Editor,
I feel abortion is immoral. I also feel it would be irresponsible and naive to outlaw abortions in this country.
The problem with outlawing abortion is that it doesn't solve the problem. Even if we were to outlaw abortions, women would still receive them. These mothers are deciding to terminate their own children. Worrying about breaking a law pales in comparison to such a monumental decision. Therefore, criminalizing abortion does not constitute an effective deterrent.
Legal, professional abortions are safe. Illegal, non-professional abortions are ghastly at best and deadly at worst. Therefore, legislation that banned abortion would only be successful in harming the mothers. It would not, in the vast majority of cases, save the children. When deciding what sort of laws we would like passed, it is important to look at the real effect, not just the implied cultural values.
Perhaps it would be more effective if anti-abortion activists looked to cultural solutions to solve this problem instead of legal ones. The real way to prevent abortions is to make contraception more readily available and more affordable, to give our children comprehensive, fact-based sexual educations, to decrease the ranks of the lower class and to provide a better education to those still in it.
If outlawing abortion in order to have the national law coincide with your moral values is the purpose, I suggest moving to the Middle East. I believe that line of thinking is still prevalent over there.
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Evan Harris
UNM student


