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<\/a><\/p>\nThis was first published in Sisterlife<\/em>, the newsletter of Feminists for Life of America, Fall 1989. It was reprinted in the book ProLife Feminism: Yesterday and Today<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n by Leslie Keech (1954-1989)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We are all used to it by now: the media establishment portraying prolifers as insensitive, sexist clods, while the noble knights of the proabortion position are the champions of women\u2019s rights. But occasionally the hand slips, and even the mass media reveals that the central right abortion grants is the right to be exploited. Two articles that came my attention recently should cause any thinking person to reexamine legal abortion\u2019s legacy really is.<\/p>\n In the July issue of Glamour <\/em>magazine an article by Eric Goodman appeared, entitled \u201cMen and Abortion.\u201d It is an account of several men\u2019s experiences with their partners\u2019 abortions. The thread running throughout the article in nearly every instance was that the abortion was his <\/em>idea\u2014and the woman agreed to follow his lead.<\/p>\n For instance, \u201cWalt\u2019s\u201d account: Instead of advising her to do what she thought best for her own life, Walt allowed his lover to be guided by her strong desire to \u201csave their relationship.\u201d \u201cI said, \u2018What do you want to do?\u2019 She suggested abortion, thinking this would make it possible for me to continue to paint, that that in turn would prolong our relationship . . . She\u2019s my age, thirty-five, and it may have been her last chance to have a child. I believe she would be much happier if she\u2019d had it\u2014but I would be unhappy having a child I never saw and didn\u2019t live with. I guess I sound like a real cad. Maybe I was.\u201d Gee, Walt, I had a stronger <\/em>word in mind . . .<\/p>\n Or how about \u201cChristopher\u201d who got the money for the abortion from his mother, then accompanied his girlfriend to a clinic that he likened to an \u201cabortion factory\u201d (front-alley variety). As he waited for the abortion to be completed, he pondered his predicament. \u201cI think I felt more concerned about her than I really was, because I was there with her?\u201d Kind of amazing what a little trip to the abortion clinic will do for one\u2019s conscience, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n \u201cJack\u2019s\u201d lover had an abortion while he was in law school. They considered themselves too young to have a child, and they were both in the middle of pursuing careers. They broke up some time after the abortion, and he married a woman who was unable to bear a child. He said, \u201cSo it turns out my one chance for a biological child was that aborted pregnancy in law school.\u201d The article goes on to admit, \u201cIf Jack\u2019s wife had been able to have children, it\u2019s unlikely he would have given much thought to what happened in law school.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJeff\u201d has been involved in two abortions, but it took the second one to make him regret his behavior during the first. \u201cI was afraid of getting snarled up in two kids and a house, so I took the refuge of asking, \u2018What do you want to do?\u2019 She was waiting for me to mention marriage, so she opted for abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n The selfish, sexist, irresponsible behavior shown by these and many other men is heightened and encouraged by abortion\u2019s easy way out. Our society expects that fathers should pay child support for their children, but at the same time we make it very easy for a man to simply use the woman for his pleasure, and then buy his way out of the deal for a couple hundred dollars! Why should a man pay child support for eighteen years if he can \u201cget rid of the problem\u201d so neatly?<\/p>\n \u201cAlex\u201d shared his experience: \u201cFrom the moment she told me, I wanted her to have an abortion. She knew I would. I\u2019m still paying child support for the first three kids, and I don\u2019t make that much. The way things fell out, there\u2019s been a kid under four in my life for the past ten years. I\u2019m tired of waking up in the middle of the night.\u201d Poor \u201cAlex.\u201d It is <\/em>important to get your rest\u2014no matter what the cost.<\/p>\n Finally, an interview appeared in Penthouse <\/em>magazine with George Brett, first baseman for the Kansas City Royals baseball team. The interview is extremely enlightening concerning male attitudes towards abortion\u2014and towards women.<\/p>\n George admits to paying for two women to have abortions, and feels that those decisions were the right ones, since he wasn\u2019t ready to get married. (Keep in mind that this is a man who could easily afford to raise a child, marriage or no.) George was <\/em>rather pleased about one aspect of the abortions, however. It \u201cproved\u201d that he was indeed the stud he purports to be. He candidly states, \u201cI know I\u2019m fertile. I\u2019ve got the checkbook to prove it. But getting a couple of girls pregnant gave me a sense that there\u2019s no sweat. I can have kids anytime I want. I\u2019ve had the security of knowing I\u2019m a proven performer.\u201d<\/p>\n What a wonderful service to humanity those two women have contributed; by subjecting themselves to surgery, they have assured us that George Brett is not infertile. That\u2019s just swell. Did two children really have to die to prove it?<\/p>\n I wonder if the \u201cprochoice\u201d movement really understands how antiwoman abortion really is? It has certainly not brought us forward in establishing equality with men. We need callous, exploitative men to step up to our level, not drag us down to theirs.<\/p>\n ================================<\/p>\n The Myth of Sexual Autonomy\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Isolating Women and Encouraging Jerks<\/a><\/p>\n Abortion Facilitates Sex Abuse: Documentation<\/a><\/p>\n How Abortion is Useful for Rape Culture<\/a><\/p>\n Abortion and Violence Against Pregnant Women<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cShut Up and Enjoy it!\u201d: Abortion Promoters who Sexually Pressure Women<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>For more of our posts on similar themes, see:<\/p>\n