A conservative man once said to me, “Roe v. Wade was a terrible decision. The courts never should have gotten involved. Let the states decide.” I thought my head would explode.
That was then. Now I believe Roe, though a lifesaver to millions of women over the years, has had its day. It has divided the country to an extreme and politicized the courts.
A majority of Americans support abortion rights. It is time for Congress to pass a law giving all women access to all forms of health care, including — with reasonable limits — abortion. Hundreds of people marched for abortion rights in Chicago this week, applauded at every corner. They are the tip of the iceberg. We will never go back to the alleys.
Don’t believe in abortion? Don’t have one. It is really that simple.
— Amy Savin Parker, Evanston
Women should keep choice
Even though I believe abortion to be a grave moral wrong, I recoil from the attempt to abolish the right to an abortion. Tightening laws to force women to bear children makes no more sense than did the Spanish throne’s attempt in the 15th century to force Jews to convert to Catholicism.
As a Catholic, I may strive to persuade pregnant women to bear their children, even in cases of rape. However, the idea of invoking state power to compel them to do so makes me shudder. The choice ought to remain theirs.
Regardless of what my church may say, no one knows when the soul is implanted in the embryo. Catholic thinkers say it is at conception because it is then that a full complement of nuclear chromosomes — half paternal, half from the mother — come together. That argument may appear sound, until you realize that practically every cell in your body has a full complement of chromosomes sufficient to make another you. Does that accord a right to every cell in the body for protection under the U.S. Constitution?
On just when the soul is implanted, reasonable people may disagree. I might wish to influence their beliefs using reason, but I would never wish to arrogate the power to compel a raped woman to bear the fruit of her misfortune.
— Michael W. Drwiega, Wilmette
Protect the weakest among us
Since 1973, estimates are that 61.3 million abortions have occurred in the United States. Under the Nazi persecution, 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. We have allowed abortions totaling 10 times the number of Jews murdered during the Holocaust since abortion has been legalized.
What have we murdered? The cure for cancer, a chance for world peace, our ability to be altruistic? How can we stop gun violence in this country when we cannot protect the weakest among us? Where is our perspective? When does life begin? Who cares, once we know that conception has occurred, what do we think that "thing" is going to develop into, a baked potato? It will eventually have a heartbeat, brain function and in due course, a thankful smile.
— David Clark, Libertyville
Abortion rights in Illinois
As a full-time abortion provider in Chicago, I serve women from throughout the Midwest seeking pregnancy termination. In our region and throughout the nation, new laws with the sole purpose of eliminating access to safe, legal abortion are passing in staggering numbers. It is clear that a challenge to Roe v. Wade may soon reach the Supreme Court. In contrast, the Illinois Reproduction Health Act, House Bill 2495, ensures that all Illinois residents have the fundamental right to control their fertility. The act would repeal outdated laws that criminalize abortion, ban safe and effective abortion procedures, threaten patient privacy and require spousal consent to access abortion care.
This legislation is essential to protect the freedom and self-determination of the women of Illinois and women throughout the Midwest who face the tightening noose of abortion restrictions at home. We need to send a clear message that waiting periods, mandatory counseling replete with medical misinformation, six-week abortion bans and the numerous other restrictions enacted by conservative extremists seeking control over women’s lives will not go unanswered. These restrictions disproportionately affect the economically disadvantaged and women of color and have no place in a modern, egalitarian and democratic society. We must support and ensure the passage of H.B. 2495.
— Allison Cowett,
Co-medical director, Family Planning Associates Medical Group, Chicago