Rep. Hyde on Abortion
It was with astonishment and chagrin that I read Rep. Henry Hyde’s (R-Ill.) pronouncement (“The Force Is Not With Roe vs. Wade,” Op-Ed Page, July 23) that the public does not want Roe vs. Wade. Not since Ronald Reagan inhabited the White House have I heard such fiction paraded before the American public as fact!
Although I’m not quite sure just which polls Hyde is choosing to misinterpret, from what I read and hear, the exact opposite of what he claims is true: Although many Americans do not like to contemplate the prospect of abortion, the public is very much in favor of a woman having the right to choose what happens to her body. The American people understand that abortion must be an option in a society that fails to provide adequate sex education for its young, that lacks adequate health care, that fails to provide funding for family planning and contraception for those unable to afford it, and that still must deal with such crimes as rape and incest.
Furthermore, the citizens of this nation realize what Hyde and so many other politicians like him do not: that the decision to have an abortion is a very private matter in which the government should not and has no right to intervene.
Hyde and other politicians like him should consider themselves on notice: If they choose to continue to misrepresent the people of this nation, they will reap the reward of such misguided hubris and find themselves elected out of office.
DEBORAH BLAIR PORTER
Redondo Beach
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