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From: tom@brl-tgr.ARPA (Tom Harkins )
Newsgroups: net.abortion
Subject: Sex education adds to # of abortions?
Message-ID: <4052@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 17-Aug-84 08:58:18 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.4052
Posted: Fri Aug 17 08:58:18 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 19-Aug-84 03:49:41 EDT
Organization: Ballistics Research Lab
Lines: 23

Sex education and readily available birth control are often advocated
in this newsgroup as being a solution to the abortion issue.
A recent posting by Brian Peterson states:
 "What we really should be doing is giving people the opportunity to
be responsible.  That means sex education and available birth control"
   -and-
"Right now the task is to make sex education and birth control plentiful
(prevention is the best remedy)"

   I recall reading that Sweden experienced an increase in the rate of
unwanted pregnancies upon implementation of the above advocated policies
rather than the result that Mr. Peterson assumes.  I do not explicitly
recall the source of this information.  Is anyone out there familiar
with either these findings or similar studies?

   Statistics aside, I contest the assertion that a knwledge of biology
and methods of pregnancy prevention/termination in any way leads to
responsible behavior.  If this were so, the ownership of and ability
to operate a "fuzz buster" would lead to responsible driving.  In each
case, technology/knowledge provide only a means of escaping the most
immediate consequences of irresponsible actions.

                                  tom @ brl-bmd