Letters: Mar. 12, 2007

New Tactics in the Abortion Divide

Crisis pregnancy centers aim to give women all the facts needed as they consider an abortion. But is this guerrilla-like army of mostly Christian charities providing kind counsel or ideological pressure? Whichever side of the debate readers came down on, most seemed ready for more open dialogue

Extremists on both sides of the abortion debate make the issue confusing and difficult [Feb. 26]. I was born out of wedlock, the product of a date rape. We should remember that there are lives involved. Both fetuses and mothers can grow up to be productive members of society. Abortion is too often treated like an avoidance option instead of a last resort. I for one am glad I was not aborted.

BRYAN T. SCHMIDT St. Louis, Mo.

Your look into the crisis-pregnancy-center (CPC) movement showed that antiabortion centers in many cases are forthright about their services and respectful to the pregnant women who enter their doors. At the same time, I am glad you also included a story about a particular CPC that led a woman to believe it provided abortion services only to berate and cajole her not to have an abortion. While many CPCs are sincere, what I call "counterfeit pregnancy centers" also exist. The abortion issue is already contentious enough. Deceit and misinformation only serve to inflame both sides and emotionally damage pregnant women exploring their options. I have introduced legislation to crack down on false advertising related to abortion services, and I hope it is something that can be supported by everyone, regardless of people's positions on abortion.

CAROLYN B. MALONEY MEMBER OF CONGRESS Washington

After describing a scenario in which a woman went to a center for information and supposedly did not get all the facts, a Planned Parenthood official quoted in your report stated, "That's taking someone's life and playing a really dangerous game with it." Whose life does he believe is in danger? It is a significant injustice to pretend that there is only one life at stake in these cases. Pregnancy centers shouldn't misinform women--and neither should abortion providers.

MAGGIE NICHOLS Deltona, Fla.

Your cover story on abortion was a good attempt to walk the middle line between two sides of what can be deemed an irreconcilable issue. It is encouraging to see the two sides of the abortion debate willing to sit down and talk inoffensively about their serious differences. But there was no mention of the disproportionate number of minority fetuses being aborted. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that three times as many black fetuses as white ones are aborted. This alarming ratio continues to grow even as the total number of abortions declines. What accounts for the silence on this issue?

MADELYN HIGBY Towaco, N.J.

Thank you for your excellent article about crisis pregnancy centers. But since when has informed choice become a "guerrilla" tactic? Abortion providers fear that a mother informed of her child's development will change her mind and decide not to abort. I hope your cover picture is sufficiently intriguing to pregnant women that they will investigate, as much as possible, that precious life inside them. Ultrasound is not a "stealth tactic." It is a window into the womb that reveals undeniable life.

KATHIE THOMPSON Wilsonville, Ore.

I am part of the post-Roe v. Wade generation that is extremely conflicted about abortion. I am pro-choice but wish the antagonists would work together to bring down the rate of abortion or at least respect the other viewpoint. They fall prey to name calling, fallacious arguments and misinformation, and both lose the trust of confused women.

ALLISON HOWARD West Friendship, Md.

Neither side of the abortion debate deals with grief. The anti-choice faction, including CPCs, hopes to fill women with guilt to prevent them from making a truly informed decision, and the pro-choice camp often fails to provide healing for those who grieve following their procedures. Neither position recognizes that when grief is allowed healthy expression, most women will begin to understand their sorrow, integrate it into their lives and eventually feel better. Grief is a noble human emotion that enables us to cope with the anguish of loss that accompanies life's most difficult decisions.

PERRY-LYNN MOFFITT, CHAIR PREGNANCY LOSS SUPPORT PROGRAM NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN New York City

Face to Face

RE "Faces of Iran" [Feb. 26], in which you pictured Iranians from various walks of life: There ought to be a law that every major news outlet must run features like this anytime the U.S. government openly contemplates military action. If we think we know what is best for another nation, then we ought to be able to look its ordinary citizens straight in the eyes before killing them for their own good. And please spare those people speeches about how it is only their government we hate, not them. If the whole world operated by that standard, Prime Minister Tony Blair's Britain and President George W. Bush's U.S. would have been invaded a good four years ago.

ALICE PFEIFER Hays, Kans.

I was interested to see the portraits of Iranians by Paolo Woods. I am an 11-year-old whose only images of Middle East life have been of people fighting or working at low-paying jobs. I was pleased to see that Iranians do much the same as we do in the West. They have jobs as dentists and teachers, and they engage in leisure activities like swimming. The illustrations were particularly helpful in changing my views.

NIKHITA MOUDGIL Telford, England

Worldly Wisdom

In the report of Afghan warlord Haji Bashar Noorzai [Feb. 19], you said that "the world changed on Sept. 11, 2001." The world didn't change. Global warming is still here, the poor are poor, the rich are rich, Africans are dying of AIDS, and malaria kills millions of children every year. The "world" changed for a fraction of the earth's population, mostly Americans, their allies and those who have been suffering from their attacks. Please be less ethno- and egocentric. The U.S. is not the world.

IZABELLA BRODOWSKA Montreal

Taking the Sunday Collection

RE The article about Roman Catholic clergy stealing from parishioners [Feb. 26]: You reported that, after the discovery of embezzlement, a bishop decreed biennial audits for every parish. That hardly inspires confidence. Anything short of an annual audit shouldn't be sanctioned. No publicly held company would be allowed that practice. Why should parishioners' gifts be treated any differently? Sounds like the same ol' cover-up to me.