The Abortion DebateThe Woman, the Fetus, and the Stateby William H. DuBayOverlooked in the abortion debate are the powerful social and biological forces and interests at work in every abortion. Humans never act alone, their behaviors are influenced by powerful and sometimes subconscious motivations created by education and by nature. A woman contemplating abortion is not just acting in her own behalf. She is processing enormous amounts of information provided by thousands, perhaps millions, of years of human experience and acting in behalf of what she considers her society and its beliefs. Her decision is always an act of society. Deep in the heart of her decision is always the fundamental need of every society to establish a balance between resources and demand. In former times, social ritual and beliefs negotiated that balance. Today, modern societies are faced with the task of solving that problem anew, this time without the props of tradition and religion. Central to that problem are these issues: "What is the fetus and what are its rights, how is society to control reproduction, and how can abortion be minimized or eliminated?" The first part of this article looks at the history of reproductive control down through history. The second part discusses the failure of rights as the focus of the debate, while the new status of the fetus offers alternative solutions. © 1996 William H. DuBay Part I. Who Controls Reproduction? All comments welcome! Please send them to: [email protected]
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