Your Opinion: Response to Sampson on rape, abortion

Dear Editor:

The following is a response to Mr. Sampson's letter to the editor of Aug. 28.

From Mr. Akin's recent remarks to this slippery slope the GOP calls policy there is a consistent movement by Republicans to bring women back to the 19th century.

First let's start with the notion espoused by several that a women can not get pregnant due to rape - a falsehood and a downright insult, refuted by physician after physician. Then let's discuss this idea the women should not be able to have access to abortion. The current platform by today's GOP says that a woman must, by law, carry their rapist's baby to term. Is this what we want our daughters or granddaughters to endure?

Then there are the ludicrous personhood amendments. If these laws go forth they would not allow in vitro fertilization for infertile couples, many popular forms of birth control and would not allow doctors to do surgery on women with health crisis like ectopic pregnancies - those women would die instead. And does a woman that has these procedures go to jail or should the doctor performing the procedure go to jail? Again ALEC is leading the GOP right into the land of stupidity.

I don't know anyone who wants abortion but I do think there are times when woman will seek and abortion for reasons that we cannot even begin to understand. I think that decision should be between the woman, her family, her physician and minister if she chooses and her conscience.

If our true desire is to reduce the amount of abortions we should be working toward a stable economy. What we have now is a campaign of intimidation and humiliation that is never really going to work. It may get folks a lot of attention and make them look like they are fighting in the "army of God" but I don't believe it will ever really accomplish what these individuals seek. It has been proven that fewer women seek abortion when our economic times are better families are more likely to feel positive about the future and complete the pregnancy.

There is also a movement against birth control. Families for decades have been relying on being able to have some control over when they have children and how many. Now the GOP wants control of that too?

What next?