Letter: Abortion takes a heavy toll on women

Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007 | 8:03 a.m.

Letter writer Eileen Schenck makes several erroneous assumptions in her letter defending abortion ("Decision on abortion must be the woman's," Nov. 7).

1) She claims women have the right not to be enslaved by their own bodies. Excuse me, but aren't we all "enslaved" by our own physical restrictions and health? Who among us can fly on his own power? Or who can swim underwater for 30 minutes without appropriate equipment?

2) She claims all babies have the right to be wanted and loved, with the underlying assumption there are no childless couples who would be thrilled to raise an adopted child.

3) She claims a woman's decision to carry a baby to term and give this child life also saddles the woman with 18 years (or more) of servitude in the care and feeding of the child. Again, has she forgotten about adoption?

Why does killing a child in his mother's womb seem to be the better choice than carrying the child to term?

And let us not forget the toll abortion takes on the woman herself! More and more women are in therapy and support groups to deal with the guilt and grief that have engulfed them for years. A nine-month pregnancy is a small price to pay to give life to another and to avoid a lifetime of guilt for oneself.

Marsha Norton, Henderson