In defense of the right to choose

Re “The rights of the born,” Opinion, Feb. 10

Abortion must remain legal, safe and available to all women. But with people like Anne Lamott calling fetuses “teeny weenie so-called babies” and comparing them to sea monkeys, our side cannot possibly prevail.

There seems to be no room in this discussion for a woman like me, who holds two passionate beliefs: that abortion must always be legal, and that I could never have one myself.

Although these are two separate issues, as they should be -- the government has no business teaching me morals -- Lamott’s tirade makes abortion-rights proponents look like spoiled, selfish women who consider having an abortion something that everyone does and who get through tough times by pigging out on M&Ms.;

No wonder we are losing this battle.

MIRIAM BILLINGTON

Santa Monica

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I completely agree with Lamott’s position that abortion is a woman’s business and nobody else’s, but I feel the need to add to the discussion.

We are never going to convince the evangelicals that abortion of a fetus is permissible, because they call the fetus a baby.

This is a religious position, not a legal one, so I propose a legal argument that may sway at least some of the conservative elements who are concerned about individual rights.

Being pregnant has its negative aspects, and delivering a child carries medical risks, so forcing a woman to remain pregnant and deliver a child is in effect penalizing the woman. Since no crime was involved, what right does the state have to penalize the woman? The religious right wants her to suffer for her sins, but getting pregnant is not yet a punishable crime.

RODGER WINN

Tustin