The Conversation | Abortion

Last Sunday’s Conversation, “The untold stories in the abortion wars” (Forum, Shawn Hubler; Jan. 17), asked: Do personal stories make a difference in polarized debates like abortion?

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A different story on abortion

With abortion rates at an historic low, I am optimistic that the current generation of women of child-bearing age may be selflessly giving their babies, or “dependents” as the author describes them, a chance at life.

An unwanted or unplanned pregnancy, besides bringing a possible crisis and unexpected burden into a woman’s life, also offers a unique and precious gift. That gift, the child she is carrying, she can selflessly choose to share with another family. Through adoption, a selected family can give her child life and love.

Sometimes it’s not a convenience

My pregnancy was inadvisable. I was a 30-plus-year-old, married woman with a chronic illness that was becoming increasingly unmanageable. I didn’t know I was pregnant until I ended up in the ER, just plain ill. The chances of a good outcome for the pregnancy were slim, and the potential child would be burdened with malformations, pain, and physical and mental challenges.

The sad decision to abort was the best option. I continue, many years later, to be grateful for the ability to make that decision. I cannot understand how the opponents of a woman’s right to choose continue in their inability to see that the decision is not taken lightly. It is not just an easy way out.

Talking past the true issues

Shawn Hubler’s column is just another uninspired, tired example from the pro-choice movement of how wonderful abortion can be for the woman choosing to terminate her pregnancy. It purely panders to like-minded readers, since it refuses to address the basis of the pro-life position by focusing solely on the mother.

No one doubts the difficulty of being confronted with an unwanted pregnancy. Few would even be surprised that life is easier when choosing abortion. But what about these unborn children?

The moral question and crux of the debate is: Does life for one supersede inconvenience for the other?

Back to Dark Ages on abortion

It appears that there are still those who would like to return pregnant women with unwanted fetuses to the dark ages before Roe v. Wade.

Those do-gooders who are so concerned about the fetuses seem to lose interest after they are born and become babies. If they are so concerned, why don’t they adopt some of these unwanted children – especially those with special needs and birth defects?

These same people are also the first to cut any benefits – like welfare, Medicaid and food stamps. Do I detect some hypocrisy?

The other side – an adoption story

Our son will be 31 this March. We adopted him at birth. His birth mother was a lovely girl in her early teens who became pregnant at the wrong time by the wrong man.

She had ambitions and dreams that did not include rearing a child as a teen. She had a decision to make. She chose life. After our son was born, I went up to her room in the hospital and asked why she hadn’t just aborted him, as so many were doing at that time. Her response was profound; especially for such a young lady.

She said, “I couldn’t punish him for my mistake.” So, as a result of nine months of inconvenience, she is the birth mother of a bright, handsome, happy man; an aerospace engineer, with a beautiful wife and a full and productive life. A blessing in all our lives. Better choice, happier story.

Illustration shows different woman

The woman opting for an abortion is flat-bellied. A realistic picture to go with column might show that sassy high school girl destined for success. Or a girl impregnated at 13, a woman with a health condition or a married woman whose fetus has a problem that will cause a life of suffering for all.

The young girl looks like her classmates. The unhealthy woman is your co-worker. The woman with the impaired fetus looks sad.

Reproduction in nature is redundant. For those who argue for the uniqueness of any human fetus, I would ask them to consider all those other eggs, all those other sperm that might have combined. We don’t feel compelled to save them all.

The baby is the combination that is nurtured. The illustration published with the article shows that baby.

Abortion picture inflammatory

Putting that illustration on the front page of the Forum section is irresponsible and provides flammable fuel for the anti-abortionists. No woman at that stage of her pregnancy would consider abortion even if it were an available option – which it isn’t.

Abortion is not a smart choice

I take issue with the premise of this story. From my perspective most journalists write about abortion as a smart thing to do. The writer of this article, Shawn Hubler, writes about 113 smart lawyers who couldn’t have become lawyers if they hadn’t chosen abortion. I would think smart women like these would know about contraceptives.

My daughter became pregnant in her 20s, chose open adoption and finished college with two degrees. Her decision gave a childless couple a gift and that child is now in college. Smart is realizing there are options other than abortion.

This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "The Conversation | Abortion."