Date: Tue, 8 Jul 1997 09:21:12 +0200
From: Hugh Rodwell <m-14970-AT-mailbox.swipnet.se>
Subject: M-I: Re: Right to abortion


I very much like Zeynep's insistence on the distinction between "technical"
and "personal" on the abortion issue. She writes:

>But, the "purely technical" is a bit troubling for me. I personally can't
>stand the idea of an abortion, I don't ever want to have one, I don't ever
>want to be forced into one. I find the idea of a possible baby being torn
>from a womb to be nauseating, to say the least. I don't care whatever anyone
>else thinks about this, nobody should interfere with my decision.

...

>In Turkey, abortion is used as a method of birth control. It is widespread
>and accepted. I'm not sure if Islam forbids it, I've never heard a claim
>like that and the "official" highest religious officer in the country has
>said it was okay to have an abortion. I know that women are struggling
>around the world for access to proper health-care, including on-demand
>abortion and I am not in the least trying to shift the focus from that
>struggle to "the right to not have an abortion". I must repeat, I support
>on-demand abortion, whenever, for whatever reason without any questions.

In my view this puts the question exactly where it should be located, as a
democratic right of personal emotional and physical integrity. This gives
the whole issue a transitional character -- organizing and fighting for
this easily understood democratic right immediately tangles with issues
involving the position of women, poverty, family, health, education etc
etc. None of these democratic issues can be adequately solved (not even in
the imperialist metropolises, let alone semi-colonies like Turkey) without
the socialist transformation of society, but they are so urgent and
explosive that people will fight for them against oppressors and exploiters
regardless, which makes it possible (with good organization and policies)
to develop the quality of popular consciousness of the big issues in the
course of the struggle.

It's also worth mentioning that the use of abortion as a method of birth
control was brutally common in the ex-workers' states of Russia and Eastern
Europe, which gives the women of these states and Turkey a great amount of
common social and emotional experience to draw on.

Zeynep continues:

>I wasn't going to comment, but this is a source of disagreement with many of
>my friends, but I have met a few communist women who had a very similar view
>and they were bothered that they never managed to say this, for the fear of
>being misunderstood. For me, it is not "purely technical", rather, it is
>personal. I've often thought that my position might be a problem, it may
>sound like "moralizing" about abortion and putting women in a difficult
>position. I often keep my mouth shut whenever this subject is discussed. I
>kept trying not to post on this thread, but I am now wondering outloud, does
>Carrol and Yoshie think voicing this would have a negative effect on the
>struggle for on-demand abortion, and that it can only be defended on a
>"purely technical" argument?
>
>I am not asking a rhetorical question, I would continue to keep my mouth
>shut if I think this opinion is damaging, which it may well be.

The kind of left movement that can't take personal emotions generated by
oppression and exploitation is bureaucratic and oppressive itself. Such
opinions are not damaging, they are absolutely necessary. Emotional
solidarity and enthusiasm are fundamental to the success of revolution, in
the same way as emotional revulsion against exploitation and oppression is.

Cheers,

Hugh




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