To the Editor:
I hope there is someone out there who can explain something to me. Why do so many conservative politicians rail against government interference in our lives, but endorse deep government intrusion into the most private part of a woman’s healthcare? They resent and deplore the inclusion of civil rights that are contrary to their personal Christian beliefs, but insist that it is the government’s job to be a partner in a pregnancy and other intimate issues.
A nine-year-old girl was raped and impregnated in Ohio, a state which outlaws abortion after only six weeks. The mother’s troubling defense should be investigated, but a nine- or ten-year-old cannot consent. Anyone who is acquainted with the physiology or psychology of a female child knows very well that her own body needs the nutrients required in pregnancy and her soul is in no way prepared to mother another child. Gym Jordan (R-OH) smugly declared the pregnancy claim to be a “predictable Democratic lie” designed to make anti-choice proponents look bad.
Ohio AG Yost (R-OH) said the story was a “lie.” When he proved wrong, he blamed the physician for not reporting it within the statutory period. He was wrong about that, too. Some years ago, he claimed that Science has “changed in the last years“and suggested that it has settled the question of when the body is “ensouled.” It hasn’t. Science can detect the presence of life but not of the human soul.
James Bopp, Jr., counsel for the National Right to Life, condescended that the 10-year-old should “have had the baby, and as many women who have had babies as a result of rape, we would hope that she would understand the reason and ultimately the benefit of having the child.” A grown man pontificates about a female child. Do you really want to consign reproductive issues to the tender mercies of these “geniuses?”
Why do many women look past these political atrocities and conclude that Republicans give a desiccated fig about their interests? And this is just the beginning.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore