Focus on cooperation and compassion | Letter to the editor

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Here are some thoughts on the current wave of abortion laws from yet another single, childless man.

The war on abortion is being fought by people who claim to be pro-life and anti-abortion. I feel they have totally missed the mark when it comes to the subject, because their actions do not reflect their claims. The conversation about abortion needs to take a turn that might actually lead to more responsible actions from our lawmakers.

First, abortion isn’t the issue. Pregnancy, which for whatever reason is unwanted, is the issue. Sit down and write a list of all the possible reasons a pregnancy might be unwanted to the extent it leads to the choice to abort. It will take a while. There are a lot of reasons. Let’s start doing something about them.

Second, women and girls don’t “get pregnant.” They are impregnated. There’s a guy. Somewhere. Where is this guy in the legal scheme of things? Are there laws holding guys responsible for creating unwanted pregnancies that lead to abortion? Are these guys being punished (or “penal-ized”) for their actions?

It takes a female to understand the full implication of these draconian abortion laws. But all it takes to see there are more sides to the issue is a reasonable, non-politicized mind. The current abortion laws aren’t about saving lives: they’re about punishment and control. Mostly control. It’s time we started working on cooperation and compassion.

Chris A. Hawley
PORT TOWNSEND