Opinion: The cynical politics behind the Trump administration’s holdup of an immigrant teenager’s abortion

To the editor: President Trump’s appointment of anti-abortion activist E. Scott Lloyd to head the agency overseeing refugee affairs has borne demagogic fruit. Who better to grandstand in the case of “Jane Doe,” a 17-year-old refugee who urgently wanted an abortion while she awaited an immigration status hearing? (“Legal battle ends: Detained immigrant obtains an abortion,” Oct. 25)

Why might Trump be so concerned with Jane Doe’s case?

To maintain his credulous core — working-class religious conservatives — he has to distract them from his efforts to enrich wealthy patrons at their expense. That calls for more cynical raw meat, in the form of pious sound bites replete with specious legal contentions.

Never mind Jane Doe’s legitimate health concerns. Look for Trump to exploit her case for all its demagogic worth.

Kendra Strozyk, Cameron Park, Calif.

..

To the editor: Talk about a world that’s upside down.

What if all the people and organizations who clamored for the young woman’s right to abort her child had spent their time, energy and resources instead on helping her bring that baby safely into the world and being a good mother for that child afterward?

Nobody could look at an ultrasound of a child and honestly claim he or she is a not a person.

Few people regret having had a child, but many regret having had an abortion. And nobody ever regrets having been born.

Robert Rakauskas, Winnetka

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