THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 21, 1995 TAG: 9511210004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
Regarding ``Abortion debate too narrow'' (letter, Nov. 7), I agree with a woman's right to choose, but I also believe in responsibility.
Women today are educated enough to know that abstinence is the only 100 percent certain form of birth control. Yet people feel it is ludicrous for women to abstain from sex in this age of sexual promiscuity.
I am pro-choice in that I believe any woman has the right to choose when she is ready for sex. However, a woman who chooses to have sex must also be responsible (as well as her partner) for anything which may come from this act.
If the woman should become pregnant, she and her partner should take on the responsibility of parenthood. To use abortion as a form of birth control is nothing short of a selfish and murderous act - much like a cold-blooded murder, for its only purpose is the supposed self-improvement of the murderer.
Education, with emphasis on abstinence, is the key to fewer unwanted pregnancies. For the few pregnancies derived from rape and incest, a woman must be given the choice never previously offered. Through much education and counseling, she must make a tough and lifelong decision. With rape and incest, as well as cases of medical complications with pregnancies, abortion should be an option.
Only through counseling, prayer and God will one find the appropriate decision.
MICHAEL HANEY
Chesapeake, Nov. 7, 1995 by CNB