>> In the case of
>>the 18-year-old who abandoned her newborn in a bathroom,
billwald@juno.com:
>These cases aren't that clear with respect to morality - It is more of a
>jurisditional dispute because she could have gone to a doctor and had the
>baby murdered. In our society doctors have the monopoly on death. She
>should have been charged with practicing medicine without a license.
I wonder if she actually had sex ed or did she have one of those
"abstinence only" classes the religionists prefer? Did she know about birth
control? Did she have access to it? Did she have access to an early term
abortion? (not as desirable, obviously, as birth control use, but a hell of
a lot better than infanticide).
I heard about this story quite some time ago. I'd always been grist for
some ideological mill or other and the actual details of the case have
never been clear. I've always found it to be a bit puzzling. I was present
at the births of all three of my grandchildren. It's not a quick and easy
process--it's long, sweaty, hard work. The odds are highly in favor of the
fact that if the girl went into labor during the prom, she's going to still
be in labor long after everybody else has gone home. Labor for a first baby
averages about 12 hours. My daughter, famous for quick births, did it in
five. And, trust me, the girl is not going to feel up to disco dancing a
few minutes later. Imagine running an all day marathon while someone is
trying to tear your arm off.
Infanticide was quite common in China before communism (and probably
after). There were frequent widespread famines. A woman with some number
of children finding herself in the midst of a famine and likely to see
herself and/or her children starve would often kill her newborn shortly
after birth improving the odds of her own and her children's survival.
*Those* women were under evolutionary pressure. The teenager in the story
above was not.
Susan
----------
The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our
actions. Our inner balance and even our very existence depend on it. Only
morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to life.
--Albert Einstein
http://www.telepath.com/susanb/
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