THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 7, 1995 TAG: 9511070017
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
James G. Thomson (letter, Oct. 13) assumed that our billboard ``Believe it: Most Churchgoing Americans Believe a Woman Should Decide'' refers only to abortion.
Actually, we know that religious people in this country do believe a woman should decide - when to have children; even whether to have children. Women care about the children they bring into the world. Before giving birth, women want to know that their own families and communities are in a position to welcome, feed, house, educate and love the child.
But too many women get pregnant without intending to. To reduce that rate, to help young people make responsible decisions, we - the community - must provide the information and services they need; useful information about sexuality and reproduction and, when necessary, affordable family-planning services that answer their questions and consider their personalities and relationships. And we must change the social climate that tolerates battering, date rape, incest and statutory rape that too often lead to pregnancies that women didn't decide to have.
To assume our responsibility as a moral community, we'll have to get over our fixation on abortion and get down to the real business of preventing unintended pregnancy - something I pray we all can agree on.
ANN THOMPSON COOK
Executive director
Religious Coalition for
Reproductive Choice
Washington, D.C., Oct. 24, 1995 by CNB