I am a 71-year-old woman, and I have never given much attention to the subject of abortion. I’ve never been faced with such a monumental decision. But, as I think about it now, it does seem to me that it should be my decision to make.

I’ve been thinking about this in relation to the U.S. Constitution, which states we are endowed with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 

If a woman becomes pregnant through rape or incest, where is her right to liberty if the government forces her to give birth?  If a young college woman is slipped a date rape drug and is taken advantage of, then becomes pregnant – where is her right to the pursuit of happiness if instead of finishing her education and pursuing her career, she is forced to give birth?  

I hear people claiming that abortion providers are “killing babies.” I do not believe that to be true. I believe an abortion is the ending of a pregnancy, often an unwanted or unexpected one, or one that poses great risk to the mother. I believe the decision to have one should be made by the woman, her family, her physician and her spiritual advisor, if she has one.

Should she be forced by law to have a baby she does not want and is not ready to care for? If she must, that child will be born without the love of its mother. How very sad for everyone.

I find it very sad that some believe the rights of the unborn who come into this world, loved or not loved, are more important than the inalienable rights of women who are already here. 

“An inalienable right,” said Richard Foltin of the Freedom Forum Institute, “is a right that can’t be restrained or repealed by human laws. Sometimes called natural rights, inalienable rights flow from our nature as a free people.” 

Delores Paulk

Germantown