At 06:03 PM 4/14/02, Julia wrote:
>Ronn Blankenship wrote:
> >
> > At 03:34 PM 4/14/02, Reggie Bautista wrote:
> > >Julia wrote:
> > >>I'd be a lot happier today if there were no crack-addicted babies born,
> > >>for one thing.
> >
> > Of course, someone could interpret that statement in more than one way.
> >
> > Just for the sake of discussion, it could mean that you want to prevent
> > women (or in far too many cases, "girls") of childbearing age from taking
> > drugs, or it could mean that you think abortion should be mandatory
> > whenever a woman using drugs gets pregnant . . .
>
>Or mandatory detox once a woman was pregnant, and if necessary, hold her
>there until the baby is born. (Just throwing out yet another
>alternative.)
I prefer that to the second alternative I listed, but there are those who
would scream just as loudly about that as the second alternative.
>More than anything, I'd just prefer that addicts not breed while actively
>addicted.
Though one could say that if alcohol is included in that prohibition�i.e.,
that we put a stop to DWI ("doing it" while intoxicated)�there are a lot of
people out there who wouldn't have been born . . .
>What would be cool would be if that birth control
>method in Heinlein's _Friday_ were available, and to shut the fallopian
>tubes of any addicted woman,
Followed by those of the mentally retarded, followed by those of minority
racial/ethnic/political groups, followed by . . .
>with the possibility of opening them up
>again once she were no longer on the drugs.
Last I heard, it still takes two to tango. How about also working on the
part of the problem represented by the men who are fathering these babies
with drug-addicted women/girls?
>But of course that doesn't exist yet.
Neither does Norplant for men.
OTOH, the *zipper* has been around for a little more than a century now,
and, when used properly, prevents virtually 100% of unwanted pregnancies
and STDs.
>(The closest I know of is sterilization of women, and that's
>not really reversible.
Ditto for men, although I know of cases in which it has been successfully
reversed.
>Speaking of which, does anyone have an opinion
>of the woman who offered to pay for the surgery and associated medical
>costs, PLUS offering some cash for addicted women?)
This is the first I have heard about it. Can you point me toward a reference?
-- Ronn! :)
God bless America,
Land that I love!
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam�
God bless America!
My home, sweet home.
-- Irving Berlin (1888-1989)
