> There are a couple things I'd like to respond to, from this post,
and a previous one. Please accept my invitation to an open dialog on
the important issues you raise. I know that, even though this is just
a TV show, there's probably a guy somewhere in the world who pulled
this stunt. Shame on the him (obviously), but this TV show sounds to
me like it is pandering to the same inter-gender distrust that is
proposed by the gynophobe side. Again, I don't think the problem here
is a matter of fertility control as much as one of respect and
trust-building in relationships. This guy on TV is a despicable idiot.

-I think the idiots on tv were the reason we gave our tv up! It's
really frustrating watching shows where the negative images in society
are furthur perpetuated.

> But there is another side to this, which is that this 'Thing' you
> refer to--the thing growing inside the woman TV character--is
> considered by many (including me) as not merely a thing, but another
> fully human being.

-Obviously we disagree on this point. An embryo or fetus is not a full
human being unless it doesn't need to leech off my body resources, and
make me ill in the process to survive.

> Abortion doesn't solve any societal problems, it merely places more
pressure on the woman to 'fix' her own 'problem,' when she may not
want to give up the pregnancy. Tux, I am deeply sorry about the
position you were put in; please accept my condolences. But I also see
in your story some extremely disturbing trends at work, that I hope
you will join me in confronting:

-Well, nobody expected me to 'fix' a problem. I was basically going
insane because of the toll of the pregnancy. The only societal
problems here are the people that are judging me, making me look like
a victim that wanted to have a baby, when truthfully, the entire time,
i felt as though my body had been violated by an embryo.

> 1. Reliable contraceptive methods were simply not available, when
> medical science should have been able to provide something better
> than faulty condoms and unreliable foam. You identify "nausea,
> headaches, muscle spasms, fatigue and depression from about the
> third day" among the side-effects you experienced from hormonal BC.
> Your experiences are far too common. A method that causes such side
> effects as you describe is simply not an option. We need to demand
> something better. My girlfriend and I are considering the Mirena IUD
> right now, as opposed to pills, but this also is far from an ideal
> solution.

-I would be concerned about the Mirena, it does release hormones as
well. Not to mention that it is extremely painful to insert.

If you want the real reason Birth control pills are pushed.. it's
quite simple. Women are conditioned to believe their sexuality is not
as important as that of their spouse/partner. So, while many of my
friend were sexually active as teenagers on the pill, most were not
enjoying the experience because they were almost completely stripped
of their sex drives.

> 2. Dropping out of school due to the pregnancy could have been avoided
> if our society as a whole demanded that schools (jobs, etc...) make
> more concessions for women in these situations. It is pure anti-woman,
> cowardly, hand-washing on the part of colleges and high schools, that
> cause women in your situation to fail out of school. Simply put, women
> should not drop through the cracks due to pregnancies. We should all
> demand more from our institutions of higher learning, and we should
> all be far more supportive of pregnant women.

-What if these women do not wish to be pregnant? You make it sound
like if society did A and B, most women would want to be mothers. Have
you considered that some women do not want this?

> 3. This last one I find most disturbing of all. You say you still have
> anemia from the pregnancy--you may want to check with a doctor and
> find out if your current condition might actually have been a result
> of the abortion itself. Unfortunately, side effects of abortion are
> rarely publicized when the abortion is legally performed, but they are
> more common than you might expect. Your symptom may, in fact, be due
> to a poorly conducted procedure, or a wrong type of procedure for your
> particular health problems. Surgical abortion is specifically ruled
> out as too dangerous in women suffering from Anemia, and other types
> of medical abortion are also highly dangerous. There may be a
> malpractice suit in this, if your doctor did not take these things
> into consideration.

I know anemia can get worse after an abortion, but it can also get
*much* worse after a pregnancy and birth. There were other problems
that made the abortion the best situation for me.

Furthermore, believe it or not, many intended pregnancies end in
abortion. My own mother had several because of her health. When your
body can't handle a pregnancy, you could very well die in the process,
I don't know why that never occurs to some people.

-tux