Dana Milbank’s column in the Aug. 20 Chicago Tribune, “Right’s extremism hurt its fight against abortion,” shows clearly that the anti-abortion crowd has no interest in reducing the number of abortions by reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies. They merely want to insure that every pregnancy that occurs must be carried to term, regardless of whether it would be a good outcome for the mother, the potential child or society as a whole. Unlike Milbank, I am perfectly willing to answer conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat’s challenge posed in his piece, “There is No Pro-Life Case For Planned Parenthood”. Yes, abortion is “morally necessary and praiseworthy.” I do not agree with Douthat’s ugly claim that pro-choice people believe “a fetus is just a clump of cells.” A fetus is a potential child, but there is no ethical requirement that every potential must become a reality. Human beings have a right and duty to make responsible decisions and abortion is often the responsible and moral decision.
—Eileen G. Soderstrom, Chicago
