To the editor:

In 1973 the Supreme Court, in Roe v. Wade, granted women the right to an abortion up to the point of viability, believed at the time to be around 23 weeks into the pregnancy. The right was granted nationwide. States could be more restrictive of abortions when the pregnancy was in the second trimester and beyond. I suspect many Americans support abortion when the person is the victim of rape or incest, and when needed to save the life of the mother. However, over the past several years some in Congress, and in some state legislatures, have promoted the belief that a woman should be able to have an abortion at any time in the pregnancy, even up to the moment of birth.

A draft majority opinion leaked and made public by Politico on May 2 indicated the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade and the abortion question will be returned to the individual states for legislation for or against. If you believe, as the pro-choice group does, that the vast majority of Americans support a woman’s right to an abortion, then why is there a concern about me and you voting our own conscience when voting for pro-choice or pro-life state legislators? Many states will legalize abortion. Some will not. Abortions may not be available down your street, but they will be available down some street. In fact, they will be available down many streets.

On Saturday, May 7, a videotape taken outside a Catholic church in New York City was of a woman jumping up and down on the sidewalk screaming, “I am killing my baby”, “See, I am killing my baby”, “I’m killing my baby”, while she pulled at the arms of the doll she held and struck the sidewalk with the doll. She gave what many may see as a demonstration of what may occur when a baby, a full-term baby, is terminated just moments before birth. Is that what you would vote for?

On Sunday, May 8, pro-abortion protests were held around the country outside, and in some cases inside, churches. The protests that I saw reported were all involving Catholic churches. I guess there are no Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, etc. that are pro-life such that they or their churches would also be subject to protests.

On May 11, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer forced a vote on a bill intended to codify Roe v. Wade. The bill, Women’s Health Protection Act, would write abortion rights into federal law and would also ban certain requirements some states have passed related to abortions, such as waiting periods and mandatory consultation visits before the procedure. It is my understanding the Act would have guaranteed the right to an abortion up to the moment of birth. The Senate failed to pass the legislation.

The push to promote late termination of a pregnancy up to the moment of birth may very well change the minds of that “vast majority” to not be so supportive of abortion.

Given that abortion is so polarizing, brace yourselves if Roe is overturned. We may well see protests much like those in the summer of 2020. You know, those “mostly peaceful” protests as buildings burned and hundreds of law enforcement officers were injured. That would sure do a lot to advance the pro-choice cause.

Chuck Peterson

Fort Dodge