Women raped need choice of abortion

I am writing in response to Mr. Ovsenik’s comments in “‘Killing your
baby’ won’t fix situation” (Monday). I will start off by saying that I
agree with the decision on partial-birth abortions. At that stage in a
pregnancy, the fetus is a person in every sense of the word. I do,
however, still support the decision of Roe v. Wade.

As to Ovsenik’s letter, he appears to be living in a ideal world. In
his world, all children are conceived through the intercourse of two
consenting, responsible individuals. In the real world, however, that
is not always the case.

Incidents of rape and incest are real issues in today’s society.
There were 95,136 reported cases of rape just last year (from a report
by the FBI). How can you say to these women that it was their
“decision” to be raped and must therefore carry a reminder of that
harrowing event everyday for the next nine months? Is it the fault of a
15-year-old child that a male relative is a pervert, and she must
therefore have his baby?

I think not. To take away the ability of a woman to have an abortion
does not only take away her rights, but in these cases her sanity, and
in some cases her life. I admit these are only some of the reasons to
have an abortion, but if the right to an abortion is taken away, it is
taken away from all women, including the ones who had no choice in
becoming pregnant.