Takes two to get pregnant

Dear Editor:This is in response to the letter in last week's Downey Patriot titled "Pro Choice." As far as Ms. Evan's opinion that the abortion question can be resolved by saying, "women should have the choice whether or not to become pregnant and they do have that choice...and they do know how to prevent pregnancy," that is a very inaccurate and unfair statement. In the first place, it is easy to blame women. (Why is it always blamed on the woman, by the way?‚ÄàDoesn't it take two to get pregnant?) I can say this is inaccurate from firsthand experience; as a just married young woman I‚Äàgot pregnant while using two forms of birth control. I‚Äàthought I‚Äàwas taking great precautions. How about the many women who do not have access to any form of birth control at all, at the moment they are swept into a sexual relationship by an insistent male, who will not take no for an answer. And what about the billions living in extreme poverty, living on a dollar or two per day, who cannot afford to purchase any form of birth control at all, even if it were available? And those who are very young, and haven't been taught that sex can result in pregnancy, or how to avoid it? And those women who are raped or even sexually abused by a family member? No, to say that women do have a choice whether to get pregnant or not with very rare exceptions is a misleading, inaccurate and unfair statement, and does not justify the conclusion that abortions should be illegal. Saying that abortion is illegal in God's eyes is an opinion expressed by some and taught in some churches. Those who feel strongly that way obviously should not have abortions. Those who disagree should be able to follow their own conscience. I sometimes feel like we have sort of a Christian Taliban in this country that wants to force everyone else to follow their own version of their religion. Our founding fathers created this country so that each of us could practice our own religion in our own way, and we should not impose our religious views on others. -- Anita Rivero, Downey

********** Published: May 29, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 6