This is in response to the Feb. 22 letter “Must love woman and fetus.” As a strong supporter of abortion rights, someone who had an illegal abortion before Roe v. Wade, and a volunteer on the Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts hotline, I have a couple of things to say.
First, the abortion rights fund does not “encourage” women to have abortions. The women (and occasionally men) who call us are not in doubt about their decision. They are not calling us asking what they should do and we do not judge or question them, we help them with financing.
This is not true of “crisis pregnancy centers” that try to talk women out of abortions, often by telling them lies, and supported by your tax dollars.
Second, the letter writer’s statement that abortion “does not enhance a woman’s mental well-being” is contradicted by the research. The majority of women who have abortions report that their main feeling afterward is relief. On the other hand, women who seek abortions and are not able to get them suffer significant financial and emotional distress.
And third, while it is true that “nobody wants to have an abortion,” that doesn’t mean everybody seeking an abortion would rather have a baby, or that those 60 million Americans who lost their lives since Roe would be alive today.
What it means is that most abortions are the result of unplanned pregnancies (the exception being a serious health risk to the fetus or the mother) and given the choice between avoiding an unplanned pregnancy and having an abortion, nobody would choose abortion.
The way to give people that choice is to increase the availability of effective affordable contraceptives and good sex education.
That would be a true expression of love.
Wendy Robinson
Northampton