I’m writing in reference to the interesting letter written by Mark Harrington, in the October 22 issue, “Abortion photos tell a truth that goes beyond.” I have no idea what these pictures are; however I am commenting on Harrington’s response to the Stater calling these pictures “horrific.” Mr. Harrington says the reason people think the abortion photos are “horrific” is because, “Abortion is an indefensible act of violence that kills a baby.” While Harrington stated his opinion, personally, any pictures of an abortion would be equally as horrific as pictures of a birth. Both are uniformly disgusting, for similar reasons that have more to do with the gag reflex than one’s conscience.

Personally, I’m extremely pro-choice. Abortion is as much a women’s right as any other medical procedure. A fetus, because that’s what it is called until the very end of a woman’s pregnancy, is not alive. It may eat and breathe but only because of the mother. It relies solely on the mother for “life,” like cancer cells, a tape worm or any other bodily parasite. Am I calling a fetus a parasite? No, I am merely making the comparison that with no mother/host then the fetus/tape worm would die anyway. And being that the fetus is in the woman, and it will affect her life, for the rest of her life, she has the right to choose.

Abortion is highly controversial, but it’s not forced upon anyone. If you believe it’s morally wrong, then you never have to get the procedure. If you are indifferent/unsure, if the situation arises in your life, then you can make the decision. No matter how the pregnancy occurred: sheer accident, stupidity or, unfortunately, rape, it’s a woman’s natural right to have abortion as an option. And seeing that Mark Harrington is a man, he really will never have to worry about making that decision, and therefore the “issue” of abortion need not really be an issue for him.

I know there are alternatives to abortion, like adoption or foster care; however, both have many flaws. Adoption is extremely expensive, as “agency and private adoptions can range from $5,000 to $40,000,” according to adoption.com. Adopting through the foster care system is less expensive; However, many children in foster care are never adopted. The Adoption & Foster Care Analysis & Reporting System states there were 533,000 children in the foster care system in 2002. The report also states that 21,720 children aged out of foster care during 2003 in the United States, meaning that those children reached age 18 or finished high school without returning home or being adopted. According to the blog almosttuesday.wordpress.com, “Children are languishing in temporary foster care due to overloaded family courts and a lack of services.” The numbers are growing and more children are being passed around the foster care system waiting for a permanent home. Aren’t there enough troubled children in the world without having to add more?

Abortion is one of many options a woman deserves to have. We are lucky to live in a country of significant freedoms: the right to vote, or not; freedom of speech, or to plead the fifth; freedom to own a gun, or not; and the freedom to have an abortion, or not. I, for one, am proud of that freedom.

Katlyn Grieve is a sophomore

exploratory major.