Letter: Abortion is a personal medical choice

Patricia Hames had one thing correct in her letter “Babies deserve our protection, too,” and that is children do need our help.

According to the World Health Organization, 6.9 million children under the age of five died in 2011. They go on to report that more than half of that number died from conditions that were easily prevented or treated. One third of these deaths were linked to malnutrition. One of the leading causes of death is diarrhea.

Think of all the babies Patricia Hames and like-minded people could help save if they focused their energies on the living instead of making personal medical decisions for women they have never met.

Brad Negrotto

student

Prairieville

Comments

1) Comment by Whatnow - 13/11/2012

Abortion, death because of of inconvenience. That about sums it up. Most women abort in secrecy because they don't want anyone to know they got pregnant or because they will be inconvenienced. Otherwise they would put their children up for adoption. So they get to keep their dirty little secret at the costs of a life. How convenient for the women and men involved. How many unwanted children die in adoption centers and in foster care? Are these unwanted babies thrown out on the streets to starve and die? How many babies do die after being given up for adoption? And pro-life people aren't claiming to be "morally superior." We are all just people who value human life in all forms and speak for the babies. Does that make us "morally superior?" Only if you think so.

2) Comment by Sandy - 12/11/2012

Why limit that "personal medical choice" to babies that are still in the womb? Why not let women destroy any child that is inconvenient to them? Maybe we should just go ahead and put all those children the writer is so concerned with out of their misery! Think big, people.

3) Comment by potkcalb - 10/11/2012

Stop being wordy Phil. I assure you I understand English quite well. Thus far no one has had any difficulty understanding what I have written or what I'm talking about.

4) Comment by phil - 10/11/2012

poltcalb - I am not playing a word game, I am just identifying an existing word game, and people who really understand the English language already realize that.

5) Comment by potkcalb - 09/11/2012

Pleas Phil stop "playing a word game."

6) Comment by phil - 09/11/2012

Pro-life and not pro-life (anti life) seem to be actual opposites. I think we are playing a word game with life. Pro abortion and anti abortion are also opposite choices. I believe that pro life and pro choice are not really opposites. What you are basically saying is that pro choice allows a person to chose between being pro life and anti life. I suppose every time a murder takes place in BR, someone makes the same type of decision, but usually it is an adult who loses his/her life when the anti life option is chosen.

7) Comment by wadep66 - 09/11/2012

It's easy to talk and carry picket signs to show you are "morally superior" or whatever anti-choice folks think they are. If they wanted to "walk the talk" they could line up outside fertility clinics to have the frozen fertilized embryos implanted into their spouses--which they contend are living people who will be murdered when unfrozen. Oh yeah, also lining up to adopt the MINORITY babies of which there isn't enough demand for. Anyone? Bueller?

8) Comment by Teachyourkids - 09/11/2012

Ms. Hames has a right to her opinion, even if others diasgree. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution grants her that. Much like the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments grant individual women the right to decide what happens within their bodies without interference from others. The Supreme Court took the rights of "babies" (as Ms. Hames refers to all products of conception, no matter the stage of development) when they balanced protecting the mother's health and protecting the "potentiality of human life". The Court explicitly rejected a fetal "right to life" argument, and decided that a doctor should be allowed to practice medicine freely abscent a compelling state interest. I do understand that many Americans use their conscience and religious views to justify arguements against abortion. Once again, I turn to the Bill of Rights and point out that this wonderful document allows each individual a right to his or her own beliefs. If you do not agree with abortion, do not have one. If you want to prevent them in cases where a young woman is undecided, volunteer and donate for charities that help these cases. If you mourn the loss of unborn lives, by all means, pray for them. But respect the individual rights of those who feel, for whatever reason, that they must have this procedure. Your opinion will not change women's rights.

9) Comment by DMJ - 09/11/2012

If social conservatives had their way, government would make that choice, right phil? And Bwaites, I hate to point out the obvious, but had you been aborted, you probably wouldn't care one way or the other. Just sayin... I know this seems hard to understand, but you can be anti-abortion and still be pro-choice.

10) Comment by phil - 09/11/2012

The title of this letter "Abortion is a personal medical choice" says a lot. Who makes the choice? Does the unborn child have a say in whether he/she will be aborted? What about that right of life we all seem to want to fight for?

11) Comment by Bwaites985 - 09/11/2012

The writer is correct. Abortion is a personal choice. You can choose to murder a child or give it life. As an adopted child I am so thankful that my birth mother who I don't even know decided to give me a chance instead of disposing of me like a piece of garbage. Thanks Mom, wherever you are.

12) Comment by palefire - 09/11/2012

Mr. Negrotto here. healthbudget, learn to read. I said, "One of the leading causes of death is diarrhea". Not the number one cause of these deaths is diarrhea. jdk944, glad to know that you only care about the US. And I know this wasn't directed to me —but, the miracle of life is never a mistake? Let us look at the first part of your statement. Miracle - A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is considered to be divine. Life is such a miracle that there are close to a half million each day, all without the help of the divine.

13) Comment by DMJ - 09/11/2012

Republicans lost the single woman demographic by a lot...and Mourdock and Akin lost their Senate bids. Barack Obama will appoint at least one more justice to the Supreme Court. The issue is settled. Abortion is legal and always will be. It's ironic that the anti-choice crowd contains many of the same people who complain about teenagers having babies that later become financially dependant on the government.

14) Comment by jdk944 - 09/11/2012

Mr. Negratto - your #'s are NOT relevant to the US!! This isn't the Sudan, etc. Nice try in the attempt to continue to justify and rationalize MURDER!! @unevahno - the "miracle" of life is NEVER a "mistake" to use your word. @lovemykids - typical and expected from you. With the money "your" type wastes in government expenditures that are unnecessary, IF, applied to this need, would be taken care of. But then that's not your agenda. I find it "sad" that your post name is what it is but you support this abomination!!

15) Comment by CountryBoysCanSurvive - 09/11/2012

2 lovemykids PS: or a roll of duct tape for their ankles.

16) Comment by CountryBoysCanSurvive - 09/11/2012

2 lovemykids..I would be happy to give them a dollar for a condom.

17) Comment by healthbudget - 09/11/2012

actually, the #1 killer of children < 5 is pneumonia/lower respiratory tract infection. It surpassed diarrheal diseases several years ago.

18) Comment by lovemykids - 09/11/2012

How many anti-choice people would be willing to pay for a woman's care while she is pregnant and then take the child into their home and raise it as their own or meet all the needs of the child's first 18 years of life?

19) Comment by unevahno - 09/11/2012

Great observation, Mr. Negrotto. When the anti-choice folks commit to raising and caring for every child they "champion", we will continue to think of them as hypocrites. Interested only in heaping hardship on poor newborns andlimitingthe options of young women who made a mistake. The bible thumpers never make mistakes so there would never be a reason to hold them accountable for anything at all.

20) Comment by ScotB - 08/11/2012

I would rather be born and take my chances than to be chopped up and sucked out of the womb. But, that's just me....