Letter: Standing up for the rights of all women

I wanted to add a thought here on the Dr. Tiller murder, the late-term abortion doctor. Yes, he did late-term abortions. Something, I might add, which is a woman’s right of choice. What is not being told is how many of these women had late-term abortions for reasons other than not wanting a child. Late-term abortions are usually a result of other things besides being indecisive. Or, as portrayed, just hateful and ugly. How about looking at the human who has to make this choice? Look at the woman, not her belly.
I have personally known women who have found life-threatening medical issues that made this choice for them. Some of these women already had children, and they made that choice so they could maybe raise the ones at home. There are also the choices involved when a child has severe birth defects. Few people choose to carry a Down Syndrome child full term. This choice is made because of something simple. The amount of care that this child will take the rest of their life, and who will take care of them after the parents are gone? What about the quality of life issue for that child, and those who it effects? There are ugly issues like incest and rape that come up here. How about the child who is having a child? I know of a girl in Albuquerque, N.M., that at the age of 13 had her second child. It’s not that uncommon, sad to say. Yes, her second child. At the risk of her own health, and her parents’ belief against abortion, she was forced to have children she did not understand, or want. Next question I asked, is why was she not taken from her parents?
I invite you to go to an infant ward where children are born far too early, most of them to very young teenage mothers. These mothers do not have prenatal care, nor are they mentally ready for what is coming their way. They are born too early for many reasons, one is the mother’s body itself is not developed to carry a child full term. The related birth defects of these children are massive, not to mention the cost, and that cost nine times out of 10 ends up as a state issue. Why? Because the mother has no health insurance, so that cost is passed on to the taxpayers. The average stay is about six to eight weeks for premature babies. The average cost is about $250,000. Then let’s look at who ends up being financially responsible for that child. The state. You. Many of these children will have medical issues all of their lives. If these children were born 20 plus years ago, they would not have survived. I have personally been in a ward where there were more than 30 premature babies. One lady was on her fifth premature child, paid for by the state. You do the math.
I find it ironic that the same people who bash abortion also bash welfare and Medicaid and Medicare and single mothers. They bash the very women who make that choice to have a child, and yet are not able to provide for it. Lack of education, due to their age. Lack of ability, due to their age. Lack of opportunity, due to their age. Then there is the pointing out about the bad choice they made. Did you know that if a woman makes more than $9 per hour there is no state help for daycare? Do you know the cost of daycare? What if you’re only able to make $14 per hour, and $68 per day is your cost of daycare. Do the math. This forces young women to make more bad choices. If they have another child, they get more money. Or maybe they can find a man to help take care of them and provide for them. These options force more choices. This forces a woman to stay on welfare, not because this is all she aspires to be. No, it’s called survival. Bottom line is this: Women get pregnant. They have the right to make a choice and live with their conscience. They should be able to do it without your judgment. Abortion is a personal right and for many reasons it should always be available to all women. Women are the ones who bear the burden of giving birth, raising, and caring for that child, or not. Yes, adoption is also a choice, but again a personal choice, not the public’s.
The word here is personal choice. No one has the right to judge a woman’s choice, or the person to facilitate that choice for her. Her life and the ability to get through life as she sees fit is none of anyone’s business.
I have been and always will be a pro-choice person. I will always stand for the rights of women, myself, my daughter, my granddaughter and yours as well. No, it’s not pretty, and it does mean the end of a potential life, but it is a personal choice. I am grateful I live in a country where as a woman, and the one who bears the burden, I have the ability to have a choice to say yes, or no. When men start having babies then you should have that right as well.
Michelle E. Hale
Meeker