EDITORIAL: New dialogue on abortion

Comment on the points made by MG. A Pro-Life organization can not assume responsibility for a child for the rest of his/her life, that is the purview of the biological parents or the adoptive parents. However, there is a fine service offered by the Catholic Church, known as the Gabriel Project, that will assist the mother all the way through pregnancy and postpartum. They will not let the mother and child fail and they will not abandon them. This is a positive alternative available to any woman asking for help.

MG - The psychologoical problems are not due to "pressure" to have the child. They are a natural effect of killing one's baby. By the way, if I don't share in the sex I should not be forced to share in the upbringing. At what point am I absolved of such? When the child is 20? 40? 60? But you offer a red-herring. Unfortunately I do share the burden that you insinuate I do not. When the woman (or child as it may be) has a baby, my taxes help to educate that child. My taxes are frequently used to feed and provide health care for that child. And even late in life my taxes help provide the social security checks that are sent. Meanwhile, let's not forget who bears the primary responsibility for any baby - the parents. Not you and I, the parents. Not a church, not the Pope - the parents. Got it? One more time. Who bears the responsibility for a baby? T h e P a r e n t s.

Contrary to the views expressed by this editorial. Scientific evidence does not overwhelming state that abortion leads to poor mental health outcomes. In fact, in a press release by the American Psychological Association (APA) on August 12, 2008, “There is no credible evidence that a single elective abortion of an unwanted pregnancy in and of itself causes mental health problems for adult women…” This press release can be found at http://www.apa.org/releases/abortion-report.html. It indicates that global opinions cannot be drawn from research. Overall, this need to be better understood and we are just not there yet. However, the decision of whether or not to have a child rests with the woman. As RDH states, the responsibility for the baby rests with the parents, so it should be there decision.

Your assertions about the negative effects of abortion are not backed up by any specific data. What really confused me was the telephone poll of "adults" on the effects of abortion - how would that be relevant? What would be relevant would be a poll of women/girls who have had abortions, not the opinions of people who may never have faced such a decision, nor of people (men?) who don't even have the issue in their lives. I have had to face this decision and had an abortion which I do not regret nor did I suffer any emotional fall out. This editorial is sloppy, based on unsubstantiated statements and is not worthy of your reputation. Ultimately, this is a decision for the woman who bears the responsibility of having the child - the woman who owns the body that is pregnant, not anyone else. Perhaps we should start regulating men's rights to have a vasectomy. Greenwood

Regardless of the accuracy of this research, I am happy to take it as further evidence at the importance of providing post abortion care to women who choose to have abortions.

Re: Greenwood - What would be relevant would be a poll of women/girls who have had abortions, not the opinions of people who may never have faced such a decision, nor of people (men?) who don't even have the issue in their lives. Wow, I DARE anyone to conduct such a poll. You couldn't even get women to respond, the issue is so hurtful. Dream on. I'm hoping my son's daughter someday wants to meet me. I don't have a dumpster image to deal with. You want to play the politically correct game with this one? Bring it on. Call it "pro-choice" or some other neutral name that allows you to mask what we're really talking about, but the bottom line is the bottom line, and you can't change that. Like Nicholson said - you can't handle the truth.

Re: MG - Anyone that advocates restricting a women's right to choose - shares the burden for the children they bear. If I have to share the burden of the child, I should get a say in the original choice, when they decide to make the baby in the first place. They choose to participate in an act, the consequence of which is possibly a brand new little person, and you want me to bear some responsibility? With all the preventive measures available to him and her today? With him and her knowing full well what may happen? No. Like in "Million Dollar Baby", they, like me, have a responsibility to 'protect yourself at all times'. It's not someone else's responsibility, it's his and hers. And when they don't, it is beyond the pale that the only option left is to make socially acceptable what in clearer times is an abomination. The women's movement, most of which I agree with believe it or not, has latched on to this progress at the cost of the most innocent in our society, and the arguments become increasingly specious as opponents start saying "enough is enough".

There is, in fact, no "new dialogue" in this editorial. It is essentially an article about Reardon's 'research' (term used loosely). The conclusions of the American Psychological Association -- a respected scientific body -- are dismissed, while Reardon's one study is instead taken as definitive. If the Washington Times had desired to look into the body of research on this topic, they would have found that women experience a wide range of emotions after having an abortion, the most common being relief. And that women who are most likely to experience depression after having an abortion are women who experienced depression before pregnancy. Additionally, another point that was overlooked is that women also experience a wide range of emotions after giving birth (for example, the very high rates of post-partum depression).