Abortion and High Court

Supreme Court Justices (Sandra Day) O’Connor, (Anthony M.) Kennedy and (David H.) Souter gave me a pleasant shock Monday when they wisely voted not to allow state governments to poke their noses into the private moral decisions of our citizens.

That’s not to say I think anyone would shed a tear if tomorrow, of their own volition, everyone simply stopped having abortions. We’d be a couple of steps closer to being the democratic paradise we claim to be if we could just work to eliminate the social inequities that create the demand for abortions. Randall Terry’s (Operation Rescue) time would be much better spent if he were to redirect his considerable energies in that direction.

Abortion will not be legislated out of existence. We can, however, significantly affect the demand if our schools are free to teach our children the possible dire consequences of sex and if women’s jobs are made more secure, so pregnancy is again a blessed event and not a career hazard.

I can’t see how the right wing can be anti-abortion, since in their opposition to the above two principles, they’re at least partially responsible for the millions of unwanted pregnancies that have been terminated so far.

PAUL McELLIGOTT

Fullerton