Ah, Mr. Roeten [“Your Vote Should be Obvious,” Letters, June 25], nothing annoys me more than male pro-lifers. How many unintended pregnancies have you personally experienced? You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion, and your right to free speech is protected by the Constitution. However, that same Constitution also protects a woman’s right to choose, thanks to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
The choice to terminate a pregnancy is never made lightly. I find insulting and erroneous your assumption that it is. Most women cite financial reasons for obtaining an abortion. How many of these 1 million pregnancies—were they carried to full term—do you intend to financially support?
Additionally, until all incidents and allegations of child abuse have been resolved, I fail to see the validity of offering the Conference of Catholic Bishops as the moral standard by which we should make our reproductive choices. And I’ve got news for you: The Guttmacher Institute, which is considered to be one of the most reliable, unbiased sources of statistics on sexual and reproductive health, reports that 27 percent of women obtaining abortions identify as Catholic.
You suggest that humans have devolved. I would agree that some of us have—those of us who continue to inanely argue that abortion only exists because it was legalized in 1973. As long as there have been humans with sex drives, there have been unintended pregnancies and subsequently, induced abortions.
But let’s get down to the real issue: Should the rights of a cluster of cells be privileged over the rights of an adolescent or adult woman? Having volunteered as a health educator in Third World countries that criminalize abortion, I can personally attest that making abortion illegal never makes it go away, but instead renders it a dangerous “back-alley” practice.
Of course McCain and Obama place more importance on the issue of global warming than on abortion! Remember Roe v. Wade? We’ve dealt with this already! And tell me, these additional 1 million pregnancies that you argue should be carried to term annually, what of their impact on the environment and the availability of resources? … FYI, the Conference of Catholic Bishops have called for “urgent action” to combat global warming.
Even if McCain is elected (but let’s do all we can to avoid that!), I seriously doubt that he would dare reverse Roe v. Wade, or he would face millions marching in protest, as they [have] with comforting regularity to protect the reproductive rights won in 1973.
If you are so dedicated to preventing abortion, I suggest focusing your energy on educating young women and men how to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place. A hint to get you started: Abstinence-only sex education doesn’t work!
— Jordan Perry
Asheville
“You suggest that humans have devolved. I would agree that some of us have—those of us who continue to inanely argue that abortion only exists because it was legalized in 1973. As long as there have been humans with sex drives, there have been unintended pregnancies and subsequently, induced abortions.
You suggest that humans have devolved. I would agree that some of us have—those of us who continue to inanely argue that abortion only exists because it was legalized in 1973. As long as there have been humans with sex drives, there have been unintended pregnancies and subsequently, induced abortions.”
Well said.