Christian extremists

Dear Editor:After reading three Letters to the Editor in last week's Downey Patriot newspaper, I feel very concerned about religious extremists who seem to be trying to take over our country. Women's right to self-determination includes the right to have an abortion. This right comes from an established law, Roe vs. Wade, in effect since 1973, which has saved the lives of countless women and girls in this country. Before this law was passed, many pregnant women lost their lives trying to self abort when, for many reasons, they were not prepared or able to raise a child. This country was founded on freedom of religion, but now religious extremists are trying to take away other people's rights because of their own beliefs. A fetus is not a child, it starts as a couple of cells and resembles a fish during part of its development. If people believe that abortion of a fetus is wrong, they should not personally do it, but don't try to stop other women from exercising their freedom of choice. If people think that gay marriage is wrong, then don't do it, but let others live in peace. One of my sons' previous girlfriends used the clinic on Firestone Boulevard to get an abortion years ago. This girl came from a dysfunctional family, and she was hardly able to care for herself, much less a child. She wisely realized she was not ready to be a mother. I am forever grateful to clinics such as this one which saved my son and our family from raising a child which would have been born with so many strikes against it. In this time of extinction of so many animals, plants and bird species because of human overpopulation, I believe that if human population continues to increase as it has been, we are setting ourselves up to become extinct very shortly with billions of lives at stake. We should ensure that every child born is a wanted child, and we should encourage people to have smaller families or no children of their own. Cheers to childless couples. People have their right to their own beliefs but should stop trying to force them on the rest of us. We are getting closer all the time to having Christian extremists take us over with disastrous results. Anita Rivero Downey

Dear Editor: I thought Patti Sharpe's letter was just another effort to try to push her "moralistic" position about abortion onto the rest of us. And heaven help us, there was the reference to the "light on the hill" kind of community. Obviously not Downey. But then in reading the rest of her arguments, it occurred to me that what she's really pointing out is not that Downey has an abortion clinic in its midst, but that Downey lacks a Planned Parenthood clinic. While Patti Sharpe may think Planned Parenthood is all about abortion, that's hardly the case and if Patti Sharpe thinks so, she should inform herself otherwise. If she doesn't want abortions, then she should support pregnancy prevention in all its forms - and that would include at the very least Planned Parenthood as well as sex education in the schools. Yes, right here in Downey, the All American City. Muriel Schuerman Downey

********** Published: July 18, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 14