`new Pa.,' Same Leader? 
Ridge Announces Bid For Re-election

Airport Regains Use Of Its Weather System

Thursday, January 15, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





Americans having second thoughts 25 years after Roe v. Wade &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Write about issues that concern people in our area,'' my editor once
advised me"Anything off limits?" I asked. He shook his head no, but I pressed
the point. "What about abortion?" "Well," he answered thoughtfully. "I don't
know if you're going to change any minds on that one." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Have we made up our minds about abortion? Since January 22, 1973, 25 years
now- abortion for any reason or no reason has been legal and available in the
United States. The government reports that at least 30 million babies have
been aborted since. Almost everyone can agree that it was not wrong to abort
some of them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A large majority would also agree that it was wrong to abort most of them.
That has not mattered a bit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pope John Paul II stands far to one side of this issue. He clearly believes
that nearly all abortions are morally wrong- the equivalent of murder. One
exception, in his view, is an abortion to save the life of the mother. Few
would disagree. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Pope believes that it's wrong to abort a child who is the result of a
rape. The child is innocent of any crime. Though the mother is not obligated
to raise it, he would assert that she is obligated not to kill it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I suspect many people would disagree with his position on that. The
President of the United States is way, way over on the other side of the
issue. What's his position? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Universal access to abortion for any reason or no reason, covered by
national health insurance, paid for at taxpayer expense if necessary, at any
point in the pregnancy including the point at which only the head of the baby
remains undelivered. Would you agree with that? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Most of us don't. We say so freely in any poll you want to read. It's hard
even to imagine a more extreme position. Perhaps the Communist Chinese
government, whose zeal for population control has led to forced abortions and
infanticide, can claim the title. In the U. S., though, the President stands
militantly as far to one side as he can get. Amazingly, except for the
government-funding part, that most extreme of all positions has been the law
of the land for 25 years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Let's not argue over rare circumstances or hard cases. Set aside for a
moment all the abortions done since 1973 that were, sadly, necessary to save
the lives of mothers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Deduct as well those that were done to prevent serious damage to the
physical health of mothers. Many mothers would be very willing to damage their
health to protect the lives of their children, but let's not demand it of
them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Take out of the statistics those abortions performed because of rape or
incest. These are very, very uncommon. They barely show up in statistics, but
they are among the most difficult of moral dilemmas; let's not try to solve
them here. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lastly, don't count any babies aborted by children under seventeen. Many
girls this age have no qualms about bearing children today. One of three
children is born out of wedlock, many to teens. Some very young mothers give
babies up for adoption, an emotional ordeal that many girls have nevertheless
managed to endure. Still, let's not force the issue. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Taking all these hard cases out, how many abortions do we have left? Of the
30 million since Roe v. Wade, about 27 million. Around 90 percent. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For what reason were these children aborted? The largest number of their
mothers were healthy, unmarried 20- to 24-year-old women. In Pennsylvania,
where every convenience store carries cheap and very reliable contraception,
there were 38,000 abortions last year. Ten thousand women had their second
abortion; 1,300 their fourth, and 823 their fifth. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The most tragic and controversial medical procedure in human history is
being used almost all the time purely as belated birth control. We have
attempted to subtract completely the creation of life from the sexual
equation, and find it can't be done. When the problem just won't work out,
abortion becomes the eraser. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The vast majority of the American public feels that this isn't right; there
ought to be at least a good reason for something as drastic as abortion. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 You may disagree. If so, you're in good company: The Supreme Court and the
commander-in-Chief are on your side. I won't try to change your mind. As my
editor said, I'm not likely to do that. These decisions are not made in the
mind anyway. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 They're made in the heart. &nbsp;&amp;nbsp

Americans Having Second Thoughts 25 Years After Roe V. Wade "write About Issues That Concern People In Our Area,'' My Editor Once Advised Me.