Editor,
Let's set a few things straight about the abortion issue, as discussed in the Daily Lobo on Tuesday.
It's about reproductive justice, not abortion. No one I know is "pro-abortion." I think we can all agree that abortion is an unpleasant thing, but we should be working to keep it safe, legal and rare, to use the words of former President Clinton. Statistics show that when abortion was legalized in 1973, the number of abortions did not increase significantly in ratio to population.
What did occur was that the number of women dying from abortions decreased dramatically. That's what happens when you move the operating room from the back alley, the kitchen table or the bathtub to an actual hospital.
The question is not about being for or against abortion, but reproductive justice, and who decides whether a woman has a full range of family planning options to choose from. Who decides? Should it be the government or the woman? If you can't trust a woman with the choice, how can you trust her with the child?
Abortion is the symptom, not the problem. It is simply irresponsible to condemn women who have abortions while denying them the proper information to prevent pregnancy in the first place.
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The same people who would deny a woman reproductive justice are the ones who are unwilling to implement sex education programs in the schools, pushing abstinence-only programs instead. Ignorance is not bliss, which we can witness firsthand because New Mexico has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the nation.
So stop picketing Planned Parenthood, and go pass out some condoms at your local high school. Evidence shows that students who receive comprehensive sex education actually wait longer to have sex and have fewer partners than those who are simply told, "Don't have sex." I'm sure we all know how ineffective it is to tell teenagers not to do something. For those interested, the Department of Health has some great publications on these issues.
Pro-life ignores the living. Is it right to force an economically disadvantaged woman to have an unwanted child if you also oppose welfare?
Is it right to deny federal funding to international clinics that even mention family planning options?
Is it right to pressure an African-American woman to carry her unwanted child to term when you know the adoption rate for African-American babies is abysmal?
Is it right to hinder and hamper women's access to the morning-after pill so they won't need an abortion in the first place?
Is it right to look rape or incest victims in the eyes and tell them that they shouldn't have a choice about terminating unwanted pregnancies?
Well, those are the positions of the conservative right, so when the elections come around in November, vote for candidates who will address the reproductive justice issue in a responsible manner. Keep abortion safe, legal and rare.
Ambrosia Ortiz
UNM student
