's decision to deny indigent women the choice it had previously granted to all women By ruling that states have no legal duty to pay for abortions when the lives of mc mothers are not at stake the Court has contradicted its landmark 1973 decision It U has said in a sense that states and institutions can legally deny women abortions by simply charging more for the operations than they can pay So now we have ve a situation in which poor women who are the them m most t likely to be unable to provide love and care for unwanted unwanted unwanted un un- wanted children must bear their cl children if they cannot find a free clinic somewhere during their first three months of pregnancy Only those women who can afford to pay their own medical expenses will now be protected by the Supreme Court ruling Why by should anyone on either side of the issue welcome such a cruel decision It is not humane not equal justice not even practical It H is cynical irresponsible concession concession con con- cession to a fanatical group within the right right life to life movement who dont don't care who gets hurt so long as they can claim a victory Some victory This year three hundred thousand women on welfare may be forced to have their unwanted babies because the Court has washed its hands of them |