Letter: Women should have control of reproduction

Tuesday, May 11, 2004 | 9:21 a.m.

I recently returned from the March for Women's Lives that took place in Washington. People came from at least 57 countries to protest the criminalization of a safe medical procedure and the treatment of women's rights as a political bargaining tool. One third of the marchers were under 25, disproving the idea that the young are disengaged.

A woman's ability to fully participate in society is directly correlated to her ability to control reproduction. Without the access and use of contraception a woman can have 12 to 15 children during her lifetime. Not only is this economically unsustainable in many families, but unsustainable to society as a whole.

The right to choose how to control one's body and thereby one's future is inherent in the ideals of our country. In order to make those choices a person must have access to the knowledge of reproduction and contraception. Two of the biggest causes of abortions are ignorance and misogyny. Knowledge gives options, options lead to choices, and choices lead to informed citizens.

The choice to abstain, to engage, to use contraception, to have access to emergency contraception, the choice to protect oneself from sexually transmitted diseases and to stop pregnancy should be made with all the available facts, to all.

A woman should decide her fate, not the church, not the state.

VENICIA CONSIDINE

Editor's note: Venicia Considine is president of the Nevada chapter of the National Organization for Women.